Will refinishing devalue a Lipsey's Vaquero

I have a .357 NV Montado that I refinished a while ago, I buffed out any casting or grinding marks then gave it a fine bead blast followed by a very quick polish with mothers mag to bring just a little sheen back out. I also ramped & serrated the front sight. I love the pistol and am more than happy with the way it turned out. Here are a couple of pics, but it looks much nicer in person, its more of a satin finish than the matte that it looks like in the photo's.







And here is a Lipsey's .44 special 4 5/8's SS Vaquero that I just picked up, #242 out of only 500 made. I intend on giving it the same treatment as the Montado. Will this do anything to a value of the gun? It doesn't really worry me since I plan on shooting the daylights out of it and taking it to the grave, but I'm just curious... I already installed a SBH hammer in it.

And a pic of the .44spl

Modifying your .44 Special Vaquero only matters if you plan to sell it at some point in time. If you are going to hang on to it, modify it to suit your tastes. If you'll turn it at some point then leave it alone. Modifying a gun to suit your tastes doesn't mean a buyer will find those same mods desirable.

Best Regards,
ADP3

Since these are "shooters", you are not really going to devalue them. These guns will still be somewhat rare and they will still be desirable for what they are and there are enough gun owners of different tastes, that someone will like the mods you made.

alping45 said:

And here is a Lipsey's .44 special 4 5/8's SS Vaquero that I just picked up, #242 out of only 500 made. I intend on giving it the same treatment as the Montado. Will this do anything to a value of the gun? It doesn't really worry me since I plan on shooting the daylights out of it and taking it to the grave, but I'm just curious... I already installed a SBH hammer in it.

Click to expand...

You have to look at this way. It's collector value and desirability is why? Because it's a low volume special configuration of a factory product. You change it to look different; no longer is it the rare Ruger product it was, no longer of interest to a collector, and therefore no more collector value.

It's your gun, do what you want. You now know the consequence so you can make an informed decision. If you like the gun and want to make it the way you like it better, enjoy it and forget about value. It won't appreciate like it would have and the ones left original will become even more coveted. When and if you sell it someday, unless you find someone with tastes exactly like yours, you lose a few bucks. So what, you made your decision and enjoyed it.

$500 gun today,
Put it in the safe for 10+ years,,,,
$1000,
One has to part with it for the gain,,,, sellers remorse,,, or as most here,
their family parts with it and they recognize the gain. :roll:

As for the modifications performed, I personally look at Ruger as a manufacture of a great platform to make it better & custom to ones own likes.

I take friends shooting and the next thing you know they want MY GUN. :shock:

In the beginning I would get talked out of em, now I help them acquire their own and make them there own.

The more time I spend shooting, customizing, perfecting, the more they become MINE.

I tend to agree with G2's comment - Ruger's are the Remington 700 ADL of the revolver world: they just BEG to be customized. They're low cost, robust, easily modified and serviced, and parts are available.

The only thing that I can see that potentially drops resale value is when the refinishing work degrades the roll marking (laser etching) - which is getting REALLY easy now with the shallow laser marks. When the execution is clean, it's a custom finish that will attract someone that has similar tastes favoring satin finish. If it's not well executed, then that catches the eye and turns off any potential buyers.

Here's another way to look at it - Even if you've totally destroyed any value in that revolver, so now it's worth exactly $0, absolutely can't be resold, you still have a lot of value in that revolver: Entertainment value.

And that's not a tongue-in-cheek statement to make you feel better. Ruger revolvers, especially customized, are a great value in entertainment. If I buy a $600 Ruger New Vaquero, spend 10-40hrs rebuilding and tuning it how I want it (spending another ~$100 or so), then with a very casual shooting habit, I only shoot 50rnds per trip to the range (at 40cents per shot), which takes me about 2hrs each time including cleaning, and do that 10 times a year for 10yrs... I have 100 range trips good for 200 hours plus 20hrs of rebuild, 5,000 rounds, $2,000 into ammo, and $700 into the gun itself... That comes out to $12.27 per hour in "entertainment value," with only $3.18/hr in fixed cost (revolver + parts). And every round I shoot after that becomes the cheapest bullet ever fired out of it, as it keeps eating away at that fixed cost.

Can't hardly go to a movie for $12.27 per hour in entertainment these days, or about the same cost per hour of a round of golf (not including your cost of clubs), and you're not even going putt-putt golfing for $3.18/hr. The good news on top of that, it's a safe bet that you'll get your value in entertainment out of shooting a Ruger revolver, I can't say the same for going to the movies anymore...

Overall, the cost of most factory firearms doesn't end up making a significant contribution to the overall cost of ownership. Even reloading, it only takes about 1,500-2,000 rounds to match the cost of a Ruger revolver with the ammo cost.

It's your gun, you did practical things to mAke it suit you , enjoy.

As a pure investment with a limited production gun , leave it in the safe unfired. As you have it the worst downside would be having similar value to regular production shooter.

Here's a different comparison : From mid '60s to early '70s , you could walk into a dealer and buy iconic muscle/ pony cars. With a crystal ball people could have know to put them on blocks in total stock condition , and 40yrs later they would be worth a gizillion $ .

But muscle cars primarily apealed to Car Guys who liked & enjoyed high performAnce cars. But the gearheads LIKED fast cars. Things like better tires , low restriction exhaust , low restriction chrome air cleaners came almost imadately, and so equipped were considered "Basically Stock" . If you owned one , and didn't do the above , you were considered suspect & foolish. A mild cam , practical card or manifold , dual point distributor, or gear change, were not manditory to retain your Car Guy Card , but a cpl of those still counted as being "Mild" .

Or to halfway change metaphors , imagine a bone stock Jeep , with skinny tires having wimpy tread , and no scratches. Someday worth a lot to a collector , but 30years of never getting any use for its intended purpose , and scorn from all the real Jeep Guys.

I think the refinish takes a few bucks off the resale value. Unless it just plain catches someones favor.

I have a pair of Montado's, they are a sweet version of the Vaquero but I doubt they will ever gain true collector status, at least not in the near future. Making changes to one to please yourself is not a bad thing. After all,I believe they made several of each configuration. There will be plenty for the collectors to hoard away in dark places.

Thanks for all the feedback. I actually had my mind made up before even starting this thread, like I said I bought the gun to shoot, and don't intend on getting rid of it, but I just wanted to hear some opinions.

Anyway, I had some free time today 8), So without further ado:


















Like the billboard was never even there :lol:

alping45 said:

Click to expand...

I see the original .357 Montado with 3 3/4" barrel.
Then above is two with 4 5/8" barrels, one being the 44 New Vaq, what's the 3rd...looks like an original large frame Vaquero?

Hondo44 said:

alping45 said:

Click to expand...

I see the original .357 Montado with 3 3/4" barrel.
Then above is two with 4 5/8" barrels, one being the 44 New Vaq, what's the 3rd...looks like an original large frame Vaquero?

Click to expand...

That a 4 5/8" SBH just to demonstrate where the billboard used to be on the Vaquero.

I agree with Jim Luke. I like what you have done to it.