Need help with finish

[ColtRules]

Hello yall, I have an old Colt 1930s Commercial Model 1911A1 with the Polica Federal Stamp on the right side of the slide. The gun was in terrible shape and was obviously refinished a number of times so I have desided to refinish it again.

My options are to keep it a Polica Federal and have those words reengraved (since they were so faded and partially buffed out) Or I can have those words removed and the Argentine stamp welded over the slide heat treated which will take away the original two tone look, but will make it harder and a better shooter.

So I can keep it an Argentine or make it a straight 1933 Colt Commercial model refinished and ready to be a good shooter.


I have already buffed off the finish so I am now at the crossroads I mentioned above.

I have a coupkle technical questions though for any experts:

1: What kind of finish did the original Argentines have? Was it high polish like the standard Commercial models or no?

What kind of blueing was used on the 1933 Colt Commercial model? Was it a gas blueing or a Charcoal or hot salt or what?

If anyone here does this kind of work I am happy to send the pistol out. Otherwise, I could use some help with the details.

Thanks and God bless yall.

[rhmc24]

I can only respond to the general blueing question - but with quite a bit of experience. I have restored several far-gone Colt 1902 & 1905 Autos. Used several finishers after I prepped and polished the gun to have refinished with letterings replaced. My only complete satisfaction was with Turnbulls. Cost is around $500 for re-marking and charcoal blue. Their hot salts blue about a hundred less. I am about to send them a piece for hot-salts blue only that will be about $150 - no more expensive than many others. Below is one of my before & after Turnbull charcoal & re-letter jobs.

[ColtRules]

Thanks. I am definetly considering sending it to Turnbull but I need to know exactly what kind of finish was on the old 1933 A1 Commercial Model. Was it more of a Carbonia, a Charcoal or a regular salt blue?

Also, now that the paint is stripped on the fame, and considering this pistol has been reblued before, I am having trouble keeping the sharp edges- and now I actually need to sharpen the edges a little, especially around the trigger guard A1 cuts. If anyone here works with metal,restoration and can offer me any advice on restoring the sharp edges to the metal, that would certainly be of use to this fist timer!

Thanks!

[rhmc24]

You might talk with Turnbulls and ask about the finish. Restoration is their business and they will know what it originally had.

As for restoration of sharp lines, it would take a long tutorial to do justice the the subject. That said, with the quite a bit of experience I have with it, I need to do it better than I can do keeping flats flat and edges sharp. Around automatic trigger guards I use the Foredom flex cable tool setup and a variety of hard stones, roll abrasives and rubber wheels. A Dremel outfit might do it but I have no experience with it. One of the constant issues is keeping the cut/polish bobs sharp and flat to be able to get into the angles. I sometimes re-surface them on my bench grinder.

Flat surfaces are a subject. I do a 1500 or better grit finish, depending on what/who the final blue is to be.

It would be time, effort and money well spent to work up some skill and experience on a junker or two before attacking a good gun job. In the end, experience and skill will prove to be the most important ingredient in a restoration job.

[ColtRules]

Thanks for info. But I still dont know how to restablish the sharp edges, nor exactly which blue finish was on my 33 A1 C. I will talk to Turnbull again this week I suppose, but if anyone else can help it would still be much appreciated.

[Oyeboten]

Accessible 'flat' areas, to keep them dead flat, one uses a method called 'Draw Filing'.

With Draw Filing, a new, sharp, clean, fine toothed File is moved sideways across the Metal, instead of being used in the usual forward and pull back way.

Draw Filing leaves a surface which is also very smooth...and needs very little further attention.

There might be some 'Google Videos' about it, dunno, have not checked...

For smaller items, one can also use a piece of 3/8ths or 1/2 Inch Plate Glass, on which one places a sheet of Silicon Carbide abrasive Paper, and, it will stay on the Glass nicely with just a little Water.

Using Soapy Water on the Abrasive Paper, one then presses the item onto it and pushes the item in order to reduce or flatten it's surface...making sure one does so without rocking the item, of course.

[ColtRules]

Oyeboten,

Thanks for the insight. I will check it out.

[ColtRules]

Here are some pictures of about where I am at with the frame.


DSCF2355 (2).jpg DSCF2360 (2).jpg DSCF2361 (2).jpg

[dfariswheel]

In the book "A History of the Colt Revolver From 1836 To 1940" by Haven and Belden, the authors were given a tour of the Colt plant in the late 1930's.
They described the Colt bluing process as having the parts cleaned in hot gasoline!!!!! at 150 degrees, wiped with a solution of alcohol and whiting, (a super fine polishing compound) then put into steel drums with a secret mixture of charred bone and "primer" and other ingredients, then put in temperature controlled ovens at 500 degrees and up to 650 degrees in stages for 6 hours.
The guns came out with the deep per-war blue color.

Turnbull's offer a modern version of this process.

[rhmc24]

Here's one of my Turnbull jobs on a Colt automatic: