Royal Blue Colt 1911

Royal Blue

  • Yes

    Votes: 54 80.6%

  • No

    Votes: 13 19.4%
  • Total voters
    67
  • Poll closed .
Status
Not open for further replies.
wow6599

wow6599

Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Messages
2,417
Location
Wildwood, MO
I recently picked-up a new Series 70 that I am going to keep bone stock, but....

I also have a hi-polished Browning Hi Power (factory) and I am wanting to display them side by side. Yes, I do/would shoot them on occasion......a few mags a year.

Here is my question - Colt will refinish it in the old (their words) Royal Blue for $475. Yep, a pretty hefty price. But, two of JMB's greatest firearms with a mirror like blue finish......makes me smile just thinking about it. Plus, who knows how long long Colt has - and I think the total money (Colt + finish) would be retained down the road.

Any thoughts?
 
You tell me! No, this isn't mine, but I understand it was done by Colt's Custom Shop several years ago. I have this same model pistol (01911 WWI repro), if I could afford to.....

picture.jpg

picture2.jpg

picture4.jpg

picture5.jpg

picture7.jpg
 
Colt's Royal Blue is certainly one beautiful looking finish. If the cost isn't an issue then by all means have it done. Would love to see the two guns together.
 
Yes, I do/would shoot them on occasion......a few mags a year.
Click to expand...

Would you shoot it more, or would you shoot it less if you get it refinished? If it means that you take a functional gun and turn it into a piece of art that gets shot a couple times a year then... meh. I mean, I can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship. That gun Rondog posted is enough to make me drool all over.
But I think that before you get it done, you might want to evaluate if you plan this to be primarily a display/investment gun, or if you want a workhorse. Once you decide how this gun will live its life, the answer should rapidly become clear.
 
If that old 1911 was as original as it looks like it was, re-finishing it certainly made it look better. And it trashed its value. If original before the re-finish, even if it was very worn, it lost half its value.

But....it isn't my gun and I am sure its owner is happier now than he was before he had it re-blued, and that is all that counts. And it IS damn fine looking......
 
I don't care for the "melted" look, at all. I don't see that as a "classic" finish or treatment at all.

YMMV
 
Urban_Redneck said:
I don't care for the "melted" look, at all. I don't see that as a "classic" finish or treatment at all.

YMMV
Click to expand...

I've seen those pics before, a beautiful piece and a fine polish job, but that gun isn't "melted", polished, yes, melted, no. The edges are barely broken. I've a polished blue Cark Meltdown Colt, similar finish, totally different look, not a corner left on it.

OP- I love my polished Colts, if you like the look and can afford the work, I say go for it. Just be sure to post pics for us to swoon over when it's done!
 
IIRC, the only difference between Colt's "Royal Blue" and the standard "Colt blue" was the higher metal polish of the former - the actual chemicals and process were otherwise the same.
 
Tark - that's not an old original M1911. It was a newly-made 01911 WWI Reproduction model, look at the WMK suffix of the serial number. I have one just like it, damn nice pistols from a limited run of 4500 (I think it was 4500), they only made a few in the Carbonia Blue finish replicating the originals. Then they changed production to the 01918 model with a blacker finish. Not sure if that model was limited production.

But the owner of the pistol in the photos bought it new, had it done up by Colt's Custom Shop, and I believe he sold it later on. Some feller on one of the 1911 forums I used to frequent. He posted the photos and I saved them because that's one beautiful gun!
 
I think down the road it's money wasted. With that said, if you want it done and can afford do it go ahead. It's not like you are butchering a classic or blowing a huge wad of cash.

You new Gold Cup is highly unlikely going to be a sought after collectors piece in our lifetime. Too many people are socking them away hoping to cash in. Personally, I would be shooting a late model Gold Cup as much as I could and be proud of the finish I was wearing off in the process.
 
That poor thing doesn't look a bit like a gun done in Colt Royal Blue in the old days. If Colt's custom shop did that work, I don't want them anywhere near any of my guns. With its rounded corners, dished holes, and wavy lines, it looks like a "lean on the wheel" product of a fifth rate gun shop.

Jim
 
"That poor thing"

I still tried to buy it from the guy the first time he posted those pics. For a minute I thought he was going to let me have it.

I love my WWI Repro, but wanted the shiny one too.

Heck, I've thought about sending 2 shooter-grade Pythons to Colt to make them look that shiny and wet. I won't do it, but I've thought about it.

John
 
I have always loved that look, but how much does it wear compared to a normal Blued finish? Can you holster it every day or once a week, before it shows wear?
I would imagine a leather holster lined with some soft material.
 
I don't like the Royal Blue finish. At least on the 1911s I've seen, it looks too shiny and show-off blingy.

My preference in a blue finish is for the old-school blue that Colt applied to their Commercial M1911s/A1s from the '20s & '30s.

FBCC-3-1.jpg
 
Last edited:
what a nice handgun!!!
emoticon-smile-big.png
 
Well, I got it back today........7 weeks to the day that I sent it off.

Looks okay, but I can't help but be a bit disappointed that it doesn't look near as good as the Colt in post#2.
 
wow6599 said:
Well, I got it back today........7 weeks to the day that I sent it off.

Looks okay, but I can't help but be a bit disappointed that it doesn't look near as good as the Colt in post#2.
Click to expand...
So, where are the pics?
 
Quote:
Yes, I do/would shoot them on occasion......a few mags a year.

Would you shoot it more, or would you shoot it less if you get it refinished? If it means that you take a functional gun and turn it into a piece of art that gets shot a couple times a year then... meh. I mean, I can appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship. That gun Rondog posted is enough to make me drool all over.
But I think that before you get it done, you might want to evaluate if you plan this to be primarily a display/investment gun, or if you want a workhorse. Once you decide how this gun will live its life, the answer should rapidly become clear.
Click to expand...

No reason it has to be one or the other. He can put his own honest wear on the gun and have memories when he looks at it.

Last August, I got a brand new, fresh from the Custom Shop Colt SAA. I got a real chuckle from the first page of the owner's manual, with it's warnings not to handle it much, much less actually shoot it. I promptly took it to the range to shoot it. It's a beautiful gun, but I couldn't care less about collector value. I bought it for MY enjoyment.

Safe queens....like saving your girlfriend for her next boyfriend.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

T
  • Locked
Royal Blue for 1911
Replies
13
Views
4K
rondog
R
T
  • Locked
1911 reblue, Colt Custom Shop or Ford's Guns?
Replies
15
Views
3K
ScratchnDent
S
P
  • Locked
WTK: Royal Blue 1911's
Replies
9
Views
2K
Gunslinger686
G
wow6599
  • Locked
  • Poll
Royal Blue Colt 1911 (pt 2)
2
Replies
35
Views
3K
wow6599
wow6599
3
  • Locked
Colt 1903 Mirror finish
2
Replies
39
Views
4K
Tallball
Tallball
Back
Top