Should I refinish Commander?

[adoptedson]

Hey guys and gals, got a few 1911 ?'s.

So I finally got my first 1911. I was thrilled when my Dad surprised me at Christmas by wrapping up his Colt Combat Commander and handed it down to me. It was a gift to him from his Dad. It's from 1972, all original, satin nickel, with original box and papers. I'd say overall it's in good condition(not great, but good). I guess-timate about 200-300 rnds or so have been through it. It's basically been laying in a holster in his night stand for the last 40 years. It's only come out of the drawer when he would let me shoot it on occasion when I was growing up. Unfortunately it has lacked a bit of tender loving care as you can tell by the pics.

I've been going back and forth about how much work I want to put into this pistol. Being that it's all original with box and paperwork I've had thoughts of just leaving it as is and tucking it away. But I don't have any safe queens, and I don't plan on starting a collection of them now. I want to shoot the snot out of this one. But obviously it's something that I will never let go of because of it's history.

I know it's not a highly collectible/valuable piece, but am I crazy for wanting to start changing stuff out since it is all original?? I don't know if I want to dump a ton of money into it either(especially since I don't have a ton of money).

Here's the changes I've been pondering and would love some input on.

-Refinish. This is my biggest issue. I like pretty pistols, and this one isn't the prettiest to be honest. It's nickel though and I would like to keep it nickel. Thought about sending it in for a factory refinish, but Colt isn't accepting any custom work at the moment due to demand. Any local guys that do any nickel work that would do it justice? And is it a pricey affair to have the nickel refinished? I'm not exactly sure what the marks on the slide are. I don't think it's rust but I may be wrong. The dots in the pics actually correspond with the stitching in the holster that it's been in. I've tried scrubbing gently with some CLP but it didn't really make a difference. There's an idiot scratch as well that I'd like to get rid of.
And if I add a stainless beaver tail or aluminum trigger can those be finished in nickel?

-I think it needs a new extractor. I've put about 100 rnds through it in the last week or so, and it has a tendency to eject casings at or over my head. Or is this an ejector issue? I wouldn't think the extractor would be worn out with the relatively low round count, but it is old.

-Grip safety doesn't bite, but it does dig into my hand like crazy. The edges are sharp. It's not a good mix with my fat hands and high grip. And I do love the look of the extended beaver tails. I was thinking of going with a wilson combat drop in beaver tail.

-Planning on changing out all the springs.

-Sights. The staked front sight is a little wobbly. I don't mind the GI sights, but I would hate like heck for that front sight to come flying off at the range some day. I like the look of novak style sights (at least for the rear) don't know if I want to go as far as night sights, but I'm not even sure what all of my options are here.

-Trigger work. I'd at least like a long solid trigger. Don't know if I want to spend the money on an actual trigger job yet. Will a new trigger just drop in or will it require a decent amount of fitting? The trigger pull isn't as light as I'd like it to be at the moment, but I can deal with it. Maybe it needs to be broken it yet? I don't know.

-Probably going to replace the grips and grip screws too.

I'd love some input on these changes from you 1911 gurus around here. I'm just not sure how far I want to go with this(or how much I want to spend). Thanks!

[crbutler]

It's your gun, and you are not going to sell it; so as far as I can tell what is an issue with changing it from factory is no big deal- it just would reduce resale if you did so, so no issue there.

A 70's vintage fired/used gun is not a collectors piece. Don't worry about that.

It looks like it might say lightweight commander- if it is, verify whether or not it is an aluminum frame. If so, it will likely not handle a lot of full house loads. If it is aluminum, you may be better off not doing much to it and shooting it sparingly. That is more collectable, and in any case was intended as a carry gun more than a plinker.

I don't know who would do nickel finish locally, but all of the plating type finishes are expensive set ups, and probably sent out. I would either live with the finish, as it makes no difference functionally, or have the Colt factory redo it when they again are able. If you are going to have it done, prep work is all the difference for quality of outcome. I would not use some untried source. Aluminum triggers don't get refinished, and if you are going to finish the grip safety, use the same type of metal (not stainless). I believe that you would have issues with the finish using stainless with plating, or so my gunsmiths have told me.

For the drop in pieces, you will have the originals, so it would just be a matter of swapping them back in- go for those.

Your extraction issues sound more ejector than anything else, but I am not sure if I would try changing things on my own if its working now. Brass over your head is better than jamming. Fitting an extractor is kind of an art more than a science. You won't hurt yourself fitting an extractor, so it may just mean you have lots of range trips to get it right. If you put an extended ejector in, that can hit a primer, so if you don't know what you are doing with that, don't mess with it- have a gunsmith do it. In any case, you may find that the new springs solve the problem.

As to the trigger, if all you want is a drop in long trigger, that will not be too difficult. If you want a light trigger, get someone who really knows them- a bigger competition smith- locally Paul Grundhauser would be a choice- but don't have some local home 'smith diddle around with fire control parts. The trigger bow (inside the gun) may need some minor fitting, but they are essentially drop in. Find the company that makes the one you want to buy and ask them specifically. You will need to detail strip the gun to change this, so if you don't feel up to that, its a pretty cheap gunsmith fix that any qualified smith could handle- you don't need an expert for that.

