Refinish internals?

[Larry in wyoming]

If you are refinishing a revolver, do you refinish the internal workings as well? The thought just occurred to me for some reason.

Thanks!

 

[.38 Special]

I'm not entirely clear on what this means.

Of course, if I was tearing down a gun for refinishing, I would clean and lube the internals. I also would do action/trigger work if indicated.

Cosmetic work on internals? I can't think of any reason for it, but can definitely see a downside. I wouldn't ever do it, myself.

 

[ontarget]

In my experience the internals are bare metal. So unless you mean polishing, I would do nothing but a good cleaning.

 

[Varminterror]

Internals are commonly in the white. If they were originally blued, then decide for yourself - but smalls are often added on bluing costs for very, very little extra.

 

[herrwalther]

Besides touching up parts that are partially internal (trigger, hammer) I would not change anything other than cleaning. If an internal part needs refinishing because of rust or damage, it is better to replace the part instead of changing tolerances with a refinish.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

The simple answer is no.

Not all internal parts are in the white, S&W hammers and triggers are Case Hardened. At least they used to be.

Internal parts are often hardened for wear resistance.

But generally speaking, it makes no sense to refinish internal parts.

The internals of a 44 Hand Ejector, 4th Model from 1955. Notice the hammer and trigger are Case Hardened, the rest of the parts have no finish on them.






A dead giveaway that a Smith & Wesson revolver has been refinished is if the hammer and trigger are nickle plated, as with this 44 Hand Ejector 3rd Model that was nickel plated at some point.






This S&W K-22 Outdoorsman shipped in 1932 and was returned to the factory and refinished in 1946. Clearly lots of wear to the new finish since then, and most of the colors have faded from the hammer and trigger, but they are still there.






A Smith and Wesson New Model Number Three that shipped in 1882 and was refinished at the factory in 1965. Notice the hammer and trigger are Case Hardened. Not sure if the trigger guard is Case Hardened or blued.

 

[wcwhitey]

Finish adds dimension to parts. Blueing not very much but some finishes add more. If an old revolver is properly working and timed I would leave those parts alone.

 

[AZAndy]

If they're showing some rust freckling, I soak them in Evapo-Rust and then make sure they're adequately oiled when put back in place.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Other than the usual polishing of the innards with a fine stone (rebound slide and its track, hand, etc), leave the insides alone. Polishing only.
Will you turn the gun over to the refinisher detail stripped?
Moon

 

[Ethan Verity]

Do you mean the internal part of the frame and under the side plate? Those are fully blued on the inside as well, just due to being dipped during the hot blue process. A protective finish on the inside is desirable, to protect the guts from rust. As seen on this stripped Model 29, the inside frame is fully blued.


Individual parts are a different story, as already mentioned. Don't mess with the color case hardened finish, you don't want to polish that off!

 

[Larry in wyoming]

Just meant the internal parts not the frame etc. That will get blued. I bought a mdl 10 on gunbroker that is pretty ratty. At least according to the pictures
I needed a mud season project. It has bluing wear and some pitting. I'm going to just see what I can do about cleaning it up a bit and then slow rust bluing it. I did a rifle that way once and it turned out pretty well. I'll keep yall posted.

 

[Slamfire]

I only recommend refinishing the internals for those with X ray vision. They can appreciate the beautiful case hardening under the side plate

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Just meant the internal parts not the frame etc. That will get blued. I bought a mdl 10 on gunbroker that is pretty ratty. At least according to the pictures
I needed a mud season project. It has bluing wear and some pitting. I'm going to just see what I can do about cleaning it up a bit and then slow rust bluing it. I did a rifle that way once and it turned out pretty well. I'll keep yall posted.

No matter how bad the trigger and hammer look, I suggest you leave them alone. Just clean them up with some strong solvent. As I said earlier, the hammer and trigger on your Model 10 are Case Hardened. This means they have been hardened to prevent wear, and the colors are a result of that process. At one point S&W actually trade marked the Case Hardening on their hammers and triggers to keep cheap foreign knock offs out of the country.

This is a photo of the rear of the hammer on an old S&W 38 Military and Police (the forerunner of your Model 10). The REG.U.S.PAT.OFF. marking can be clearly seen. S&W stopped marking hammers and triggers this way a long time ago, don't bother looking for it on your Model 10.






I have lots of S&W revolvers, much older than your Model 10. Some of them have a lot a lot of wear to the blue. This is one of my favorites, a 38 M&P round butt that left the factory in 1939. Lots of wear to the blue on the side plate. I would not dream of refinishing it, I like it just as it is.






Very generally speaking, refinishing a firearm will decrease its collector value, unless the old finish was seriously rusted and pitted. Then a refinish can enhance the value, over its value in the deteriorated condition. This 44 Double Action left the factory in 1881. At some point it was refinished. The trigger and hammer were blued, a dead giveaway that it had been refinished. It was a pretty poor refinish job, the edge of the side plate was rounded over and sticks out like a sore thumb. Because of all this, I got it for much less than one in pristine condition. By the way, DO NOT polish the side plate of your Model 10 separately from the frame. Inevitably that will lead to rounding over of the edges of the side plate, like this. The joint between the frame and the side plate should be almost invisible. If you are going to do any polishing, polish the frame with the side plate installed to avoid rounding over the edges of the side plate.






Ultimately, the decision is up to you. It is of course your gun and you can do with it as you wish. You may not be interested in the collector value of your model 10, there were a bazillion of them made. But unless you do a non-detectable refinish on it, you will reduce its value.

 

[beag_nut]

Then there is always the prospect of going too far internally and ending up with a "bubba" job.

 

[Larry in wyoming]

I've made the bubba mistake before. AND LEARNED FROM IT! If there's any rust inside I'll clean it off but I'm not messing with engagements or orientation.