S&W .357 Magnum

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nitrosport

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Hello

Yesterday, I was given a S&W.357 Magnum. Model: 19-4 Here is a pic:

24dkm10.jpg

Can anyone tell me the age of this revolver? I also noticed it has alot of little spots on the barrel. Is there anything that will remove them without damaging the finish? They look like they are tiny rust spots that are just forming. The person I got it from had it for 7 or 8 year and never touched it so it has just been sitting.
 
Very fine steel wool soaked in oil and gently rubbed on the freckling might remove it.+
 
Thanks for the info. I will pick up some steel wool tomorrow and try to clean the freckling off the gun.
 
You might first try removing them by rubbing them with a pencil lead then the eraser. Sometimes this works and you have less chance of damaging the bluing. If not. as stated above. Oil and real fine steel wool.
 
One more question, the bluing on the top of the barel is damaged and some is missing. I have been reading about Art's Belgium Blue and blue wonder and I'm considering using some to repair the area. Have any of you used these before? Would you say they work and produce a factory finish?
 
No, they won't.

No cold blue will match S&W's factory finish.

Belgian Blue involves a boiling & rusting process repeated several times, and for sure will not work to touch up spots.

rc
 
For the actual age of the gun call S&W and give them the serial number and they will tell you over the phone the year it was made. Take the target grips off and look on the bottom of the grip frame for the serial number. The folks at S&W are eager to help with this kind of stuff. I have called them on all of my S&Ws and added the info to my inventory list. I was surprised to find that some were made 2 - 4 years before they were purchased new.
 
Hold that steel wool. If it is rust take a solid copper penny and rub the spots. The copper is softer than steel but harder than rust. I have used this method for years with great sucess.
 
Art's Belgium Blue and blue wonder and I'm considering using some to repair the area. Have any of you used these before? Would you say they work and produce a factory finish?

Art's Belgian Blue is made from Herter's old fornula. As RC says it is a boiling and rusting process. I did an old 1911 back in the 1970s with the Herter's Belgian Bluing. It came out great but it is BLUE not like the black finish on S&Ws of the late 70s early 80s. If you try to redo areas on a gun it will look like hell. The whole gun would look pretty but that takes a lot of prep including removing the old finish (almost all of which was gone on the 1911 I did).
 
I would leave the missing bluing alone and just remove the rust so it doesn't pit the Steel.

If you must touch it up you can use Oxpho-Blue. It works very well for touch-ups and entire barrels too. You can buy it online from Brownells and Cablea's has it at their stores. BUT, I would just leave it as is and keep the gun oiled to prevent any further damage. (except for removing any rust of course)
 
+1 for ArchAngelCD's advice.

My only change is that I would use BreakFree CLP or Mil Pro 7 instead of oil as a finish protectant. I have a fair number of old/older guns and some with pin-prick or larger blue loss. Here in the (wet) PNW gun oil or 3-in-1 oil rubbed on does not keep the rust at bay.

So who "gave" you the gun? Sounds like there might be a nice story here. Nice that it has the original grips. They work well with taming stout magnum loads. They feel "too big" at first but with experience you realize they are sized that way for a reason - give them a try instead of replacing them if you were so inclined.
 
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I suggested oil but I should have said Rem-Oil because Remington Gun Oil has Teflon in it. Nothing wrong with BreakFree or Mil-Pro 7 either...
 
Cold blue may be suitable for very small areas but is really not a good solution. Art's Belgian blue is not a touch up blue. It is meant for doing a complete job. The color of the finish depends on what steel you are working with, the number of times you apply the product and most important your preparation. I have done a few older S&W with it and I get a semi gloss black finish that is very durable. The same tone of black with less gloss than the original Smith finish.

For removing rust freckles the best results I have had is with EEZOX and fine steel wool. Let the EEZOX set for 24 hrs then very, very light work with the steel wool.

Personally I would just kill the rust with EEZOX and keep it treated with EEZOX and shoot the poop out of it.
 
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