will this detract from the value?

[LORD of WAR]

have a colt preban lower thats been sitting in my safe for over a year...its the colt gray and im thinking of getting it redone in black to match the lmy upper im gonna get...think i should leave it as is or will the color change detract from its original value?

 

[SKS Ray]

Leave it be. There are plenty of die hard Colt fans that will pay for original finish.

 

[PaulD]

Sell it to me and I'll change the color.

 

[MassMark]

While I sort of agree with Ray, if it's something you're going build into a full rifle - just have it refinished, (painted). It's not going to devalue all that much and it's not worth much without an upper. Unless you can find a matching Colt upper, just paint it and move on...

 

[Ripach]

+1 to what Mark said, what really boots up it's value in this region is it's pre-ban status, not the finish or the fact that it's a colt. If it were mine and I wanted it painted I would paint it.

 

[vellnueve]

I heartily disagree. There are many people who will pay a premium for a pre-ban original Colt over a pre-ban anything else. If you refinish, it'll be worth no more than a pre-ban lower from any other manufacturer.