Refinish Candidates?

They will probably make good shooters, but both would need some serious effort to make them look near original again.

It's amazing what Colt can do in the way of restoration. They took a Python which had been nickeled, and restored it to its original Royal Blue. While it will never be a true collector, it's one of my favorite guns.

Restoration by Colt will run to $400+, and that includes laser-cutting roll marks, if they need to be redone. If grips have to be restored/refurbished, that will run another $75 +/-. It depends on how much you want to sink into a shooter-grade gun.

My 4" blue shooter is in worse shape than either of those two and I have no intention of defacing with a refinish.The current high bidder on the first has sold some questionable Pythons on GB.If he gets it look for it to turn up NIB by summer.JMO D*

Either of those things deserves to have the livin' daylights shot outa it.
What is the big deal about tryin' to polish a turd.
They are Pythons, and will act and shoot like one.
You want a shiny new one? Go buy a shiny new one. Bring your checkbook. That is, if you can find a shiny new one.
You want to shoot a python? Well there ya go.

Load, shoot, repeat. Load, shoot, repeat.

I shoot all my guns - no safe queens for me. And all my guns are 95% plus. Just because you drive a car, doesn't mean you want to drive a beater (and if you can get a good deal on one and can fix her up, why not?). So, my thinking is, if you can buy a beater Python for $1000 an spend $400 on refinishing to get a guns that looks new, wouldn't that make more economical sense than buying a 95-98% Python for $1800-$2500? Really, the question is can the referenced guns (or guns in similar poor condition) be refinished to look like new? If not, then the concept simply does not work...

I'd send it to Colt and have them do their magic on it. Part of a Python being a Python is the Royal Blue finish. There is just nothing else like it. A factory refinish may not help the purest collect-ability of the piece, but it sure helps the sell-ability when and if the time comes.