A new staked sight will not be hard for anyone with a bit of skill and the right tools to change. If you want a dovetailed one, that will be money. You will need one the same height or else you will have a different point of aim.

Family hand-me-downs are the best type of gun to me. Looks like you got a nice piece of family history regardless of what all you do.

[adoptedson]

Thanks crbutler. It's a Combat Commander. Pretty positive it's steel from what I gather on the interwebs.

I'd like to have it refinished if it's reasonably priced. Only cause I want it to be pretty. I like pretty:).

Will be leaving front sight staked, don't want any milling for a dovetail up front. If i do get new sights its just cause I want something higher than the GI sights. Maybe 3 dot, I don't know yet.

Thanks for the input! Got a lot to think about.

[adoptedson]

Another question about the finish.

If i wanted it finished in something other than nickel, is that possible? Like if I wanted to blued or even cerakoted? Does the nickel have to be stripped or just bead blasted?

[FJ540]

Check it with a magnet if you're unsure by weight.

I agree, you should make it into what you want to use. It'll still be your grandpa/dad's gun, but maybe they didn't like the safety either and that's why it never got used more. Heck, tell him your plans and maybe he'll chip in some of the cost?

[infidel]

Shoot it. Every scratch or blemish was put there by you or your dad. Buy a new one and make it a safe queen if you want something nice or something to modify. One hundred years from now, your great grandkid will appreciate the wear.

[rugersol]

My Dad left me the same exact pistol! ... was my first! (he died 20yr ago)

Over the years, I F'd with it ... some fer the better ... some, not!

I've found the electroless nickel to be purdy durable! ... kinda surprised to see those spots, on yer's?!

If ya can find someone who's got a good reputation refinishing Colt 1911's, I wouldn't hesitate to get 'er re-done!

[Ramoel]

I bought a new Combat Commander back in 1983. It hasn't been carried very often but has been handled and shot quite a bit since new. The finish has held up very well. I've heard that they can be blasted with soft media and clean up well. Depends on what those spots are though. If it's corrosion from being holstered for years it may have already eaten through the finish. While the price of these has gone up with inflation, they are not collector pieces. If you do refinish it shouldn't hurt the value and might even increase it if done well. The Colt factory will refinish guns but I don't know if they will only do blue or can do the satin too.

[Rip Van Winkle]

Shoot it. Every scratch or blemish was put there by you or your dad. Buy a new one and make it a safe queen if you want something nice or something to modify. One hundred years from now, your great grandkid will appreciate the wear.

I agree.

[tman]

The Colt factory will refinish guns but I don't know if they will only do blue or can do the satin too.

20.JPG

Maybe you could call Colt and ask them what they recommend if one wants to try restore the finish.

[adoptedson]

Thanks for the input guys! I'm leaning towards setting this thing up for how I'd like it to be. Then shooting the snot out of it.

Still unsure what to do about the finish. Colt's custom shop page says they're not accepting work at the moment due to high demand. I might still try to contact them to see what they recommend. Actually considering cerakote as well since that can be done locally. Maybe hot pink or neon green, or both in a camo pattern.... Checking out the Grundhauser website too. Looks like they do nice work too. Who knows how this thing will end up. I'll post some pics as the project progresses.

Thanks again guys.

[adoptedson]

rugersol, That's pretty awesome you have the same hand-me-down! Got any pics of yours with the work you've done to it?

Ramoel, I wish the finish on mine, looked as good as yours. That's a beautiful piece you got there.

FJ540, I can confirm that it's steel. It passed the magnet check. Thanks.

[rugersol]

rugersol, That's pretty awesome you have the same hand-me-down! Got any pics of yours with the work you've done to it?

... it's seen better days!

But, it's got a decent trigger, and I can shoot 1,000rd in one setting, with no ill effects!

I normally don't mind the stock wood grips... but fer some reason, I jest really like this Hogue on this pistol!

Be sure to return the favor, now... once ya get yers cleaned up!

[45Badger]

Check out Tripp research to see if they are still doing hard chrome. You can get a nice satin finish that will last almost forever. Ceracoating and other park-n-paint finishes are nice, but not as durable as a quality hard chrome.

Suggest you shoot the snot out of it for a while before you start "fixing" it. You can get great sights for that gun from Novak or Heinie. Novaks also does a very nice jpb on finish work.

[adoptedson]

Nice rugersol! That's a good looking gun. I'll post pics when I decide to do some modding to mine.

45Badger thanks for the suggestions. I'll definitely be shooting this thing like crazy. I've checked out the Novak sights. I love the look of them for sure. Hard chrome looks great too. I've only been looking into cerakote because of the cost factor. Not sure how much money I really want to put into this one. Definitely don't want to spend as much on it as a new gun would cost.