Picked Up A S&W Model 10-7 Today

Geezer

Geezer

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That's right, a Model 10-7 that was previously owned by Bubba. I was hoping to get a letter of authenticity but, I didn't get one. It seems that Bubba had an old 5 inch Model 10 and he didn't like the finish. Maybe Bubba had heard of the "frying pan finish" on some Glocks and wanted to duplicate it. Whatever the reason, Bubba applied several coats of spray paint or, my guess, one very heavy coat. I wasn't really concerned about the revolver, I had my eye on the grips. You can only imagine my disappointment when I got the gun home and discovered that the grips were not real ivory.

One thing about Bubba working on a gun, he cuts the value down the where it becomes a great deal for someone, such as I, that like to gamble and tinker. Mechanically, the revolver is just what you'd expect from an old Model 10. Smooth action and tight lock up, inside the chambers and bore are great. With it being a 5 inch gun, I expect it was an old police gun, no markings, though.

I'm going to take it apart and give it an acetone bath and see what lies under the paint. The grips look to have been in decent condition before the paint job. I'd like to be able to rescue the grips but I'm not sure how to remove the paint without destroying the wood. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Get ready to feast your eyes on my new Bubba Edition Model 10. Stand by and later I'll post some after pictures. I'm hoping for an improvement. OK, Here's the Before.

1071.jpg

1072.jpg
 
Kinda reminds me what a 12 year old would do with a toy gun. No matter what you do the results have gotta be better. Even if you Cerakote‘d it ODG/FDE/etc and put black Pachmayrs on it for a truck gun it’d be an improvement.
 
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Well, after an acetone bath and scrubbing with a stiff brush and some bronze wool, it doesn't look too bad. It had some wear near the muzzle and some freckling on the side plate but, not enough to get out a can of Krylon. It's nowhere near perfect but, to me, looks much better than it did. I put on a pair of period correct grips that did come off of an old police Model 10. They have a lot of wear but look right at home on this old gal.

Now, here's the After.

1073.jpg

1074.jpg
 
Geezer said:
Well, after an acetone bath and scrubbing with a stiff brush and some bronze wool, it doesn't look too bad. It had some wear near the muzzle and some freckling on the side plate but, not enough to get out a can of Krylon. It's nowhere near perfect but, to me, looks much better than it did. I put on a pair of period correct grips that did come off of an old police Model 10. They have a lot of wear but look right at home on this old gal.

Now, here's the After.

View attachment 437123

View attachment 437124
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Love it. The two sides almost look like 2 different guns. Maybe a nightstand gun?
 
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wvsig said:
Love it. The two sides almost look like 2 different guns. Maybe a nightstand gun?
Click to expand...
Most police guns were carried in a right hand holster. Therefore, the right side of the gun got beat and banged around a lot, rubbing against a seatbelt buckle did a lot of damage, too.
 
Geezer said:
Most police guns were carried in a right hand holster. Therefore, the right side of the gun got beat and banged around a lot, rubbing against a seatbelt buckle did a lot of damage, too.
Click to expand...
Grips especially … like that set you switched to. Maybe the whiteout will come off the ones that came with it but I gotta feeling you’re gonna need to restrain and seal ‘em afterwards.
 
Geezer said:
Most police guns were carried in a right hand holster. Therefore, the right side of the gun got beat and banged around a lot, rubbing against a seatbelt buckle did a lot of damage, too.
Click to expand...

Makes sense now that I am looking at it again.
 
fieldgrade said:
Who knew grips painted with white-out would look that good!
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NCFubar said:
Grips especially … like that set you switched to. Maybe the whiteout will come off the ones that came with it but I gotta feeling you’re gonna need to restrain and seal ‘em afterwards.
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Nope, not White Out, paint, lots and lots of paint.
 
That looks SO much better! It's hard to believe it's the same handgun.

And to think, someone actually thought "this walnut would look much better with white paint over it"
 
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Geezer said:
Nope, not White Out, paint, lots and lots of paint.
Click to expand...
I used to strip old furniture with 10 coats of five colors of paint from the inlaws many years ago. I think with warm water and powdered TCP detergent.
 
Geezer said:
Well, after an acetone bath and scrubbing with a stiff brush and some bronze wool, it doesn't look too bad. It had some wear near the muzzle and some freckling on the side plate but, not enough to get out a can of Krylon. It's nowhere near perfect but, to me, looks much better than it did. I put on a pair of period correct grips that did come off of an old police Model 10. They have a lot of wear but look right at home on this old gal.

Now, here's the After.

View attachment 437123

View attachment 437124
Click to expand...
Your gamble paid off much better than mine.
 
Try a citrus based paint stripper on the grips.

Screenshot 2022-02-13 at 02-14-05 Citristrip QCSG801 Paint Varnish Stripping Gel, 1 Quart, Red...png
 
Paint stripper is yet another commodity the EPA has saved us from .

Nothing works now (including in my experience, Citristrip)
 
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