The Firing Line Forums

Go Back   The Firing Line Forums > The Skunkworks > The Smithy

Reply
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Old May 12, 2005, 06:27 PM   #1
OldeSkool
Member
 
Join Date: April 18, 2005
Posts: 30
Polishing satin stainless?

I used to polish the metalwork on musical instruments, light buffing on nickel plated clarinet keys and high speed polishing for silver flutes, among other things... Just wondering if there is a way to take the satin finish that comes on a S&W revolver and turn it into polished stainless? I realize what I used to do was basically just remove tarnish, but I was hoping some of the skills might be familiar.
OldeSkool is offline  
Old May 12, 2005, 07:18 PM   #2
Dfariswheel
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 4, 2001
Posts: 7,476
Yes, you can, but it's harder than it looks because you have to remove the scratches and machine marks left by the factory first.

This is how nice guns get ruined. Too many people don't have the skills or know the correct techniques and the gun winds up with dished-out holes, rounded-off edges that should be sharp, and wavy flats.

You can do an acceptable job by using synthetic polishing pads to remove the deeper scratches, then polish to a shine with a stainless steel polish like MAAS or Mother's Mag Polish.

While this will leave the gun with some scratches and it won't look quite like a nickel plated or factory bright polished gun, it will have a very high shine.
Dfariswheel is offline  
Old May 12, 2005, 07:36 PM   #3
MillCreek
Senior Member
 
Join Date: December 30, 2004
Location: Snohomish County, Washington USA
Posts: 326
When you refer to satin stainless, do you mean a brushed or bead-blasted finish? I have been told that trying to fix a bead-blasted finish is the very devil to do with consumer-level tools and equipment.
__________________
Regards,

MillCreek
Snohomish County, Washington USA
MillCreek is offline  
Old May 12, 2005, 07:37 PM   #4
JoeHatley
Senior Member
 
Join Date: July 1, 1999
Location: Iowa
Posts: 2,135
This PC 625 started out with the standard brushed stainless finish.



I've never really "polished" it, but my usual cleaning routine is to finish up with a bit of rubbing with Flitz. Enough cleaning and it's starting to look polished already.

Might work for what you're looking for.

Good Luck...

Joe
__________________
Go NRA
JoeHatley is offline  
Old May 12, 2005, 09:58 PM   #5
OldeSkool
Member
 
Join Date: April 18, 2005
Posts: 30
wow, thats pretty good, I suppose enough care and time with a slow speed buffer and that Flitz stuff should do what i want... yeah, i'm referring to the standard dull finish, definitely not the bead blasted stuff... S&W calls it "satin" on their website descriptions.
OldeSkool is offline  
Old May 12, 2005, 11:21 PM   #6
cortez kid
Senior Member
 
Join Date: February 1, 2005
Location: Scranton Pa
Posts: 237
Get yourself a tube of Flitz, some cloth pads and about 6 evenings of letting your significant other dominating the tv. You'll love the results.
good shootig
kid
cortez kid is offline  
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 01:58 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
This site and contents, including all posts, Copyright © 1998-2021 S.W.A.T. Magazine
Copyright Complaints: Please direct DMCA Takedown Notices to the registered agent: thefiringline.com
Page generated in 0.04278 seconds with 10 queries