[jabones]

I'm a newbie and just picked up my second King Cobra its a 1988 blue 4" model in really great condition, but no box. I have seen King Cobras that state they have royal blue, or some other "special" blue. Did colt use several different blue colors? If so what is the difference? And how can I tell what blue I have?
Thanks

 

[dfariswheel]

Colt only used Royal Blue on Pythons and as a special order on other guns.
Some limited production Colt's sometimes had Royal Blue.
You can have most any blued Colt refinished with Royal Blue.

The Colt Trooper Mark III through King Cobra just had a brighter polish blue job than the older Colt models, but it wasn't Royal Blue.
The later Colt's blue was the standard Colt blue of the day. It was more a blue-black then the more blue color of older models.

 

[jabones]

Thanks I have the standard as it is a blue-black.

 

[dfariswheel]

Note that the later Pythons also had a blacker blue then older Pythons. At some point Colt changed their bluing formula.
Royal Blue is a matter of the level of polish, not color. All Colt's went through the same bluing chemicals.

The Mark III through King Cobra had a more polished blue then the older Colt's, but not the deep "wet look" of the Royal Blue Python.
When Colt introduced the Trooper Mark III, they started doing more polishing to give the guns a brighter blue finish then the pre-1969 models.
However, the blued King Cobra had a blue job that makes any of todays guns look bad by comparison.

 

[doc540]

recent Colt Custom Shop refin in "Royal Blue"

 

[mafd2]

Here is my K.C. It has a nice, deep blue finish on it. Blued finishes varied through the years and even though Colt had some of the best polishers in the industry, some polishers went the extra that gave the "Royal" looking finish. My Trooper MKV from 1985 unfired with it's original mirror bright finish has a deeper, wetter looking finish than my 1978 Python.