Would doing this void my S&W warranty?

dyl · August 22, 2010, 11:06 PM

Hey yall,

I was thinking of doing this with my S&W 442.

Carefully take side plate off, clean the insides, polish a couple steel sliding parts conservatively with rouge cloth (not trigger sear though), grease it up, put it back together.

I've already got Kuhnhausen's "shop manual" and a S&W Magna-tip revolver set on the way to me in the mail. I was planning on using RIG grease on the insides but then just read about Brownell's Action Lube (darn it, it'll have to be another shipment).

Would that void the S&W warranty?

I could always skip the rouge cloth treatment and just hope for the cleaning and Action Lube to produce results. Any words of wisdom? Thoughts? Holes in the plan?

10-96 · August 22, 2010, 11:27 PM

I've never bought a new S&W, so I don't... Wait a minute, I DID buy the round butt Model 24-? in .44SPL so I guees I did buy a new one. What does the Warranty Card say?
My initial impression is "No", because as long as you don't goof anything up- they know that LE guys have been tinkering around in there for years. And it used to be pretty well suggested that the sideplate come off for cleaning every so often anyhow.

Wait till you get the manual, then tear into it. It really isn't all that fragile or complicated.

James K · August 23, 2010, 12:17 PM

Smoothing up the S&W action is pretty much unnecessary today. The old blanked and machined hammer and trigger tended to have tool marks that ran crosswise and often needed polishing to eliminate a gritty DA trigger pull. But no matter what folks believe about MIM parts, they have no tool marks, so that smoothing is not really needed any more. Usually a few drops of a good gun oil down in front of the hammer and in front of the trigger will do all that is needed.

Other tricks, like cutting springs or installing after-market parts would likely void the warranty, and also could result in the gun not working when needed.

Jim

dyl · August 24, 2010, 09:34 AM

Thanks for the advice,

I won't do anything radical to the inner workings then

Stumper · August 24, 2010, 12:56 PM

Stoning parts or using polishing cloth isn't really necessary anymore.......but I have been known to pop off the sideplate, flush out the crud and lubricants with a few blasts of brake parts cleaner, squirt a little polishing compound into the works, reassemble and cycle a couple hundred times , remove the side plate again, flush thoroughly with brake parts cleaner, relube with Triflow and live happily ever after.

Bill DeShivs · August 24, 2010, 03:50 PM

NEVER put any kind of abrasive in the lockwork of a gun!

Jimmy10mm · August 24, 2010, 04:26 PM

I bought a triple lock 44spl target with a 7 1/2" bbl off a guy some years back. Took it to the range and it was stiff shooting and sometimes the cylinder would turn during recoil as the bolt didn't hold it. I thought I had gotten a worn out gun. Took it to a gunsmith and he did a cleaning and lubricating on it. I took it to the range and action was smooth as silk, locked up fine during recoil and the timing was perfect. I know it doesn't answer the OP's question but this thread made me think of it. Wish I hadn't sold it. I made $ off it but the $ are gone now and I would rather have the triple lock.

Idahoser · August 24, 2010, 05:05 PM

been a while since I looked into it but I don't think there were any MIM parts when Kuhnhausen wrote those manuals. No idea whether it matters, or how to find out. Not interested in anything that new.

If I was in your position I think I would try to get an older junker to experiment with. Then you'll have some experience before you get the sideplate off, and you'll have a better idea what it should 'feel' like when it's smoothed; you might decide it doesn't need anything.

It is wrong to be afraid to go inside, but you can certainly do damage if you're not careful and use the right tools. Most of us don't have those tools unless we get them for this purpose, like you did with the Magna Tips. Regular 'car' tools are improper.

10-96 · August 24, 2010, 06:25 PM

+1
Well said Bill and Idahoser.

Idahoser · August 24, 2010, 07:31 PM

Quote:

...Wish I hadn't sold it. I made $ off it but the $ are gone now and I would rather have the triple lock.

1. Never sell a gun.
2. Never sell a gun.
3. Never sell a gun.

I have to keep reminding myself sometimes...

I do wish I had more guns I don't like though. Trading is also fun at shows, but I won't part with anything I have now!

Casimer · August 24, 2010, 08:10 PM

Quote:

If I was in your position I think I would try to get an older junker to experiment with. Then you'll have some experience before you get the sideplate off,

+1

I'd rolled an edge on an aluminum side plate once, when putting it back on, and had plenty of experience w/ steel side plates at the time. It's very easy to do.

greco · September 18, 2010, 05:41 PM

I used to work with a well known smith in the 70's, Jerry Moran. A lot of the work that came into the store was repairing someones "touch-up" or "tune up". I understand that you want to improve the action, but it is a very arcane science. Every thing you do to the internals has an effect on other parts. In the end, the finished product is not much different than firing a few thousand rounds thru the gun. Trimming springs throws the balance of the action off. If you feel you must.... then go ahead. I would just dry fire the heck out of it. Whether you void the waranty is up to S&W and the amount of damage you do, and then have to send it back for repairs.

Jim Watson · September 18, 2010, 05:45 PM

If you have to send it in for any reason, and S&W notices you have been sanding on it, they will likely charge you for what would have been warranty work. I bought a Kit Gun that had been meddled with and it cost me $101 to get it put to rights.

Hey, greco:

I was on Jerry Moran's waiting list for years in the late 1970s for his super duper Python job. He never did get around to me so I sold the gun I had set aside for it and made do with the ones by Don Tedford and Reeves Jungkind.

