|
Forum Rules | Firearms Safety | Firearms Photos | Links | Library | Lost Password | Email Changes |
Register | FAQ | Calendar | Today's Posts | Search |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
September 24, 2006, 11:29 PM | #1 |
Member
Join Date: March 28, 2006
Posts: 77
|
scratches on Parkerized 1911
So I have a few scratches on my S.A. 1911 A1 Mil Spec. The most prominant one was caused by the slide stop as I re insterted it during reassembly. The second is very shallow and was caused by my fobus (pos) holster. So my question is, aside from having it refinished what can I do to get rid of these scratches?
|
September 24, 2006, 11:33 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 4, 2001
Posts: 7,478
|
Not much.
That's one down side to parkerizing: there's no good touch up available. You can use cold blue to darken the scratch, but due to the rough parkerized finish, it's won't blend in very good, but will be less noticeable. You'll need to be careful to limit the cold blue to JUST the scratch, since cold blue does tend to make a "splotch" of discoloration around the area. |
September 25, 2006, 06:46 AM | #3 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 17, 2005
Location: Swamp dweller
Posts: 6,187
|
Not much
and it's called use. Patina wear and tear. Did you buy it to use it or keep it as a safe queen? Just my opinion, the marks, ( scratchs and finish wear from holsters ) add class to the handgun. The only way to keep them looking pristine is to take them out of the box wipe it down and place it in the safe and remove it once a week for it's wipe down and placed back in the safe.
__________________
NRA Life Member, NRA Chief Range Safety Officer, NRA Certified Pistol Instructor,, USPSA & Steel Challange NROI Range Officer, ICORE Range Officer, ,MAG 40 Graduate As you are, I once was, As I am, You will be. |
September 25, 2006, 07:23 AM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 18, 2005
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 941
|
Guns are tools (or at least, intended as such) so scratches that don't harm it's functionality are just marks that show use. No big deal. It's kind of like when you buy a brand new car and you treat it like it's your first born...
... but after it get's it's first grocery cart dent it takes a load off your mind. Like that. If you really love the pistol and can't bear to have it scratched, go ahead and buy an identical brand new one and keep in in your safe and never use it. Then you won't be so uptight about the one you "use". Carter |
September 25, 2006, 07:28 AM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 20, 2002
Posts: 454
|
Your gun offically has character!
Regards, -L7
__________________
Signature Space For Rent. SOLD! "Just relax. Breath normally. All you should see is the front sight post. Ignore the the target. Wait for the pause between breaths and when you feel good about it...ease the trigger back." -PMI Sgt. Hopkins, USMC |
September 25, 2006, 07:32 AM | #6 |
Junior member
Join Date: March 1, 2006
Location: Tampa,Fl
Posts: 4,000
|
Who buys a parkerized finished pistol for its looks anyway?
|
September 25, 2006, 07:58 AM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 12, 2002
Location: MO
Posts: 5,457
|
+1 on the "predictable consequences of normal use" answer, as well as the cold-blue touch-up, before the finish wear gets beyond isolated spots. I have a parked WWII Auto Ord and Birchwood Casey's liquid seems to work as well as anything. It don't wear worth a hoot, but it does cover the bright spots and it comes in a nice, big bottle- apply according to your tastes and conscience. A wooden matchstick works well for me.
__________________
People were smarter before the Internet, or imbeciles were harder to notice. |
September 25, 2006, 09:04 AM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 2, 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 365
|
Ah, that reassembly scratch. Very few 1911’s that actually get shot and cleaned don’t have that. Even when you are careful to do it correctly, there will usually be that one occasion when you slip up.
__________________
What part of "... shall not be infringed" do you not understand?! NRA Life |
September 25, 2006, 03:16 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: February 16, 2006
Location: Texas
Posts: 179
|
Even though it's not a 1911, my hi-power has those kinds of scratches. They give me an excuse to give to my wife that I have to get a new gun because the current one "has scratches and looks old". It worked for me!
|
September 25, 2006, 05:05 PM | #10 |
Member
Join Date: March 28, 2006
Posts: 77
|
Well its good to know that the scratch from the slide stop is not uncommon. I don' t mind the scratches much but the reasembly scratch is pretty noticable and I didn't know that was pretty common. I use the weapon frequently but I have always taken pride on how clean I keep my weapon, if its common though then it doesn't really bother me. As long as its not rust I'm happy.
|
September 25, 2006, 06:57 PM | #11 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 18, 2005
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 941
|
Quote:
It's mostly "common" on pistols that are owned by people who are relatively new to 1911 pistols. My first one was a Satin Nickel Commander that I put that scratch on just one time, and felt as bad as you do about it. I later sold that one. Now, I have three other 1911's, 2 commanders and a government (all stainless), and not one of them has "the mark", and they never will. Once you learn by mistake, you take the effort to learn how NOT to do it, and it really is VERY EASY to reassemble a 1911 WITHOUT doing that ever again. So don't worry about it, just shoot it. And I bet that any future 1911's you have will never have that mark again. Be aware, however, that there IS a trick to it, so don't go too far until you figure it out. Carter |
|
September 25, 2006, 07:00 PM | #12 |
Member
Join Date: March 28, 2006
Posts: 77
|
makes sense since this was my first handgun ever... could you elaborate on "the trick".
