Re-Bluing

Question
I've got a S&W model 5904 that I was thinking of re-bluing.  It's just the slide that shows a lot of wear on the finish, the rest of it looks fine.  I was thinking of getting a kit from birchwood to do it, but just wondering if it's difficult at all for someone that's never done it before?  I'd hate to end up doing a bad job and having it look much worse.
Also, after taking off the slide to re-blue it, do you re-blue only the outside surface or can you re-blue the inside of it also (obviously not the barrel, just what goes around it)?

Thanks

Answer
Jeremy, I believe the 59 series of S&W's have an aluminum frame, so you couldn't reblue that if you wanted to (although there are other ways to finish it).

The barrels are made of stainless steel, so bluing wouldn't take to it.

The Birchwood Casey product is a cold blue, and made for touch-ups, not an entire rebluing (people have done it, but the results are less than satisfactory).

But if touch-up is all you're looking to do, the BC product works fine.  Follow the directions on the bottle - you can put it on with a cotton swab, but don't return the swab to the container once it touches the steel - use another swab, as the chemical will start to react once it touches the steel, and you will contaminate the solution and weaken its ability to react.

Blueing is largely cosmetic, and there is no reason to Blue the inside of the slide, just keep it lighly oiled.

If you really want a re-blue, you'd need bluing tanks, and the ability to completely disassemble the slide.  This is best left to a gunsmith.

If you can disassemble the slide, and don't want to pay that much to a gunsmith (I wouldn't think that particular gun would be worth rebluing, vis-a-vis its book value)go to Brownells.com and order their original formula Baking Lacquer.  If you have access to an oven and are competent with a can of spray paint, you can put a very nice looking, durable and rust-proof finish on the gun yourself (the product can be applied to aluminum too, so you could refinish the whole gun).

Hope this helps.