Quote Originally Posted by ccdjg View Post
About 10 years ago I worked on a hot bluing recipe that would reproduce the pre-war 'blue' found on most pistols - especially Webleys- which is slightly greyer and bluer than the usual postwar deep ebony black. When I was happy with the result I reblued a straight grip Webley Mark 1, which had lost virtually all of its original finish, but amazingly had no pitting and still had crisp lettering. I then distressed it to match a similar Mark 1 which had all its original blue. Here are the two together. I did not keep a record of the serial numbers, and after ten years I genuinely do not know which is which. So although one can be critical about refinishing vintage guns, it does not always have to be aesthetically annoying.

Thanks John, that's excellent. But examining my reaction, I note that it only helps a little bit! It really matters that it's not original. I think it's knowing that the original finish has disappeared forever, and with the certainty that what you're looking a has a direct connection with the factory that made it. Never mind that the surface finish is just .000001% of the total mass!