A question about finish or the lack thereof...

[tsellati]

I am looking at a 1943 Remington Rand M1911A1 in the context of a trade offer and have a question about the pistol's finish.

My question is, where did all the finish go :eek: ?

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/remrandb.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/remrandc.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/remrande.jpg

Is this just a really worn finish or does it appear the pistol was buffed or bead-blasted in preparation for refinishing?

Supposedly, the pistol was purchased six years ago from the grandson of the WWII who brought it home. Serial number is correct for a Remington Rand and given it is only about 40,000 units prior to the start of production in 1945 (sn #2031600) it was probably made in the last two or three months of '44.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

Tim

[Johnny Peppers]

Looks like it was taken off with emery cloth or some other similar abrasive. Bubba is alive and well.

[tsellati]

Looks like it was taken off with emery cloth or some other similar abrasive. Bubba is alive and well.

If it turns out to have correct original matching parts I wonder whether it would be worth having a correct parkerized finish applied and using it as a shooter. What are your thoughts and if you would suggest a refinish, how much does it typically cost and where can someone get it done (and done right!)?

Thanks for the advice.

Tim

[Johnny Peppers]

I would definitely have the pistol refinished. I am not familiar with anyone that does a good job of applying an original type phosphate finish, but maybe someone else on the forum can help.

[TJH3781]

Try http://gunblue.homestead.com/.

[tsellati]

Try http://gunblue.homestead.com/.

If I go the route of taking the pistol in trade plus cash I will definitely give this company a try. It looks like they could do a decent job of reparkerizing the pistol to a WWII like finish.

Thanks

Tim

[1saxman]

I would do it. Nothing to lose there. Perhaps others can help with more precise data/pictures, but RRs sometimes had very dark small parts. Not exactly black, but darker than the frame and slide. The barrel is also not phosphated but blued over a mill finish (not polished or blasted). The magazine should be the same as the barrel. Essentially only the frame and slide are gray/green with everything else being darker. That's the way my original 2,145xxx is. Notice how dark the pins, trigger, hammer, grip safety and mag catch are, and you can also see a little of the barrel in this pic (I need to take better pics of it).
http://www.huntingpictures.net/photo/003342