Duty gun...badass once again!

I've been carrying a Kimber TLE/RLII as my primary handgun for about five years now. Several thousand rounds through it, multiple tactical school, a lateral academy, monthly and quarterly quals...it has weathered them all. Let me assure you, I LOVE this gun, and it has never failed me provided I kept it clean and run a 20lb spring. It's no secret that Kimber's QC has deteriorated over the years. While the gun has functioned flawlessly for me, the finish has always left something to be desired. Within a few months of carrying it, it started to develop surface rust on the the slide's serrations, and the cheapo "minor" parts Kimber used (like the grip safety, thumb safety, and slide lock) had very poor finish quality and began to show wear within just a few weeks.

A buddy of mine at work is an armorer for several weapons systems. He also has a professional sandblaster setup, a pro-sprayer for cold phosphating and paint application, along with an industrial convection oven. He's done a half dozen refinish jobs for guys at the PD with fantastic results, and also markets his service elsewhere. He does several finishes, and I chose the Gun-Kote based on the results some of the guys at work swear by. All he asks from us at the PD is cold beer, some meat to toss in the smoker while we work the afternoon away, and some help with the process. I took him up on his offer today.

Here's the gun when it was pretty new. I don't have any more recent pics showing the wear and tear, unfortunately.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...ic/x200lft.jpg

Getting the old finish sandblasted off...
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/IMAG0198.jpg

Post-phosphating and a round of heat, now getting the Kote applied.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/IMAG0200.jpg

In the oven.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/IMAG0204.jpg

The finished product! I went with a two-tone black and flat dark earth. Re-finished everything except the barrel, the guide rod, and the springs. :) A little cold perma-blue to nix some holster wear on the sights, and I've fallen in love all over again!
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/SDC11656.jpg
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/SDC11655.jpg

Badass has been achieved. Very nice and what a guy for doing that for beef and beer :cool:

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Originally Posted by Odd

Badass has been achieved. Very nice and what a guy for doing that for beef and beer :cool:

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Most definitely. I only did the sandblasting, which he says is the part he enjoys least. He did everything else while I went out and got a pony keg for his kegerator and got some ribs in the smoker! It was definitely cool (and a little scary!) to actually be a part of the process of refinishing this most important of tools.

I'm jealous.

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Originally Posted by 121Traffic

Post-phosphating and a round of heat, now getting the Kote applied.
http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n...c/IMAG0200.jpg

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So that's what a gun looks like on the inside! :eek: :p

Man , that's a nice looking fiream. How much will you sell it for ? :)

Very nice. You've just added to my 1911 lust.

That is freaking sweet.

Looks great!

That looks sweet!!! Nice choice on the finish.

Thanks all. I'm pretty leery to carry it on duty just yet. I have a backup primary I'm going to use until I can take this one to the range to do some function checks with live ammo in it. If it ain't working 100%, it ain't ready to carry. :)

Holy crap that thing looks great!

Expect a PM from me for his contact info. If he does it as a side job I'd definitely throw him some money to recreate that with my 1911!

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Originally Posted by Jenna

So that's what a gun looks like on the inside! :eek: :p

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That's just the frame, silly - Without all the guts :D

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Originally Posted by TXCharlie

That's just the frame, silly - Without all the guts :D

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http://www.arxvaldex.com/shop/images/naked%20gun.jpg :eek:

Love the 1* hand grips.

I've always wanted a Kimber 1911. Now you just made me want one even more!

I was tooling along, enjoying this thread and the gun pr0n, until I saw Five-0's new avatar pic.. SERIOUSLY WTF MAN..

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Originally Posted by Mike325

I was tooling along, enjoying this thread and the gun pr0n, until I saw Five-0's new avatar pic.. SERIOUSLY WTF MAN..

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The gun is for protecting you from that avatar. :eek: :fear: :bolt:

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Originally Posted by Jenna

The gun is for protecting you from that avatar. :eek: :fear: :bolt:

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Perhaps the truest thing ever said on this forum.. lol..

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Originally Posted by Mike325

I was tooling along, enjoying this thread and the gun pr0n, until I saw Five-0's new avatar pic.. SERIOUSLY WTF MAN..

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I'll explain later, at work right now. Xiphos got the in depth explaination as he wondered earlier.:)