Pistol Restoration Advice

[JD11]

I have a Colt Detective Special 2"bl. that I bought back in the '60s.  Unknowingly I stored it in a spare room that was subject to some leakage during the rainy seasons.  It has some surface rust, not severe but not good.  Wondering if anyone in the know can recommend where I should send it for rust removal and a quality re-blue job.  I see the resale value is quite high so I would'nt mind spending what it takes to bring it back to like-new condition.  Recommendations appreciated.

[williamlayton]

I had good results from:
Willis Arms
James Willis
2998 Smith Rd.
ElmGrove, La.
318-742-7432

See his work at:
sales@willisarms.com

I am very pleased with the work he did on my K-22 which had been stored in a holster for 20 years.
Blessings

[Brett]

If it is just lite surface rust and no deep pitting you could try cleaning it up yourself.  Remove the stocks and soak it in a bath of Marvel Mystery Oil overnight.  Then use a tooth brush and OOOO steel wool to buff the rust off. 

[Lloyd Smale]

I wont say that a detective is a collector quality gun but there is starting to become a bit of collector demand for good ones. If its not in to bad of shape id say to clean it up as good as you can and leave it original but if its just going to be a shooter for you or its in to bad of shape to clean up id seriously consider sending it back to colt to refinish it. Being refinished it wont bring the price of a pristine original but it will hold more value having been done by colt then it would if it were done by another gunsmith

[JD11]

Thanks all, more options the better.  I had tried to phone Colt before originally posting but they're closed until after New Years.  Williamlayton, I went to Willis Arms' website, looks like they specialize in exactly what I need, thank you.  It's pitted just enough I don't think I'd be satisfied with anything I could do myself, needs some draw filing, combination of buffers, etc, like Willis and others would have.  Bad part is I can't expect anyone to give me a halfway accurate estimate over the phone without an inspection.