My son's Springfield 1911 A-1 evidently got some sort of chemical on it, and it's become rusted in several places, internal and external. It needs to be taken apart and completely refinished.
I can't find anyone local to do the job. I believe a finish other than just rust blue would be the ticket. Maybe hard chromed?

Who do y'all recommend I contact?

Turnbull Restoration "turnbullrestoration.com>
They do excellent work.

Depends on how handy you are with an airbrush and what you want

https://duracoatfirearmfinishes.com/brands/durablue-spray-on-bluing/

Before



After, the barrel is original blue



Being 2 part epoxy it dries to a very hard finish that is chemical proof to a point i.e solvents, water resistant and doesnt scratch easily.

If it’s a gun he uses or carries often, I’d look into nitride.

Good old Parker used finish maybe?

Turnbull gets great reviews but are expensive. I believe Fusion Firearms located in FLA might do the work on another companies gun especially if they know the owner is a veteran.

I’m not sure that it would be worth the money for a high end refinish. I’d consider having it cerakoted in a color similar to the bluing or in a two tone pattern.

http://www.runniron.com/finishes/plating.html

These people are in Florida and their prices seem reasonable. https://www.fordsguns.com/pricing

They were discussed on here fairly recently, maybe by TRH?

If whatever the caustic stuff was got inside, you might want to consider stripping it down completely, sending them the frame, slide and barrel and then replacing all the small parts/springs....just a thought.

I think, given that it's just a SA 1911A1, and looking at the price of some of the Girsans and Tisas, I'd be thinking in terms of DIY before sinking a bunch of money into it.

I remember that thread too and those prices look more than reasonable.

Depending on how bad the pitting is by time you sand that off the logos and proofmarks may not look right. If that were the case I’d probably go the DIY route too and then sell it for what I could and buy a new one.

Accurate Plating in Alabama
BIL had a couple guns done with industrial hard chrome, years ago when they were in Safety Harbor.
They still look good.

If hard chrome is your desire:

https://apwcogan.com/refinishing/

http://www.mahovskysmetalife.com/

Fords has done work for me, the last was a 1918 Luger P08, they do very nice work, plan on 6-9 MONTHS for the turn around....

They have also done a 1911 for me.....

https://www.hotflashrefinishing.net/

I'll vouch for Mahovsky. Two jobs sent him for hard chrome went well: reasonable $$, nice results, quick turn-around.

Yeah, it’s not a high dollar 1911, but the lad likes it. Ford’s is near me, but the old man died and I don’t know/trust those running it now. The pistol will get all new internals as a matter of course.
All good suggestions, and thanks.

Why not send it back to Springfield Armory? They have several finishes available. Plus they have all the original (or better) parts you need.

The present Springfield Armory is in no way connected to the original Springfield Armory which made the gun.

We sure it's not Springfield Armory in Genesso? He's open to "other finishes" - I wouldn't be for a legit SA from the 40's.

How about Ford's?

Look at the options & turnaround times at Mahovskys. They been around a long time & have had a good rep.

Just be sure any addons that need to be fitted get done before any plating. After that, no cutting or filing is recommended or advisable.

I used to do alot of hot bluing and still do alot of cerakote. Stopped the bluing because it's hardnto recoup the time involved. Had one [bleep] ask/tell me "It can't be that hard to just dip the thing."

No thoughts on me sitting there for 10 hours sanding and polishing.

Yep, Fords, the old man anyway, custom blended his 'salts', maybe most do IDK..... but he did a great job matching old finishes, so I'm told.

But all the 'magic' is done before you get it to the tank....

Exactly. The craftsmanship is in the prep work but apparently some folks think that the bluing itself hides sins. I got tired of being shot down when giving a price so said fugg it. I also got some of the prettiest finishes when I mixed my own salts. One time I made the mistake of using ammonium nitrate for my nitrate and nearly gassed myself 😂. It blued gorgeous though once it finally off gassed.

CERAKOTE !

Accurate Plating in Newville, AL

Accurate Plating

But if it's pitted, it will take a lot of polishing to get it cleaned up, unless the pits are simple too deep & too large.

MM