August 22, 2010, 11:06 PM	#1
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	Would doing this void my S&W warranty? Hey yall, I was thinking of doing this with my S&W 442. Carefully take side plate off, clean the insides, polish a couple steel sliding parts conservatively with rouge cloth (not trigger sear though), grease it up, put it back together. I've already got Kuhnhausen's "shop manual" and a S&W Magna-tip revolver set on the way to me in the mail. I was planning on using RIG grease on the insides but then just read about Brownell's Action Lube (darn it, it'll have to be another shipment). Would that void the S&W warranty? I could always skip the rouge cloth treatment and just hope for the cleaning and Action Lube to produce results. Any words of wisdom? Thoughts? Holes in the plan?

August 22, 2010, 11:27 PM	#2
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,159	I've never bought a new S&W, so I don't... Wait a minute, I DID buy the round butt Model 24-? in .44SPL so I guees I did buy a new one. What does the Warranty Card say? My initial impression is "No", because as long as you don't goof anything up- they know that LE guys have been tinkering around in there for years. And it used to be pretty well suggested that the sideplate come off for cleaning every so often anyhow. Wait till you get the manual, then tear into it. It really isn't all that fragile or complicated. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

August 24, 2010, 12:56 PM	#5
Stumper Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Colorado Posts: 438	Stoning parts or using polishing cloth isn't really necessary anymore.......but I have been known to pop off the sideplate, flush out the crud and lubricants with a few blasts of brake parts cleaner, squirt a little polishing compound into the works, reassemble and cycle a couple hundred times , remove the side plate again, flush thoroughly with brake parts cleaner, relube with Triflow and live happily ever after. __________________ "Let us speak courteously, deal fairly, and keep ourselves armed and ready." Theodore Roosevelt "If only God has magic, how does Santa get down the chimney?" Natalie Peters age 4

August 24, 2010, 03:50 PM	#6
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,985	NEVER put any kind of abrasive in the lockwork of a gun! __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

August 24, 2010, 06:25 PM	#9
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,159	+1 Well said Bill and Idahoser. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

August 23, 2010, 12:17 PM	#3
James K Member In Memoriam Join Date: March 17, 1999 Posts: 24,383	Smoothing up the S&W action is pretty much unnecessary today. The old blanked and machined hammer and trigger tended to have tool marks that ran crosswise and often needed polishing to eliminate a gritty DA trigger pull. But no matter what folks believe about MIM parts, they have no tool marks, so that smoothing is not really needed any more. Usually a few drops of a good gun oil down in front of the hammer and in front of the trigger will do all that is needed. Other tricks, like cutting springs or installing after-market parts would likely void the warranty, and also could result in the gun not working when needed. Jim

August 24, 2010, 09:34 AM	#4
dyl Senior Member Join Date: October 31, 2009 Location: Ohio Posts: 1,310	Thanks for the advice, I won't do anything radical to the inner workings then

August 24, 2010, 04:26 PM	#7
Jimmy10mm Senior Member Join Date: June 16, 2010 Location: Greenacres, FL Posts: 933	I bought a triple lock 44spl target with a 7 1/2" bbl off a guy some years back. Took it to the range and it was stiff shooting and sometimes the cylinder would turn during recoil as the bolt didn't hold it. I thought I had gotten a worn out gun. Took it to a gunsmith and he did a cleaning and lubricating on it. I took it to the range and action was smooth as silk, locked up fine during recoil and the timing was perfect. I know it doesn't answer the OP's question but this thread made me think of it. Wish I hadn't sold it. I made $ off it but the $ are gone now and I would rather have the triple lock.

August 24, 2010, 05:05 PM	#8
Idahoser Senior Member Join Date: April 13, 2005 Location: West TN Posts: 244	been a while since I looked into it but I don't think there were any MIM parts when Kuhnhausen wrote those manuals. No idea whether it matters, or how to find out. Not interested in anything that new. If I was in your position I think I would try to get an older junker to experiment with. Then you'll have some experience before you get the sideplate off, and you'll have a better idea what it should 'feel' like when it's smoothed; you might decide it doesn't need anything. It is wrong to be afraid to go inside, but you can certainly do damage if you're not careful and use the right tools. Most of us don't have those tools unless we get them for this purpose, like you did with the Magna Tips. Regular 'car' tools are improper.

September 18, 2010, 05:41 PM	#12
greco Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2005 Posts: 125	I used to work with a well known smith in the 70's, Jerry Moran. A lot of the work that came into the store was repairing someones "touch-up" or "tune up". I understand that you want to improve the action, but it is a very arcane science. Every thing you do to the internals has an effect on other parts. In the end, the finished product is not much different than firing a few thousand rounds thru the gun. Trimming springs throws the balance of the action off. If you feel you must.... then go ahead. I would just dry fire the heck out of it. Whether you void the waranty is up to S&W and the amount of damage you do, and then have to send it back for repairs. __________________ NRA Pistol, Shotgun, Rifle Instructor

September 18, 2010, 05:45 PM	#13
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,542	If you have to send it in for any reason, and S&W notices you have been sanding on it, they will likely charge you for what would have been warranty work. I bought a Kit Gun that had been meddled with and it cost me $101 to get it put to rights. Hey, greco: I was on Jerry Moran's waiting list for years in the late 1970s for his super duper Python job. He never did get around to me so I sold the gun I had set aside for it and made do with the ones by Don Tedford and Reeves Jungkind.