Custom Colt 1911 experience?

[kiki231]

Hello folks. I spoke this week with Gary at Wanstalls who was very helpful. My goal was to source a hi-gloss blued 1911 (royal blue). I wasn't hung up on particular brands, since i currently own a plain old Springfield now (1911), and previously owned a colt gov't. Both work(ed) fine. Gary suggested i could order from the custom shop from one of the manufacturers, if i was willing to wait -- and i mean wait! 20 months or more from Remington, and a year from Colt.
I am patient, so i could do that.
I wanted to know if anyone has used the custom shops for the 1911, and what their experience was (good, bad, ugly,.....pretty). Also -- what the cost was.
thanks all!

 

[aragorn1]

Something like this usually requires a down payment......... isn't Colt sitting on the edge of the abyss......

 

[jackrabbit000]

Colt Custom Shop- I hate to say it but, you're looking at way more than a year.

 

[madcow]

Blued gold cup?

 

[jackrabbit000]

You can get a new blued Gold Cup National Match but it's not the Colt Royal Blue. To send one to the Custom Shop will take 2.5-3 years.

 

[kiki231]

Actually i am looking for a highly polished blue. 1 year is acceptable to me, 2 years, not so much, especially with a company that is in creditor protection. Perhaps a canadian custom 1911 builder is the better option.

 

[can14]

Sometimes the custom gunsmith in the US have highly polished blue on the shelf. Since you may want to
custom the pistol for what you are going to use it for,this is a good option sometimes. I had a browning high
done by pachmayer in California back in the day, when the use to do them. Took a year, and one new browning
high power. I sent him the high power because I had it.It was worth the wait,but it was not cheap to do it. Mr
Pachmayer did it himself, so it has history.

 

[misanthropist]

You're definitely not going to get it done in a year. I think two years is optimistic at CCS right now.

 

[jackrabbit000]

Guys on the 1911 Forum that had stuff done at the CCS say it takes about 1.5-2 years to get their gun back. So...being in Canada, it's going to take a lot longer than that.

 

[live4therut]

Call colt and ask, they would give you a far better answer then any speculation here. I've talked talked to a few different departments at colt, all were helpful and and almost dead on with timelines for the services I had done.

 

[enefgee]

The important thing with any gun finish is the state of the surface underneath - for a bright, strong shiny finish, the steel has to be polished before application, most finishes are bead blasted prior to bluing, that's why they look dull. Colt Royal Blue contains a specific form of cyanide (yes, cyanide) to cause the colour you see, is it the colour, or the shine you're looking for?