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I have a very early Ithaca Model 1911A1 slide in excellent with about 98% of the original finish. The problem is that at some point in time, someone decided to install an adjustable rear sight and filed the rear of the slide. It is not deep, but I would like to restore this early slide without a complete refinish.
Any suggestions would be appreciatedAttachment 118354Attachment 118355
There's really only two options:
Add more metal and recontour
Remove more metal to recontour
Personally, I'd take a small file and just blend in the damaged portion. It wouldn't be glaringly obvious since the rear sight breaks up the top of the slide anyway.
The alternative (welding on more metal) comes with a lot of risk and expense. You could purchase a slide like this for $300 to $400. I'm not sure the end result of welding and filing would be worth it.
Would be a easy file off an cold blue
The damage is done. Unfortunately that slide appears to have its original finish (note the frosting around the "P"). There is no adequate way to remove these Bubba tracks without refinishing the slide, and cold blue or some other partial fixup will just make it look worse.
If it were mine I would install a Sile or MPA or old MMC or some other fixed target rear sight that extends rearward to cover this transgression. These are (or were) available in a height that does not require a new front sight.
M
I'd just dress it up as well as possible and dunk the repaired spot in a manganese phosphate bath without refinishing the entire slide.