Options for Refinishing an S&W Airweight...

[Gideon]

Hey guys, I have a mdl 637 S&W J frame Airweight .38. I love this little gun but after a lot of use/carry, the finish is getting rought. The cylinder and barrel look good but the aluminum (or alloy) fame look rough becasue the spray on coating is coming off in places so it looks rough. I've talked to a few custom guys and so far the only option I've been given is to have the entire gun refinished in a Black T finish.

I probably should just leave it alone and accept the gun's "character" but I thought about doing this and having the hammer bobbed and even getting an action job to smooth it up in DA.

I was wondering if any of you have...

1. Ever had one of these coated with a black finish or..

2. Sent it back to S&W for refinishing in the original finish?

If you've ever done either or something else to refinish an alumnum framed Airweight, I'd love to hear about your experience. Like does the black finish scratch easy and wear in the holster?

I've even thought of just getting a new 642, get an action job on it and then put up my 637 and give it to one of my kids when they get older.

thanks in advance for the assistance!

God Bless
Gideon

 

[JMACDONALD]

heres my .02

Metalife could nickle the entire gun for a little over $100.00, and slightly more to put a hard chrome over the layer of nickle. Order a bobbed hammer from S&W and have a local smith put it in, that way you still have the fitted spur hammer to switch back to if you so decide. - mac

 

[Seven High]

I would call Smith & Wesson and ask them what the cost would be to refinish your 637. That might be the cheapest route.

 

[colubrid]

Get a hardchrome job done at accurate plating in Florida

 

[xd45gaper]

you could duracoat it your self for about 60bucks the cost of a kit. i duracoated my XD, and my ruger 10/22 and still had some left over.

 

[earplug]

Ceramic Coat

I used Wheeler Engineering's Ceramic coat about a year ago on my daily carry 642. Its chipped off on some sharp edges. I shoot better with its black sights and the black grip frame hides better then the old two tone effect with shiny alloy.
If I had the money and 20/20 hindsight I'd have it hard black chromed.

 

[JERRY]

S&W wrote me stating that they do not refinish alloy frame guns because of the probability of cracking the frame from removing and reinserting the barrel...

now, many places will simply dunk the whole gun as is (with the guts removed)......the only issue is that you have a ferous and non ferous surface that you want the same finish on, be it nickle or chrome, and it requires a little difference in the application because of the dissimilar metals...

a good shop can do it....

 

[Bob79]

Its your carry gun, so leave it as is. It's going to get wear spots, but thats good, means you have been carrying it.

If you want to spend money on it, get the action worked over, and hammer bobbed. Then you'll have a good shootin' ugly gun

Seriously, it's going to get worn down if it's not stainless, so just keep it as is. I don't like that my 442 is starting to show some slight wear at high spots, and such, but I can live with it.

 

[Serpico]

When my 442 started to rust, I had ford's hard chrome it....although I do prefer black, nothing stands up like hard chrome....

 

[orionengnr]

S&W wrote me stating that they do not refinish alloy frame guns because of the probability of cracking the frame from removing and reinserting the barrel...

Funny, S&W re-finished my alloy M-396 (44 Spl) just a few months ago. I sent it in to ask them to have a look and give me a quote.

They sent it back a week later, refinished good as new, free of charge.

Might want to give them a call, and please let us know how it works out.

 

[Gideon]

Well I've been digging and called some of the places for plating you guys mentioned here not to mention talking to Gemini and even S&W. S&W said they're refinish it. The person I talked with knew little about it and said I'd have to send it in for a quote. I'll call back another day to discuss it with someone more knowledgeable. he did say they'd refinish it like new. I take that to mean bead blast barrel and cylinder and buff/recoat the aluminum.

I talked to another guy (mentioned in this thread for coating/plating expertise) and he basically said they can hard chrome it but won't warranty the gun if the frame should crack. He and several others (including gemini customs) all said the real issue with this gun is that you can't put one finish over the whole gun the same way at the same time and expect it to hold up long term due to dissimilar metals. They all agreed you have to remove the barrel from the aluminum frame and it's possible that it can crack doing so although this isn't very common. One guy recommended a black T finish on the whole gun but again, it'll probably scratch (and show the scratches) more than the current finish.

So I'm going do one of three things:
1. Buy a new 642; whalla! A new finish
2. Research it more with S&W and get them to make it like it was new if possible
3. Do nothing at all and learn to love it for it's "character".

Well maybe 1 & 3 go together If there's a fourth choice, it's to simply send it to someone for hard chrome matte plating and take a chance on the frame holding up. I'd hate to loose a gun that way but my 637 just isn't that expensive.

Anyway, thanks for all the good input!
God Bless
Gideon