We work mostly on Colt revolvers and C&R handguns, and we pride ourselves in only doing the kind of work we know we can do well. We never experiment on the customer’s dollar, so we don’t take on work that we are not confident we can complete to the customer’s full satisfaction.
NOTE: DUE TO OUR CURRENT WORK LOAD, WE CANNOT TAKE ON ANY GUN RESTORATIONS RIGHT NOW!
Colt “snake gun” grip restoration.
This includes stripping the original finish, sanding out blemishes, repairing worn retaining pin holes, restoring worn checkering, replacing medallions and applying a factory correct finish.
The sanding is done with the grips mounted to a gun frame, to ensure that the panels fit and line up correctly.
Gun polishing
We pride ourselves in providing entirely factory correct polishing of Colt’s stainless revolvers. This includes a complete disassembly of the entire gun, ultrasonic cleaning, polishing to a mirror shine, re-applying the blasted finish on the top strap and the correct “machine finish” on the cylinder face and muzzle. We can also provide new sights, grips and other parts for an entirely “factory fresh” appearance.
We can also polish nickel plated guns to restore the original high sheen. The result of this depends entirely on the condition of the gun, but it will normally enhance the appearance of any plated gun. This includes a complete disassembly, ultrasonic cleaning, polishing to a mirror shine and wax to protect it.
Nickel plating
Our nickel plating is not just a “buff and plate”. Just like when we polish stainless guns, we make sure to reapply all the different factory finishes such as sand blasting and machine marks. We also take great care in preserving the factory stamps and roll marks, which are easily damaged or obliterated by heavy-handed polishing.
Our nickel plating it’s more of a restoration process than just a refinish, so we can’t compete with the pricing you’ll get from larger nickel plating companies,. However, we can beat their quality and provide a much more factory like appearance.
Parkerizing
We can restore Parkerized handguns such as the military 1911s to a factory new appearance, using either the grey zinc or black manganese processes.
Parkerizing is also a popular way of enhancing worn guns when a re-bluing is not economically justifiable. The dull finish will make minor imperfections such as dings, scratches and rust pits much less noticeable, so it’s an inexpensive way to rejuvenate an old gun without breaking the bank.
The “before” and “after” pictures below show a Colt 1903 that was refinished with minimal surface prep. The pictures and the review were sent to us by the customer:
“Thank you for the excellent cleaning and Parkerization of my 1918 Type III Colt 1903 pistol, Olof. After re-installing my Altamont-manufactured, WWII-style grips on it, my pistol now looks and feels like it is the newly-made re-issue of this classic pistol by U.S. Armament, and not a 102 year old well-used pistol! I am very pleased with the result, and I’m also glad I followed your suggestions for how to best refinish it, including the parts-bluing you recommended. I could not ask for better service! Mike A., Fall City, WA”
Rust bluing
Rust bluing is the lustrous, semi-gloss finish that you find on classic firearms like Lugers and Mauser “Broomhandles”. It was the common way to finish guns until it was replaced with the quicker hot caustic bluing process in the 1930s.
It is a very labor intensive method, but the end result is quite different than the modern hot bluing and it’s still used by many high end gun manufacturers.
