We met in 3rd grade and were pretty tight until he passed away at age 47 late last year. He was stricken with severe MS, and was slightly better than bedridden for his last 2yrs.
Shortly before he was put in long term care, he had me gather all his firearms and store them at my house with explicit instructions that no one else was to be trusted with them.
He was single, no kids, and aside from a few distant relatives, no next of kin.
Anyhow, one of the pieces was a basic Springfield 1911 of mid 90s production. As a received it, it was in a state of him modding it, or at least had plans to refinish it.
It's missing the sights, and it appears he had removed the factory bluing, and had polished the slide and lower. Kind of a messy job, but he was deep into MS at the time, so no fault there. No clue what his intentions were in the end with it.
Functionality wise, it seems fine. No feeding or eje issues.
So, what I'd like to do is get it back complete again, with minimal mods, no desert tan finish, and no tactical nonsense.
Just refinshed with some decent sights. It won't be used in any role, basically just a rememberance of him.
I'm wondering about the finish. I'd like a basic, matte blueing. I have access to a sandblaster in my shop and was considering doing the blueing myself. Anyone think this is unwise? Any tips? I do NOT want a flawless finish as it has some charcter to it with minor dings and such from him carrying it in his truck for decades.
Shortly before he was put in long term care, he had me gather all his firearms and store them at my house with explicit instructions that no one else was to be trusted with them.
He was single, no kids, and aside from a few distant relatives, no next of kin.
Anyhow, one of the pieces was a basic Springfield 1911 of mid 90s production. As a received it, it was in a state of him modding it, or at least had plans to refinish it.
It's missing the sights, and it appears he had removed the factory bluing, and had polished the slide and lower. Kind of a messy job, but he was deep into MS at the time, so no fault there. No clue what his intentions were in the end with it.
Functionality wise, it seems fine. No feeding or eje issues.
So, what I'd like to do is get it back complete again, with minimal mods, no desert tan finish, and no tactical nonsense.
Just refinshed with some decent sights. It won't be used in any role, basically just a rememberance of him.
I'm wondering about the finish. I'd like a basic, matte blueing. I have access to a sandblaster in my shop and was considering doing the blueing myself. Anyone think this is unwise? Any tips? I do NOT want a flawless finish as it has some charcter to it with minor dings and such from him carrying it in his truck for decades.
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