Navy Luger restoration

[Biloba]

I finally got a navy Luger in a trade. As expected, the condition is not so good, but everything seems matching and the interior condition is pretty nice. There is many putty filler spots, probably hiding worst pitting. I would usually leave it in original condition, but I think that one should be restored. No one in Canada seems to be able to restore it as it should. Will probably keep it as is until I find a restoration magician. What do you think?

 

[Dyspnea]

I would contact nick at Vulcan gun and see what he says he does exemplary work.

 

[Coyote Ugly]

I would leave it as is and remove the putty. It's only Original once.

It is what it is with the history, pitted or rusted, it tells a story.

Restoring and having to reblue will hurt the value.

The cost of restoring might be the law of diminishing returns. You may have more into it than what it is worth.

However, it may look nice restored too.

 

[tatou]

I second Dyspnea suggestion. Contact Nick at Vulcan Gun refinishing. He can fixe that.
But remember good work takes time and money
Look on YouTube for videos of his work.

 

[Biloba]

Thanks to all.
I sent a message to Nick.

 

[weimajack]

My opinion is DON'T TOUCH

 

[jbmauser]

I would not refinish that. It isn't nice looking but it's an original piece of history.

 

[Biloba]

That pitting was caused by bad storage with humidity in the holster in the last decades. Is it really part of the history?

 

[jbmauser]

That pitting was caused by bad storage with humidity in the holster in the last decades. Is it really part of the history?

Not really but I still think it would have way more collector value as is. A refinished milsurp has zero collector value to me unless it's an arsenal refinish and part of it's history. That's just my opinion though.

 

[can14]

Soak it in brake fluid for a while and see what it looks like

 

[Azard]

I wouldn’t refinish it, it will kill the value of you do. Navy Lugers are very rare in Canada as is!

 

[Biloba]

Very hard decision.....

 

[wolf19534]

I would contact nick at Vulcan gun and see what he says he does exemplary work.

Second that...I have had Nick do work for me before...as said by others ..."Exemplary work"

 

[Can-down]

What's it worth right now?

 

[Al Flipo]

Interesting thread, it would take many hours to restore this piece and the price of the restoration would probably exceed the value of the gun, and leaving it like this means you have a rusty piece of iron in your gun case, ready for a respectful burial at sea.

 

[Can-down]

That's funny Al, I was thinking a couple barnacles wouldn't look out of place....

 

[Levon12345]

Not sure what collector value is left for the people that are into that level of collecting. There's pristine examples out there for prices that collectors are willing to pay. This isn't ever going to be one of those guns again. So at this point it's a question of what you want to do with it. Can you live with it as is, shoot it and admire it? Or will the pits and rust annoy you at your core and you'll pay to have them filled in by a man that needs to make a living doing it? You know you're not going to get "your money's worth" if you were to turn around and sell it after being restored, but life isn't about nothing but money.

 

[sail32]

Keep it as is.

Upgrade when you can.

 

[bearhunter]

I would not refinish that. It isn't nice looking but it's an original piece of history.

It's already been messed with. No history to save there. It's only real value is that all of its parts are matching.

OP, no matter what you do to that pistol isn't going to do anything to enhance it's attractiveness from where it is now. No matter what, those pits aren't going to disappear without making some serious changes to profile, which IMHO would be even less appealing.

OP, if that pistol has a decent bore, shoot it and enjoy it. Shooting a collector piece isn't advised. Keep that pistol as a shooter and wait for a pretty one to come along for ###/aesthetic appeal

 

[Biloba]

If I make it restore, I will not changing the profile by removing metal. They can micro weld it to fill the pitting. They can also re engrave the markings.