Finish, original or refurbished?

[tsellati]

Hope this is not too naive a question, but, here goes anyway. I came across a 1943 Remington Rand 1911A1 that has that "rode hard and put away wet" look.
What I am trying to figure out is whether this pistol retains its original finish and simply looks the worse for wear due to the surface pitting or was it refinished at some point in its life? Part of the reason I ask is the markings are pretty sharp and don't appear "filled in" as one might expect with a refinished pistol.

Here are some pics and you decide -

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0082.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0083.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0084.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0085.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0086.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0104.jpg

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0102.jpg

Thanks for the opinions.

Tim

P.S. - By the way, the pistol appears to be correctly marked and has a blued barrel (see below).

http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p248/tsellati/IMG_0106.jpg

[bgiven]

Refinished for sure, and the slide and frame are not original to each other.

[tsellati]

Refinished for sure, and the slide and frame are not original to each other.

Ooooh, if true, that last bit is a trade-breaker for me. How can you tell the slide and frame are not original to one another? Is it the pairing of the serial number/style and the Remington Rand logo?

Tim

[bgiven]

Type I frame which was originaly Du-Lite finished, and a Type III slide which would have been parkerized originally. Yes, the original Type I slide would have had the 'NEW YORK' large logo, but now the finish seems to match on mis-matched parts.....????

If you can pass, that would be your best move.

[Johnny Peppers]

The frame would have originally had a slide with this logo.

http://i42.tinypic.com/2i7s0ib.jpg

[Scott Gahimer]

The Blanchard grind marks on the slide of Tim's pistol also tell us that slide is from 1945, and was originally on a Remington Rand with a serial number of about 1,999xxx or higher.

The Blanchard grinding machines left the large semi-circular grinding pattern on the slides. The pattern of the grinding goes "up" on the one side, and "down" on the other.

I know that doesn't sound important, but I have seen faked Blanchard grind markings. A fellow brought a pistol to my table at a show a year or so back to look at. The diameter of the grinding pattern wasn't quite right, and the pattern was on each side of the slide the same way. It too was refinished, but he was stuck with the piece, having recently purchased it.

Here is an original piatol about 200 numbers away from the OP's pistol.
http://i43.tinypic.com/iogrxx.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2h3y2ow.jpg

[tsellati]

I know that doesn't sound important...

Scott,

Wow, not only is it important as you point out how this is a means of dating a slide, but, to a newcomer such as myself I also think it is fascinating. What boggles my naive mind is that some unscrupulous individuals would go to the trouble to try faking such an esoteric aspect of the M1911A1 slide manufacturing process.

The present owner acknowledged that the pistol was refinished and was not suggesting the pistol was correct (he did not know one way or another). He is someone I have had excellent dealings with in the past and he said up front this is his "shooter" M1911A1.

Thanks for the education.

Tim

[tonka]

If you can have it for "shooter" money, go for it. Trouble with the old pistols is, and this has been pointed out countless times on this forum, you never know what round is the one that will damage the gun. I'd probably pass on this one.