Smith model 28 barrel rust pitted.. Refinish gun? Cut barrel? Leave as-is?

[elano]

I posted a thread in 2010 but it has since been archived.

To the point, I paid about $330 for this smith model 28 about 5 years ago. The blemished barrel bothers me some. I believe it sat too long in a leather holster. The inside riffling of the barrel is just fine, only the outside has rust. Anyway I would like to do something to fix it but something that will increase the value not loose money. The affected area is the last 2" of the barrel. I've considered having the whole gun re-blued for about $250, having the barrel cut down, or maybe finding someone who can fix it. A gun store salesman told me not to do anything because he thinks it's worth more as is. That sounds strange to me. Anyway what do yall think? Here are pics.

 

[Rio Laxas]

I'd leave it as is. If it bothers you to the point where you have to do something about it, sell it or look for a replacement barrel. It looks like a fine shooter in its current condition.

 

[Drail]

That's an older pinned and recessed Model - and it's worth serious money. I would have it refinished if it were mine. It's a real shame it was damaged like that. S&W could remove the barrel and reblue it like original.

 

[CajunBass]

if it bothered me, and it probably would, I'd just sell it and look for another one.

Actually I'd look for another one, get it, then I'd sell that one. That way I'm not out of one.

That would probably cost less than the other options.

 

[tightgroup tiger]

Looking at the turn line on the cylinder that gun doesn't have more than a couple hundred rounds ran through it.

I don't know what I would do. I'd probable just keep it for deer hunting. It should be a good shooter. That pitting is pretty deep to try to have refinished.

I guess I have no good advise for you.

 

[tallpaul]

while a model 28 has gone up in street value they are nothing crazy... yet. However refinishing a gun usually hurts its "collector" value. Most 28's are not collector grade.

When I was young I sold a couple smiths that I "dinged" and regret it. As shooters they were still fine. I can understand it bugging you. If it is one of a few you own vs many it might be harder to ignore.

If she shoots good it would be pretty hard top make the choice. You could do what many of us have done and let it have a few brothers and sisters... model 28's seem to be acquired in multiples... especially if one keeps them on the radar.

Seriously if it bothers you sell it and find a replacement not necessarily in that order refinishing will not add value. Cutting the barrel will mean refinishing. Unless you can find a replacement barrel reasonable.

Its really a shame as another posted she looks great other than that and not likely used much... for a n frame

 

[walnut1704]

There's really only one thing you can do to fix that issue that will increase it's value. Re-blueing may make it look a little better, but the pits will still be there.

The absolute best option would be to find a used barrel of the same vintage and length that hopefully will match the finish. Going to a shorter barrel won't help. If a collector checks with the factory they'll know it was re-barreled.

https://www.gunpartscorp.com/Products/325730.htm

 

[Waveski]

Check Ford's of Crystal River Fl. Pitting may be too deep to be "erased" by refinishing.

Cutting the barrel is out of the question. Either a) Keep and shoot , b) Buy a cleaner specimen to preserve and shoot the bejeebers out of the pitted one , or - as previously mentioned - c) Keep the pitted model while finding and buying a clean one , then sell the pitted.

Given the degree to which it is bothering you I'd go with b) or c). 5 years of a) has not satisfied you. And I can't blame you for that.

 

[bannockburn]

If it were mine I would continue to use it while looking for a suitable replacement barrel. If nothing turned up, and the gun was was a decent shooter, I would probably have it refinished; most likely hard chrome plated by Ron Mahovsky at Metalife.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Anyway I would like to do something to fix it but something that will increase the value not loose money.

Howdy

Can I interest you in a bridge in Brooklyn?

Cutting the barrel down will make the gun worth less, not more, plus you will have to pay a gunsmith to do the cutting and reattach the front sight.

Rebluing may not get rid of the pits. The first step before rebluing is to remove the original blue and polish the metal. Polishing the barrel enough to completely get rid of the pits usually results in a poor polish job that can be spotted a mile away. Then after rebluing you have a gun that has been poorly reblued and will not command top dollar.

For collectors, refinishing a gun ALWAYS lowers the value of the gun, unless the gun was in really, really bad condition. This one is no that bad, so refinishing will only lower the value. It's just like old coins. Polishing them so they shine again always lowers their value.

You might call up S&W and see if they will refit a new barrel for you. I doubt they are still doing that kind of work, and if they do it will cost you an arm and a leg.

Frankly, it doesn't look very bad to me. I have lots of shooters that have a bit of pitting. To get rid of the rust, get some 0000 steel wool, or better yet, bronze wool that you can get from Brownells. Using very light oil, gently polish the rust away. If you are careful and very gentle you can get rid of the rust without damaging the blue. Then oil the barrel to prevent rust from forming again.

 

[bluetopper]

I would either sell it or keep it as is. To me it would depend on if I wanted to look at it or shoot it.
The choice is yours.

 

[tallpaul]

Cutting the barrel is out of the question.

Thats ignorant... it has been done and is still done often at custom shops. Nothing "wrong" with it for a shooter.

 

[tallpaul]

Lettering a gun is not usually done before hand. And a smith model 28 is not going to warrant that anyhow. Unless this is not a 28-2 there is no real collector value to it anyhow.

 

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

Even though it is not collectible, everything I said still holds true. If the reblue is done poorly, any informed buyer will spot it and will not pay top dollar.

The OP says he has $330 invested in the gun and does not want to lose any money on it. Any of the options he mentioned will cost money. It is doubtful that after paying for the improvements he will be able to recoup his money.

