So........tell me about refinishing.

[T. O'Heir]

"...destroy the resale value..." Applies to collector stuff and most milsurps, but not a Bersa Thunder or any Bersa. Or any commercial firearm be it a long gun or hand gun. The current condition matters too. Cheapshooter's Woodsman, for example, is already as bad as it can get cosmetically and isn't a collector piece. Refinishing it won't affect its value. Doing it to a vintage 1911 will.
Anyway, doing it requires a complete disassemble of the firearm. Mostly taking out all the springs and plugging the barrel. And cylinders on a revolver.
I'd think in terms on industrial hard chrome rather than any of the paint finishes. Or Cerakote that's literally thin ceramic. Industrial hard chrome lasts and polishes itself vs cracking or wearing off.
"...that Hi Power looks..." It's an FEG. Not that it matters.
"...kits for the Volkswagen Bug..." Kubelwagen/Thing. Be serious. snicker.

[Bill DeShivs]

I probably wouldn't buy a Bersa, but I damned sure wouldn't buy a refinished one. I'm sure most buyers feel this way.

[TunnelRat]

I probably wouldn't buy a Bersa, but I damned sure wouldn't buy a refinished one. I'm sure most buyers feel this way.

I guess? Not sure I'd really care assuming the refinish was done well.

[SonOfScubaDiver]

But Bill, I could do that chrome thing and bling it out to the max. If you bought it, you'd have the only one like it for miles and miles and miles around.

[Fishbed77]

I probably wouldn't buy a Bersa, but I damned sure wouldn't buy a refinished one. I'm sure most buyers feel this way.

I'm conflicted on this.

Case in point - I own a West German 1991-manufacture triple-serial SIG Sauer P226 that was an Israeli law enforcement pistol in its past life. I bought it cheap, and functionally it's perfect, but judging from it's looks, it has quite a few stories to tell. Like many folded-steel slide SIGs (which love to rust), there's pitting on it that will only get worse with time.

It's not a collector pistol by any means, and refinishing the slide with a modern finish like Cerakote will essentially stop any further deterioration.

It is truly worse to preserve the physical pistol itself over its history?

[TunnelRat]

IMO, no. I also point out to people that while firearms may have history, few are part of history. Even West German SIGs, which I adore, were at the time mass production pistols. They were tools to the people that used them. I don't think the people that used them would see it as sacrilege to refinish a tool to keep it operational.

[DPris]

On a Bersa, no buyer down the line will give a flying phooey if it's been refinished or not.
It's a Bersa.
Refinish would neither add nor detract from any re-sale value.

No historicity, no collector value, no classic appeal.
It's a Bersa.

If you want to gold-plate it & put ivory panels on it, go for it.
If you want to let it acquire the marks that regular carry inevitably create on a gun, leave it alone.

Entirely up to you on what you want to spend on it.
Whichever, don't let any subsequent sale down the road affect your decision.

It's a Bersa.
You'll never get much out of it, doesn't matter.
Denis

[otasan]

Both of my M1911A1s have been refinished in hard chrome. Great idea for durability.

[MountainMan83]

I know this is a little late to post...I know a guy in Pennsylvania that you can ship your parts to and he reblues them. He’s done a Winchester 1897 for me and it turned out beautiful! Pretty darn cheap and he does an excellent job. He does hot tank bluing...none of that bake on or cold bluing hogwash. If you’re interested www.blackcote.com :

[Bill DeShivs]

Perhaps all of you should read my original response again.
What I said was that refinishing his gun is not a good idea for several reasons.
I then explained that if he were to refinish it that rebluing and painting the gun were not good options, but if he were to refinish it, that upgraded finishes cost about the same as bluing and gun paint and made more sense.

[DPris]

I don't think doing ANYTHING to it makes much sense.
It's a Bersa.
Denis

[jhansman]

There's a fellow in AL that uses KG Gunkote on all sorts of guns. I am considering having the slide of my XD45 done; I know nothing about the product except the glowing reviews he gets and the website info:
http://www.kgcoatings.com/products/f...ctive-coatings

[Walt Sherrill]

Refinishing won't necessarily ruin the resale value of a gun, unless it's a collectible gun.

Refinishing may make help you sell a gun for more or a bit more quickly, but you'll almost NEVER recoup refinishing cost by getting a higher sale price. Refinishing is a lot like "action work" -- nice to have on a gun you're buying, but it may not be something you'll want to pay for.

There are times when refinishing makes sense, but it's often simply a matter of having a gun you really like but looks like crap; and you get it refinished so you can brag about it rather than hide it! People often do the same with their cars...

Here's a chart I pulled together some years ago about the various finishes, based on various magazine and gunsmithing articles. Higher scores say the finish is better.

I'm sure this can be updated, but it's generally still correct. Apparently, some of the spray-on/paint finishes depend as much on who does the work as the finish itself.

[arquebus357]

I recently purchased an old (1966) S&W model 15 which was down on it's luck. It had quite a bit of surface rust with light pitting. The rest if it was in very good shape. I refurbished it knowing full well that it would destroy any collector value. Fortunately, I'm not a gun collector.

Before with lovely patina


After..fairly presentable. Sadly, stripped of any collector value. Rust Blue


Opps Semi-Auto forum..... sorry.

How's this for a Rust Blued Semi-Auto

[DPris]

Again- with a Bersa, there is not now & never will be ANY collector value, so that's a total non-issue in consideration of refinishing one.
Denis

[Cheapshooter]

Sorry arguebus357, but I much prefer the character of the old Model 15.
Your abomination looks like the finish on an Armscor!
If you are going to destroy the character of a great old revolver, at least go for a fine, deep, high luster blue.

[arquebus357]

I completely understand your opinion but I don't consider this to be "character" .

[tsillik]

Don't know how collectable that pistol is, but don't all that rust and pitting kill the value of it, i think he done right by it. terry

[otasan]

When I gave my WWII surplus M1911A1 .45 ACP pistol to my old pastor, one of the first things he did was to get it reblued.

[Walt Sherrill]

What one person considers "character" another might consider a "character flaw."

Worn is one thing, abused and not-maintained is something quite different.

The refinished S&W above looks far better than one that's been Parkerized... and I've seen a few of those. It looks used, but not abused.

[otasan]

My old pastor still has my old .45. I pray that he will never need it for SD.

[shep854]

My EDC (S&W 49) has gotten some really nice shine on corners and edges. Since it got that way riding in its holster in my pocket, I consider it honest wear and character.
Overall, I like seeing wear on a gun; it indicates a useful tool.
OTOH, I have a CZ75 that is starting to chip; I'm considering Cerakote, since it seems to have the best balance of cost and durability. It HAS to be better than the cheap COMBLOC enamel, anyway.

[ccr]

Bersa is not a collectable gun but you can still have it look nice and be very durable without breaking the bank

[Tom-R2]

I found carrying my LC9 IWB caused rusting by the end of the day before I could wipe it down. I Cerakoted it myself (just the steel slide and barrel). It has shown a little wear in a homemade Kydex holster, but not much, and it's not as hard to take care of. I used Naval Jelly to strip the old bluing off of the slide, and made sure it was very clean first. I was surprised at how well it came out. I even took some old Lava Orange touchup paint I had left from an old 2005 Miata and highlighted the Ruger name on the side of the frame. It works and it shoots. It wasn't purchased for an investment, but for "life assurance" in the just-in-case.

[Glockgreat23]

I can't see refurbishing a Bersa when you can buy a new one for practically the same price, unless of course your current pistol holds some kind of decided familiarity for you