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Refinishing / restoration

bigbossman
[?] I have an opportunity to pick up a military-spec Remington-Rand
1911 .45 at a good price. The gun is nice and tight,operationally
flawless but has one issue. Some DUMMY had this collector's item
refinished with a bright nickle coating which of course trashed
the collector value.

Questions:

1.Can this finish be removed and the gun readily restored to
original condition?
2.If so, is there anyone who is good at this type of restoration
for a reasonable price?
3.If it can not be restored, who would be a good person to
send it to so it can be be re-nickled? The finish has some
chipping as such el-cheapo coatings usually do.

Thanks for your help.

Fight Crime- Shoot Back!
Trashballs Prefer Defenseless Victims!!!!
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Comments

5 comments

Date Votes
  • ryan_marine
    Get in touch with Scott at rse on here. He has done wonders for me. If anyone can do this he can. He might not be the cheapest but in my opinion he is the best.

    Ray

    More Powder, More Lead, More Dead
    0
  • nmyers
    It can be refinished, but it can't be restored; that is, it can't be made "original". It can never be any thing other than a refinished "shooter".

    Value as it is now is about $300. But, if you want to spend $200 or so to have it stripped & reparked, you may end up with a nice looking refinished shooter worth about $500. It's your money.

    Neal
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  • Rafter-S
    Old Colts like you describe make great personal defence guns. They are low cost but still work as good as one in collector condition. I have a commercial 1911 that was made in the 1920's resting on the nightstand. It has less than 10% of the original finish--in other words, it looks like he[[. But it shoots as straight as I can aim and functions flawlessly. When I throw it in the truck when Mrs. Rafter and I travel, I never worry about putting a scratch on it.

    I sure would like to pick up another one like it (or the one you describe) for about $300. I would keep it in the toolbox on my tractor.

    My humble 2-cents worth,
    Rafter-S
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  • rhmc24
    I just bought an old dog of a 1911 for $150, no finish, poor bore, grips with most of the diamonds wore off, but in excellent functional condition. As for removing the nickel from yours, Brownell's sells a nickel removing kit for about $40, enough to remove nickel from several pistols. It is two chemicals you mix together with water and then put the gun parts in. Takes from a few hours to a couple days to remove the nickel depending on how thick, etc. It works well leaving a sort of gray bare iron finish ready to polish and refinish. Won't touch chrome. Hope this helps.
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  • bigbossman
    [:D][:D][:D][:D] Many thanks to one and all for your help !!!!

    Fight Crime- Shoot Back!
    Trashballs Prefer Defenseless Victims!!!!
    0

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