It's like an old car. If you have just repaired some damage to restore it to good condition, it is unlikely you will get all your money back.

 

[243winxb]

Shoot and enjoy as is. If looking at the front sight, like you should be while shooting, you will never see the
rust.

 

[DPris]

S&W doesn't have any new barrels left for that gun.

The pitting as it exists affects collector value.

I have a couple older Smiths that were re-finished by the factory before I bought 'em.
I knew that at the time.

The guns both looked factory new, or possibly better.
Both were in pretty bad shape before they were sent in by my dealer, one had been dinged up as a seized evidence gun later sold off by a PD after a court process had run on it. The other was a pre-27 that came in from an old rancher who'd put a lotta wear on the outside, but very little on the inside.

This is controversial.

I would not normally refinish a collectible gun, but the case of the pitting you show, IF I intended to keep & use that gun, I'd look very hard at returning it to the factory.
At the very least I'd contact them with close & clear photos & ask if they thought they could clean up the depth of the corrosion.

It'd be well worth the money to me, to have that model in restored condition, as a working gun.
I wouldn't view it as an investment.
I'll frequently alter or tweak a working gun to meet my preferences, with the full understanding that it is NOT an investment & I'll never get my money back.

I have an unfired 28 because I wanted an unfired 28, but as an example of a classic, not as a buy-low now resell-high later deal.
That one will not be touched as far as any tweaking goes.

A used sample of a classic with such annoying cosmetics bought to shoot, I either wouldn't hesitate to "fix", or pass on buying it in the first place.

Honest bluing wear I find just adds character.
Rust & pitting's an entirely different matter.

It all depends on what you want your gun to be & do for you.
Denis

 

[Jim Watson]

An excellent original gun is worth more than a reblued gun which is worth more than a rusty gun. (Unless a real rarity for which the old Shotgun News description of "5% original blue in protected locations" is a positive recommendation.)

The cost of the reblue will be more than the difference in resale value but the improvement in appearance may be worth it to you. Sounds like it is.

 

[CraigC]

You have a lot of viable options. Many have been offered here, some have not. If S&W would polish it like a model 27, I would send it to them. They do a great job and it's usually affordable.

If not, the pitting can probably be removed by a talented polisher. I know a guy.

It would make a fantastic base gun for a custom. The cylinder could be rechambered and the barrel rebored to something more interesting like the .38-40, .41Mag, .44Spl, .45Colt or .45ACP. The barrel could be trimmed back to 5" or replaced with one that could. Weigand makes a great front sight just for S&W's that would look great. Have the work done by a nationally recognized gunsmith and you won't lose any money if you decide to sell it later.

 

[silicosys4]

That's not a collectors gun, and with the amount of M28's out there, it never will be. That is a shooter. Shoot it, and learn to live with the cosmetics.
Or sell it and put the money towards something in better shape to begin with.

Honestly, that's not bad though, it just puts the gun outside the collectors radar....which would be fine by me, I have a lot of shooters and just a few "safe queens"

 

[Drail]

The pits are not deep enough to be "unremovable" by a factory re-finish and restamping of the lettering. You would be surprised what they can do.

 

[BSA1]

If you shorten the barrel the roll marks will not long be centered on it. For a shooter grade gun this will not matter.

Used barrels run $150 - $200 plus having a gunsmith install it. Selecting the right gunsmith is important to make sure he has the right tools to avoid damaging the frame when removing the old barrel.

Going with just replacing the barrel I would say will run $250.00 - $300.00. If the barrel is in nice enough condition you can forego refinishing.

Having the existing barrel cut back which will also require installing a front sight along with rebluing you are probably looking at $600.00 +/-.

Cost wise it is foolish to spend this much money on the gun. For $950.00 ($350.00 plus $600.00 parts and gunsmith) you can buy a very nice Model 27 which does has collector interest. The finish is made to a much higher standard with checking on top of the frame and higher grade of polishing before being blued.

 

[evan price]

You can buy nice 28-2s for $600-$700 still. Find one with substandard or replacement grips for less $$ and swap your nice ones over.
Or find a good used barrel. Chopping the barrel just for finish issues won't get you anything but a short and obviously chopped barrel. As a collector that gun isn't one. As a shooter you have a $450-$500 gun. Me? I would put some cold blue on the exposed metal and shoot the &%*#$ out of it as is.

 

[elano]

Fantastic replies!! Thank you all!!!! I guess I will just keep this one AS-IS unless one day it becomes worth it to spend $ on. Maybe I will check back in another 5-6 years

I have no interest in collectable guns, just like to pull them out for routine fondling and busting up cans or testing my reloads.

This might sound silly, but on other guns I've done some light touching up with a permenant sharpe marker. I've never used cold blue, but for just the sake of lessening an eye sore and non-permenant, I might give it a try!

Again thanks for the thoughtful replies yall!!!

 

[Waveski]

tallpaul quoted me as follows:

"Cutting the barrel is out of the question."

Paul : "Thats ignorant... it has been done and is still done often at custom shops. Nothing "wrong" with it for a shooter."

Ignorant? Cutting a barrel to eliminate external pitting accomplishes what , exactly?

Spending good money to shorten a sight radius on a shooter makes no sense at all. Spend money to devalue a revolver? It would only make sense if concealment was a priority , which is not the case here. Better to take that gunsmith money , combine it with the proceeds of selling the pitted revolver , and buy a gun with a better finish.

 

[Master Blaster]

It looks like the rust has been removed. You can get a bottle of brownells oxpho blue and follow the directions to make the light spots less noticeable in the affected area. Then keep the gun and shoot it.