Old 1911 Help (Pictures)

beltfed

January 01, 2015 15:25

I picked up this old 1911 from a friend of mine. This is my question; I don't know what kind of finish is on the gun. To me it looks like Krylon (Paint) the serial number puts the gun in 1917. Serial number is 1537xx. So do I have the gun refinished? Do I have it parkerized or Blued? Or do I keep it a beater? I have another 1911 already without a lick of finish that also dates to 1917. I bough it from a yard sale buddy. His wife said they were in a garage at a yard sale (imagine that). He found it laying on a shelf in the garage and paid two dollars for it. Of course he didn't let me have it for that. So do I blue it or Parkerize it? The There is a place in Florida that does fantastic blueing or parkerizing. At the ejection port it's stamped on the barrel 45 Auto, the number 7731193, then between the 45 Auto and the long number is the number 36. The name of the place in Florida is Ford Custom Plating and Blueing. They have done both Parkerizing and blueing for me and their work is outstanding. They are not fast but the work is great. So what do you think I should do?

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  rufe-snow

  January 01, 2015 15:52

  I wouldn't put any money in it. Appears it was badly rusted in the past. Buffed/wire brushed? Than sprayed from a rattle can.
  
  Sand blast it and buff it, to blend in the pits/gouges as best you can. Than get the quality gun paint from Brownells, that you have to bake on. Black would probably be the best choice.

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  k.stanonik

  January 01, 2015 15:55

  Looks painted as you thought so collector value is gone.
  Have it re parked and shoot it.

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  charliemeyer007

  January 01, 2015 16:04

  Bead blast and then a deep blue hot salts bath for a nice satin finish, followed by years of shooting.

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  Bill DeShivs

  January 01, 2015 16:47

  The gun is a legit 1911. The first thing to do is tear it down and soak it in paint stripper. Then see what you have. The original finish was blue, not Parkerizing.

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  perry shooter

  January 01, 2015 16:55

  The number on the barrel is a contract # for that style replacement part. The gun is well worn and had a rough life. However it is still a useable 1911 most likely . I would also bead blast and Hot blue the pistol and then shoot it and have fun the grips are not original or military If the barrel was in great condition and was original it could have been worth $300.00 + and if grips were original Military they could have been worth $200.00 + or - as is I would think pistol worth $300.00 +

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  nmyers

  January 01, 2015 17:00

  Will a magnet stick to it? Looks like it may be a zinc movie prop.
  
  But, if it's a real gun.......yes, Ford has a reputation for great work. You might want to find someone local who just does "passable" work for this one. If you have to ship it to a gunsmith, you can only ship UPS or FedEx Next Day Air, which will run at least $80 each way.
  
  Another reason to find someone local is that he can examine the gun & tell you, before you get too far into the project, whether or not it can be saved. If there's too much damage internally, it may not be safe to shoot.
  
  Neal

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  cbyerly

  January 02, 2015 07:08

  Charlie nailed it.

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  Don McManus

  January 02, 2015 07:20

  The only potential problem with returning it to its original blued finish would be the amount of material that would have to be sanded/buffed off of it to get a good smooth blued finish. I have never been a fan of bluing over pits.
  
  A number of WW1 1911s were parkerized during arsenal rebuilds. Parkerizing may be a better option so as to better hide some of the flaws in the steel without having to grind half of it away.

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  Hawk Carse

  January 02, 2015 08:14

  The top of the slide looks like it was used to drive steel tent stakes and there are several areas where the stove enamel was apparently applied over rust pitting. A full restoration would be prohibitively expensive.
  
  I would have it Parkerized and make up stories about it being a WWII era refurb of a 1917 gun. The slide is later than the frame, which would support such a legend.
  
  That is, if Neal is not right and you are not joshing us with a dummy gun. Areas with the stove enamel worn off and not rusted are suspiciously like Zamak.

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  babun

  January 02, 2015 09:11

  Laying on a garage shelf and not a spot of rust?? $2 price tag??
  
  Sure looks like the pitting is like the kind
  aluminium , zinc, zimack gets.
  
  There are loads of replica 1911's out there.

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