Answer

We tell our customers that if a gun with collector value is refinished it detracts from the value and you have a shooter only. WITH that being said you can refinish it to original condition but to do it will/would cost more than the gun is worth even after it is restored. My advice if the gun is to be used at all and not just a collector’s piece, leave it as is and enjoy the patina look. If the refinish job isn’t done 100% right the gun will look bad and be obvious that it has been redone. Hopefully others will log on here and give their two cents worth.

Answer:

You can have the gun restored back to its original finish and it won’t detract from it value. With that said, whoever you get to refinish the gun has to be able to do the job exactly how it was done by the manufacturer or like Ken said, you will have about half of what the gun was worth before the mistake was made.

There are numerous books on this subject available, but one that you can most likely find at the local library is “Gun Collectors Digest” by Joseph J. Schroeder Jr. It will give details on how the manufacturer finished the gun in the beginning which is the only acceptable way to have it refinished if you want to keep the guns value.

Some guns that are refinished correctly will add as much as 50% to the value depending on how bad the gun is to begin with, but on average, you can expect only about 20-25% increase. This has to be taken into consideration when you are contemplating the job. Find out what the gun’s value is by either getting a copy of the book of “Firearms, the Collectors Price and Reference Guide” or the various other gun value books or you can carry it to someone that appraises gun values. The local Pawn shop will usually have someone that can appraise fairly close as well.

Then contact a list of folks that do restore jobs on firearms and I am not referring to local gunsmiths here. Get on the net and do a search on Antique restorers of collectable guns. Ask them about a restore on your gun and find out what they will be doing as well as the cost and compare this to the value your gun is worth now and add 25% to the gun and see if you will gain very much compared to what you have invested already and the additional cost of the restore. If you will gain enough value to justify the expense of the restore and you feel comfortable with the man you want to do the job, then by all means go for it. Just make sure that he has several references that you can talk to and make sure that he has insurance just in case he messes the gun up.

Hope this helps you out with the decision. Ken is basically correct in what he tells his customers because it usually won’t help much in the value of the gun due to the costs of a really good restore job, but there are a few exceptions to every rule. Most collectors don’t mind a ding or two or the patina that old guns will develop. I know a few that only buy safe queens, but most know what they are looking at when they see a collectable gun to begin with.