WWII P-38 bring back refinish

[10-Ring]

I recently inherited a P-38 that my wife's grandfather brought back from WWII. (Also have the documentation from the Army for the weapon) Unfortunately it appears that over the years someone tried to "restore" the gun which basically consisted of removing the bluing.  I know that it is generally frowned upon to refinish historical pieces. But... I have no plans to sell so I really don't care about decreasing value, and I would personally enjoy the gun more if it looked a bit more presentable. I'm torn on what to do with this. The gun is 100% heirloom/conversation piece and may see occasional range use (I've never fired it but the trigger is amazing). Would I be committing blasphemy if I had it professionally reblued?

[Whisper]

It's your gun.  Do what you want.  I know I've had some guns restored and have never regretted it.  If it loses value from refinishing, but you never plan to sell it, what do you care if its resale value is decreased after you're dead?  If you'd like it better refinished, go ahead and get it refinished, and enjoy it during the rest of your life.  You'll be focused on other things in the next life.

Cheers,

Whisper

[1gewehr]

At this point, it has no original finish anyway.  
If it was mine, I'd get it blued simply to help prevent further damage from rust.  The original finish was most likely a dull matte blue unless it was a very early gun.  Be careful to preserve the original markings.

[Grayfox54]

Ordinarily, I'd say no. But as it is a family heirloom and you do plan to keep it, sure go ahead. I suppose you can find somebody to just refinish the gun  locally. But be sure to check their other work before giving it to them. Many will polish the gun on rotary wheels and damage the markings. That's a sure value killer right there. 

 What you really need for that gun is a proper restoration. Some place like Ford's can make that gun look like when it was brand new. But it don't come cheap and could be a year or more to get it back. 

Then there's always the DIY option. Polish by hand and preserve all the markings. Its slow but you know you won't damage anything. I've had excellent results with a product called Blue Wonder.  But be sure to read and follow the directions exactly. 

Just had another thought. You could have the gun Ceracoated or even hydro-dipped in black. Cheap, but functional. 

 

Edited December 6 by Grayfox54

[Garufa]

1 hour ago, Grayfox54 said:

Just had another thought. You could have the gun Ceracoated or even hydro-dipped in black. Cheap, but functional. 

 

The thought of refinishing is bad enough but that is just nasty. Get your mind out of the gutter, lol.

Edited December 6 by Garufa

[Grayfox54]

Just trying to offer inexpensive but valid options. I wouldn't do it, but it is an option. 

[monkeylizard]

5 hours ago, Grayfox54 said:

You could have the gun Ceracoated or even hydro-dipped in black. Cheap, but functional. 

Why not just coat it in RhinoLiner at that point . . .

[22lr]

Do it. 

[Will]

Rule of thumb,never refinish an original finish but in this case go ahead it will not devalue it but add value. as above find a refinisher that will not remove markings although some small one may remove. Option#2 have it bright or dull nickeled. 

[Choatecav]

Personally, I like the way it looks already.  I'd leave it alone.  

[Gurn]

Is it eroded like that on both sides? I bought one years ago with similar erosion on one side. The other side was clean. It was in an original holster and the story was it was battle field pickup with blood on one side .  You know how stories go. As to your pistol do what you want but if it was me especially if the other side is similar I would just cold blue it. I wouldn’t do any polishing, erosion appears too deep and would certainly remove all the markings. Cold bluing isn’t permanent. That’s my 2c

[10-Ring]

1 hour ago, Gurn said:

Is it eroded like that on both sides? I bought one years ago with similar erosion on one side. The other side was clean. It was in an original holster and the story was it was battle field pickup with blood on one side .  You know how stories go. As to your pistol do what you want but if it was me especially if the other side is similar I would just cold blue it. I wouldn’t do any polishing, erosion appears too deep and would certainly remove all the markings. Cold bluing isn’t permanent. That’s my 2c

No, all of it is like that. I'm hoping to be able to get the story of who stripped it this weekend from some family. I'd say I could narrow down to 4 people. 2 are still alive, I suspect the culprit is not. You are correct on the markings. This is an ac45 gun. The ac45 markings are so light I'm scared to put OOOO steel wool on them. No doubt they would be lost upon rebluing. 

[gregintenn]

You aren't going to further hurt it's value by reblueing it. If it's worth it to you, go for it. Just realize whatever you spend on it will be money thrown away from a financial standpoint.

[Gurn]

This is my favorite stuff so far. https://www.ebay.com/itm/164355358110?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0&ssspo=uavAfZz2TeC&sssrc=4429486&ssuid=CsQiqgA9SsC&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY
Before I used this I used Van’s cold bluing and always had good results. 

[10-Ring]

After talking to my wife's uncles, they recall the gun always looking like this. I'm wondering if it may have always looked like this? For the time being I think I will clean it well and do nothing. 

 

In a side note. One of the uncles told me that he had his dad's rifle that he captured and brought back, but didn't have any paperwork for it. He said that it is duffle cut and that his dad took it from a German officer. I suspect the P-38 may have belonged to the same officer. He didn't have specifics on the rifle, but I'm hoping to learn more about it. 

[Choatecav]

23 hours ago, 10-Ring said:

After talking to my wife's uncles, they recall the gun always looking like this. I'm wondering if it may have always looked like this? For the time being I think I will clean it well and do nothing. 

 

In a side note. One of the uncles told me that he had his dad's rifle that he captured and brought back, but didn't have any paperwork for it. He said that it is duffle cut and that his dad took it from a German officer. I suspect the P-38 may have belonged to the same officer. He didn't have specifics on the rifle, but I'm hoping to learn more about it. 

Very wise...........