All of Ford's work I have seen is Numbah 1.

 

I voted Glenrock because I had sent them several jobs with excellent results. I'm not trying to knock Fords I just have no experience with their work.

 

Glenrock

 

No experience with Glenrock, but Ford's did a GCNM for me and knocked it out of the park.

 

No experience with Ford's, but when I had a BBQ 1911 built for my retirement gift a few years ago, the smith highly recommended Glenrock. I'm pretty comfortable that he was correct. Superb work.

 

Do either of them deepen rollmarks or lettering if necessary (for additional fee, I would expect)?

 

That is a separate art that is hard to find. It has to be done by hand under magnification, using various kinds of chisel-like tools to 'chase' the original marks. Its rare to find somebody who will take the time and trouble to learn to do it. Done right, its hard to tell from the original. Done poorly, its a disaster.

 

Contact APW Cogan they do excellent work and they can re cut roll marks. Their a few shops that do great rebluing ,but are not well known . The good shops will charge for the good work.

 

Bunker Arms

 

+1911 for Bunker Arms, but I'm partial to him because he does all my work. He does great restoration work and bluing is flawless.

I was going to recommend Brandan, but he was not one of your choices. He can get the roll marks corrected and do a super bluing job.

 

+1911 for Bunker Arms, but I'm partial to him because he does all my work. He does great restoration work and bluing is flawless.

 

For what it's worth.......

Several people in the last year on the Colt forum sent Pythons in to Ford's for their mirror blue and had bad experiences.
A few years ago Ford's had a really great rep for top quality work, especially a top quality "wet look" Python blue, then apparently they hired someone new and the level of workmanship collapsed.

One person posted pictures of a refresh job of the Colt pony on the side plate that was so horribly done it looked like someone used a laser by hand to do it.
It totally ruined the gun beyond recovery.

Other people posted pictures of just plain rotten polish jobs including rounded off edges, dished out holes, and ripples in flats.
These looked like the work of some local Billy Bob with a soft buff and a ham hand.
Whether this was a brief anomaly or they're quality crash is permanent is unknown.
Right now on the Colt forum Ford's is NOT recommended until further notice.

Glenrock has had a top reputation in the industry for many years.
I've never heard of them turning out a substandard job.

APW/Cogan has a top reputation for hard chrome and does great bluing, but don't offer a mirror polish.
Arguably, Cogan is the best all around gun refinisher of them all.

Another top source for fine bluing work and refreshing markings is Doug Turnbull. They apparently no longer work on Pythons, but do exceptional work on automatics.

http://www.apwcogan.com/

http://www.turnbullmfg.com/

Also, you might consider sending it in to the Colt factory.
They offer top of the line work and it counts as a factory job.
Turnaround may be slower, but the work is great.

 

APW/Cogan has a top reputation for hard chrome and does great bluing, but don't offer a mirror polish.

...Doug Turnbull. They apparently no longer work on Pythons, but do exceptional work on automatics.

I read where Cogan said that nobody there but him and one other guy did high polish and they just didn't have the time for it.

If Turnbull cannot be bothered with Pythons, I am taking that as a sign to consider cleaning mine up and cashing them in.

 

Another vote for brandan bunker, bunker arms. His bluing is truly exceptional.

 

I have had Fords do a couple of guns for me. Here is a 1911A1 that was built for me by the late great George Madore and finished by Ford's:



This is (or was, as this was done several years ago) their "Master Blue" finish. The controls are in "Black Nickel", which they had discontinued.

One caution I have about Ford's bluing is that it really isn't blue: It's black. Granted, I think it's a very pretty black, but I don't see any blue in the color at all.

I wish you the very best of luck in your Colt restoration.

 

Go on take the money and run......

 

I think Bunker Arms and Turnbull might be over the pricing limits. Check out their price lists for bright finishes.

 

True, but you get what you pay for. Something to consider......

 

The pistol to be worked on was a stock gun from 1911.....don't think those came with a high polish finish?

 

Polishing is not for the inexperienced, neither is bluing. Those two areas are not somewhere I'd consider "saving a buck". I learned the hard way. Never ever will anybody blue a gun for me unless it is brandan bunker (or yost on one of his builds).

 

Save up the money & send it to Turnbull. You said he wants to restore it! Otherwise it will just be a refinished pistol.

When I was at Colt, there were many 1911's that passed through my hands that were redirected by my referal to Turnbull.

Your two choices provided are refinishers vs a restoration shop. If they were honest as I was with my customers (I know my level of expectation) they would have referred you. Our work was nice but not to the same level as original (abrasives,wheels & technique) & would leave you with a shiny old gun.

True restorations should have the experts scratching their heads & leave them in doubt.