Triangle Tactical Podcast and Blog on Guns, Gear, and Competition Shooting
I recently had the opportunity to purchase a pistol that had been painted (ceracoat), but I wasn’t able to close the deal.
To me, removing the factory finish on the pistol, and applying something else is always inferior to the factory finish.
Would you purchase a pistol that had been painted after it left the factory?
It would really depend on the finish and color.
Fair enough, so just the fact of the gun being refinished wouldn’t detract you from buying it if they did a good job with it? Would you expect a price reduction due to the modification?
As long as it’s a professional refinished job, with receipt for proof, then I don’t think it would detract much value for me. But, I would already have to like the finish and color.
No, I think it is goofy as all get out,
Personally, I think it is the quickest way to de-value a firearm but people keep doing it for some reason. I have been watching a DP CRP 2011 languish in the classifieds because some guy thought it would be the “bee-knees” to ceracote it a burnished brown. It still hasn’t sold.
I’d only buy it if it was in the Hello Kitty Camoflauge pattern. I’m a sucker for that.
Otherwise, I’d assume paint would tend to make the gun less reliable. It seems like something an inveterate tinkerer would do, and the more “customized” a gun is, the less likely I am to trust it.
One more thought about used guns. I’m shocked by the number of people in online forums saying they bought a gun but could never get it to shoot reliably or accurately, so they sold it — presumably without telling the buyer it had an issue.
With that realization humming along in the background, I decided new guns aren’t all that expensive (at least not the kind I buy).