899,000 Ithaca: wondering if is it Dulite or parkerized?

[thebearpack]

Gentlemen, I know it might be hard from my iffy pictures but can anyone venture a guess as to whether this Ithaca is blued or parked? Even disassembled and placed side by side with a later Ithaca I'm not completely sure but initially I assumed that's it's parked. If you can't tell from these pics, what would be the best lighting for a good review? Kinda cold for outdoor shots but I could try. Thanks in advance! P.S. Wrote the thread title wrong and can't change it, but as you can see below this is an 889,000 gun.

[Scott Gahimer]

You're right. Hard to say for sure, but I'd say Parkerized. The Parked guns in that 89xxxx range are tricky, but I've never seen one Du-Lite.

[thebearpack]

Thanks Scott. Based on the shipping records I have a hunch that this one went out a little later than most in the same range, so parkerized makes sense that way too.

[Scott Wilson]

Do I see signs of tightening the hammer and grip safety pin holes or are they just dings? Johnny has shown a 900k range Colt with similar marks.

[thebearpack]

Do I see signs of tightening the hammer and grip safety pin holes or are they just dings? Johnny has shown a 900k range Colt with similar marks.

Really? That's very interesting. I had assumed they were just remnants of someone's poor attempt at dis-assembly but looking closer it could have a purpose. Will have to try to find Johnny's pictures.

[Scott Gahimer]

A better macro shot would tell me for sure, but it appears the thumb safety pin area of the frame is dinged up after finish. The pin shows a ding, too. That wasn't done at the factory. Anything done at the factory to close a hole up would be done under the original finish. I can't see the area around the hammer pin well enough. Finish may even remain in areas dinged after the fact. You just have to look at the grain composition of the finish. Compressed particles in the finish would indicate the work was done after finish was applied (by Bubba). Dings under undisturbed finish would indicate something done at the factory.

[thebearpack]

Scott, I tried a few macros as close as my cheap camera would allow but I'm guessing that the lighting won't allow a definitive answer. Might have to table this until Spring when there's better weather and no snow on the ground for outdoor pics.