CZguy said:
Sorry, it's physics. Colt's custom shop does excellent work, but you just can't replace metal that's been buffed off.
willypete said:
TIG welders everywhere disagree with you.
I suspect your comment was offered tongue-in-cheek... Almost any form of welding can add (or replace lost) metal. But the point was that a badly rusted gun frame's surface can't be made to look right once major damage is done. While metal can be added back to the frame, that large redone surface (for the gun in question) would then have to be machined to restore the desired flatness and, in turn, refinished. To make matters worse, areas like where the serial number and slide markings are almost buffed away, would have to be either be left alone, or redone -- either way, it wouldn't look right. The trademark Colt on the rear of the slide is almost buffed away. This is NOT normal wear.
It would also be very unlikely that the new added metal, when refinished, would match the older (original) metal, and you'd end up with a finish that look mottled or strange. You might even find it necessary to have the frame re-hardened, as welding would would probably disrupt anything previously done.
The best gun RESTORERS can and sometimes will do all of this, but then the owner would end up with a gun that cost him $thousands...
Unless you can show us pictures of a gun once badly rusted over a large area of it's frame that has been restored by TIG or other forms of welding, I think CZGuy's response is, practically speaking, valid.
A careful Duracoat job might cover much of the roughness -- but probably cover a lot of the important marks, like serial number, and rollmarks.