Colt DA 38: I don't know WHY I ALWAYS do it
Every couple of weeks, I wander into a local gun store that gets a fair amount of consignment firearms. I know the manager of the store and often am in his office chatting. Last Tuesday was no different. He asked me if I had ever used WD-40 Specialist Rust Remover. My answer was no but I was curious to know what he was planning on using it on. He pointed at a box on his desk. When I opened it I saw a Colt DA 38 totally disassembled and with a LOT of rust. He told me that their gunsmith had a couple of years back taken it apart and was planning to use the WD-40 rust remover on it, but he left before he got around to it, which was why he asked because he was going to try it himself.
I told him that wouldn't be the best way to handle the rust removal unless he planned on processing all the parts and re-bluing them (which he was not). I suggested he boil and carding it. I ended up explaining the process to him.
Then I asked the deadly question, "How much do you want for it?" yes.. I couldn't keep my mouth closed.... Well, he saw me the last three times I was in looking at a Sear Roebuck Model 41 DLA (Marlin Model 122) .22 single shot, I hadn't bought it because it had some surface rust as well and just really didn't want another project rifle. He offered a package deal. Take the handgun and the rifle for $140.00 ... well... you know, "The Rest of the Story" as Paul Harvey would say.
So I'm in the 10-day waiting period on the Colt and Rifle so I'm not really sure yet what Colt I bought, running the serial number at the Colt site comes back with three possibilities;
- 1919 Model - MODEL 1911 MILITARY
- 1937 Model OFFICIAL POLICE MODEL
or a
- 1951 Model POLICE POSITIVE SPECIAL & DETECTIVE SPECIAL
As soo as I have the Colt in hand, I'll post pictures. This one I will need to process quickly as I don't want to to deteriorate further.
