S & W revolver, change finish or not?

[badvibes]

I recently found a no dash 686 4" with an early serial #. Starts with AAHxxxx. It's a polished finish, not high polished but polished. She's sister to my no dash 6" 686 with the not polished finish, I'd call it matte but I'm not sure that's what S & W calls it. My question is if I have the polished finish changed to a matte finish am I ruining the gun or the value of the gun? At this point the 4" will get more trigger time. I can shoot it as is but would prefer a duller finish. S & W does a "glass bead finish" they say is not a matte finish, anyone have experience with that? Looking for more information before I make a change or just shoot it the way it came. Thanks.

 

[GRIZ22]

Your gun. Not a collector's item as far as I can see. Refinish any way you like.

 

[Pat Riot]

I agree with @GRIZ22

To get the polished Smith to match the factory “brushed” finish many people use Scotchbrite pads. Some say use the gray pad, others the maroon pads. I heard that S&W will refinish a stainless gun to original appearance.

Anyway I did a search:

duplicating s&w original stainless finish at DuckDuckGo

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duckduckgo.com

I have read that S&W has made some polished stainless guns, but I have no idea what models and dashes they may have been.
The first item in this search discusses a model 64 that left S&W polished. I suppose, if you wanted to know if your guns finish is a factory polish you could contact S&W.

did s&w ever make polished stainless guns at DuckDuckGo

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I have a stainless model 63 that I have gone back and forth on regarding what I would like to do with the finish. To me S&Ws normal factory finish just wasn’t good enough. It looks “unfinished” to me. But then after a while I decided to leave it alone. I sometimes carry it with me when fishing. It’s not a show piece. It’s a “working” gun, I guess.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

I disagree that pre-lock 686s have no collector cache. I regularly see them commanding prices as high or higher than new Plus models. Personally, I like the factory mid-polish finish.
So, I vote for leaving it original.

 

[DS-10-SPEED]

I bought a used 617 that had a scratch on the side plate, after fixing the scratch I couldn't quite get it to match the original finish, so I just polished it some. I found out it's a lot easier to clean with a polished surface.

 

[trackskippy]

The problem with S&W's, and most other polished SS finishes is, that they are fragile and easily damaged, scratched and beat up, and get ugly looking pretty quick when they do.

If it were me, if it's the least bit beat up, Id have it bead blasted to a matte finish. It will still look good and its more easily touched up if need be. SS guns will always be somewhat fragile though.

While this is an auto, it had the typical Colt SS finish they had. Bright, mirror polished flats with a matte finish on the edges/radiused parts. I got it from someone at work who was going through a divorce for dirt cheap. It wasn't treated well and ugly as sin and the mirrored flats were all scratched to hell. My buddy and I were doing a lot of parkerizing at the time and I stripped the gun and bead blasted it in the blast cabinet. Came out pretty good, and is more the look I prefer with SS guns.

I have a S&W 625 that had a pretty big scratch across the flat just under the cylinder. Screwdriver slip. I used the grey Scotchbrite pads and got it completely out, and you cant tell it was ever there. It is a solution that works pretty well with the matte guns if things arent too bad.

Not the best pick, but you'll get the idea. The scratch was from the screw just under the grip up towards the rear of the cylinder and just short of it.

 

[Styx]

IMHO, changing the original finish on a blued prelock Smith revolver will hurt its collectors value, but, IMHO, changing the finish on a stainless Smith, not so much.

I agree with @NIGHTLORD40K that the OP's prelock is a collectable. As long as the finish isn't painted or has nitrited, it shouldn't matter.

@badvibes Whether you beedblast, brush, or mirror polish your revolver, you can easily change the finish back to the standard factory finish at a whim. That said, it's your revolver. Do what makes you most happy.

 

[badvibes]

Thanks Gents for the responses. Gives more to chew on before making a decision. The gun came with a Hogue rubber grip. My first step will be to change that for some wood factory grips. Then go shoot it and see how much the polish bothers me or not under fire. At this point I'm leaning more to changing the finish.

 

[doubleh]

It belongs to you so do whatever you wish to it. No big deal that I can see. Personally I would leave it as is.

 

[mcb]

The finish you seek is carbon, carbon from lots and lots of shooting.


If you shoot it enough the finish won't matter since it will be hidden matter under all that lovely filth.

 

[P5 Guy]

Glass bead blasting leaves a nice satin finish.
If I was refinishing a stainless-steel gun that is the way I'd go.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Thanks Gents for the responses. Gives more to chew on before making a decision. The gun came with a Hogue rubber grip. My first step will be to change that for some wood factory grips. Then go shoot it and see how much the polish bothers me or not under fire. At this point I'm leaning more to changing the finish.

Also, keep in mind, "stainless" is really "rust-resistant" and the higher the polish, the more resistant. Matte-stainless finishes develop rust spotting fairly easily, and polishing it off results in unevenly shiny areas.
Something to consider, maybe.

 

[CraigC]

I'd do what I wanted with it and not worry about what some collector 'may' think about it in the future.

 

[Riomouse911]

This is what a bead-blasted 4” 686+ looks like:



I refinished it years ago after the original finish got scratched up in a duty holster.

It is a bit of a pain to clean when I shoot a bunch of lead-lube bullets through it, but it doesn’t show scratches or wear as much.

Its your 686 to do with what you want to.

Stay safe.

 

[The Kingfish]

I love the look of a bead blasted frame and barrel combined with a highly polished cylinder. Gemini customs uses that combo all the time. Looks awesome.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Gang, really like the looks of the bead blast finish, but not all of us have a blast cabinet for touch ups.
I touch up the brushed finish on S&Ws with a Scotchbrite pad (red or green), and it's easy to redo as needed.
Now, all that said:
-Guy at our club has a M66 Smith that I assumed it was a nickled 19...nope, it was beautifully polished stainless. It's not certain if it is a factory finish, or done since. It's not as nice as Colt's bright stainless, but it's still very nice.
-I have a long suffering, much loved M640. I've owned it twice (traded it,a hunting buddy bought it, came back to me from his daughter). Over the years, I've polished it, carried it, polished it more...it's reached the point where it looks like nickel, though it doesn't have the slight yellow cast.
-Just picked up a 60-3, and did the Scotchbrite touchup on one spot that must have rubbed on a holster fastening.

Love stainless; it's just so easy to keep looking respectable. Not as pretty as nice bluing or nickel, but it's just painless to use. The M60 first came out in 1965; it was probably 5 years before a mere mortal could get one. Lotsa folks like stainless.
Moon

 

[halfmoonclip]

The finish you seek is carbon, carbon from lots and lots of shooting.

View attachment 1194814
If you shoot it enough the finish won't matter since it will be hidden matter under all that lovely filth.

Is that high carbon steel?
Moon

 

[cfullgraf]

It is the OP’s gun so it is his choice.

I tend to not want to change the finish on my guns. I correct some “wear” issues and I have one ore two revolvers I’d like to re-blue.

I used to own a Cessna 172. I got the big idea a polish propeller would look great. It took a lot of time and difficult to maintain.