.... that is in ROUGH shape. Took a couple hammer drills that I wasn't using out to my old boss for him to use for awhile, and he gave me this pistol in return.

Serial number indicates 1968 manufacture. 4" barrel.

Nickel finish that is in bad shape. Pitted in spots, worn completely off in others.

Ugly looking black plastic grips.

I have no idea what I'm looking at on revolvers, but the action seems pretty worn. The cylinder has some freeplay front/back and side/side. Trigger feels decent, and has an audible click about halfway through the travel.

I plan to call Colt on Monday to see what they could do (if they still work on these guns), and if they would refinish it. Thought I would get the temperature here to see if anyone else has had experience with a similar situation.

I haven't done a ton of research, but initially it seems this gun may be too far gone to sink a pile of money into and have sit in the safe. I love the feel of it, and have always wanted a 4" .357.

Would it be sacreligeous to get it tuned up, slab some Hogue grips on it, and just shoot it? Or is it worth the investment to have it refinished and spend who knows how many hours trying to track down a set of original grips?

ETA: Gratuitus pics - the finish looks better in the pics than in person. Go figure...

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Give Colt a call, they probably can do something about it.

in that shape, send it to Colt. +12 months later, you will have something that is pretty...

It has to be pretty bad before Colt can't restore it.

Costy and will take most of a year but you'll get back a like new Python.

for nickle that is a nice piece congrats

If it were me, I'd be shooting it some for the fun of it.  While marinating on what to exactly do with it.  But you're right, in the pictures it doesn't look bad at all.  I think I can see about like 2 small spots on the cylinder that look worn, but otherwise I can't see anything wrong with other than it looks like it needs a good wipe down.

I may put a few rounds through it while doing more research. It really feels good in the hand, well balanced.

I need to figure out how to care for a nickel finish, too - never had one before. It's all smudged up in the pics from me pawing at it all afternoon yesterday.

If you look in front of the cylinder in the left side pic, you can see the worst of the pitting and discoloration. The rest of the imperfections aren't as bad as that area, and actually add some character.

I guess more than anything I'm leaning toward sending it to Colt for a thorough once-over. I don't know enough about revolvers to understand what I should be looking at from a safety perspective, and don't want to do any damage that isn't already done.

the actions can go out of time with a lot of heavy loads...

the nickel finishes do take a bit of attention. Be very careful - some solvents will strip the nickel plating off as will some metal polishes.

I have the same gun - I use Rennwax and a soft cloth.

Thanks for the heads-up.

Wouldn't want to part with a set of those grips, would ya? Looks like you have a set to spare....

lol

the factory grips are silly priced now...

I have a set of K. Nills for the python you can have for $50.00

I have heard but not confirmed that Colt will re-work and re-finish guns for a cost of around $300 with a year turn around time. I have a King Cobra that I was thinking about having re-done. Those Pythons though are sweet guns! Once you start collecting the snake guns it becomes an addiction just like building and hoarding ARs.

Problem with refinishing back to Colt Purdy is you will not want to shoot it or even handle it. Might mess up the finish.

bad news... see attached for the latest turn around times...

after seeing some of the disasters that occurred with other re-finishers, probably worth it... even so, you will be altering the original state of your gun... the re-finishing process will include polishing that will round edges and make roll marks less distinct... purists will be butthurt about this...

but if the gun's finish is like the OP's or worse, go for it. the full tune up combined with the refinish will make it into a shooter that will draw the accolades at the range... while you are at it, get the origination letter and hold on to all the documentation... a colt refinish is the best for future value...

I called Colt yesterday and spoke with a gentleman regarding a tune-up and refinishing.

I ship them the firearm, and they do a 'free evaluation' to determine the extent of work required.

He told me that as long as major parts were within spec, the tune-up was included in the quoted refinishing cost: $475 + $30 return shipping for nickel.

When I asked about turn-around time, he told me that it should be about six months from the time the order was placed, which would be after the evaluation and payment had been made.

Sounds a little optimistic based on the times that have been noted in this thread thus far...

I'm moving in a couple weeks, so I will probably work on finding a better set of grips and perform a good clean-up in the mean time. I don't wan't to confuse matters with the gun getting shipped back to wrong address at some unknown future date

I say leave the character and just enjoy.  But that's probably the easy way out.  

Given what nice Pythons are going for these days, especially nickel finish, a factory tune-up and refinish would give a good return on investment in the long run. Clean it up, shoot it lots and when you get done settling in after the move send it in and see what they say.

I would get a bottle of Flitz polish and a stack of soft rags before you do any refinishing. I had a nickel revolver that I thought was in need of a refinish, however, after a good polishing and clean-up it was as good as new.

read the label on the flitz tube and be careful... it is an abrasive polish not recommended for electroplated surfaces... i have seen more than a few old guns with finishes ruined through aggressive polishing