|
September 25, 2006, 07:04 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 25, 2001
Location: Alabama
Posts: 18,539
|
CDH, prater,
The 1911 is designed for the slide stop to be put in by positioning the bevel on the actuating lug against the tip of the plunger, and out of contact with the frame, and then pushing up and in to cam back the plunger and snap the slide stop in place. Unfortunately the manufacturers support the production of the idiot mark by making the parts wrong, with an incorrect bevel on the slide stop and a long or insufficiently radiused plunger tip. It may not have been your fault. |
September 25, 2006, 07:15 PM | #14 | ||
Senior Member
Join Date: May 1, 2001
Posts: 10,223
|
Quote:
Quote:
|
||
September 25, 2006, 07:59 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: August 18, 2005
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 941
|
The previous posts describe it well enough, but pictures always help the words make more sense, so scroll down to the last three photos on the following page to see how to do it.
Note that taking the slide stop out is really easy because when you start pushing it through, you just go straight out with it. It's putting it back in that's the tricky part, but once you learn it, you'll never scratch the pistol again. http://www.m1911.org/stripin1.htm Carter |
September 25, 2006, 08:10 PM | #16 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 2, 2004
Location: Texas
Posts: 365
|
Quote:
__________________
What part of "... shall not be infringed" do you not understand?! NRA Life |
|
September 25, 2006, 08:34 PM | #17 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 19, 2005
Location: nky
Posts: 263
|
i too have the enlightened knowledge of slide stop insertion without scratching....its tricky and a slip is always a possibility.
the bluing is a good idea...i prefer the paste. i would suggest that you wait awhile get more dings and scratches and then refinish it yourself.
__________________
I'ld rather die standing than live kneeling |
September 25, 2006, 09:54 PM | #18 |
Senior Member
Join Date: April 25, 2005
Posts: 206
|
I use my finger nail to depress the plunger so that the slide stop can fit into place without much force.
Practice a whole bunch on your parkerized 1911 before you put a mark on a Brown or Baer, after which there is no excuse! |
September 26, 2006, 08:53 AM | #19 |
Senior Member
Join Date: October 14, 2005
Location: Orange Park, Fla
Posts: 1,019
|
A little more on insertion technique. On some 1911's, just pushing the slide release up and in will not work, they are just too tight. In that event, I use an assist tool, ususlly a plastic mallet or a plastic handled screwdriver and give the rear portion a sharp, light hit, in an up and in direction, to drive it into place. It works like a charm.
If I did have a scratch, my inclination would be to get a "Sharpie" or other indelible pen and color it in to match, as closely as possible, the original color.
__________________
People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence in their behalf. - George Orwell |
June 16, 2013, 09:46 PM | #20 |
Member
Join Date: February 11, 2013
Location: Newport, NC
Posts: 34
|
Pretty useful.
Well, I can say that I hate scratching my guns. I know, they are tools, but it hacks me off when I scratch my gun because I did something wrong. I don't mind wear marks, because they give character to the gun. I have found that Skinner Sights sells what they call Skinner blue, which is used to re-blue their front sights after filing. I believe is more of a parkerizing solution. I have used it on my ww2 USGI 1911 replica and it works very well. Not perfect but almost un-noticeable. Colors bare metal flat black.
__________________
US Marine Corps, Ret. Semper Fi! Only God can judge terrorists. We arrange the meetings... US Marines. Last edited by Spats McGee; June 17, 2013 at 12:29 PM. Reason: Removing asterisks. |
June 16, 2013, 11:03 PM | #21 |
Senior Member
Join Date: September 12, 2002
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Posts: 5,312
|
Good to know information but they might have learned to live with the problem by now...this thread is over six years old.
|
June 17, 2013, 12:29 PM | #22 | |
Staff
Join Date: July 28, 2010
Location: Arkansas
Posts: 8,821
|
Quote:
__________________
I'm a lawyer, but I'm not your lawyer. If you need some honest-to-goodness legal advice, go buy some. |
|
June 17, 2013, 12:45 PM | #23 |
Junior member
Join Date: June 21, 2009
Location: NE Ohio
Posts: 1,176
|
THAT'S what we need! A few pictures of well worn, dinged, scratched, and otherwise patina'd and "character worn" handguns, so the OP can see that his is starting towards telling the story of his shooting partnership with that gun. Here are three of mine. All have wear, and I do not mind carrying them into the field, or all day long, or getting caught in the woods for a week, should the need arise. Any new scratch would probably go unnoticed. There is something to be said for that. [IMG][/IMG]
|
June 17, 2013, 12:49 PM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 26, 2012
Location: Weatherford, TX
Posts: 301
|
Dig those irons, Sharps.
|
June 17, 2013, 12:50 PM | #25 |
Senior Member
Join Date: December 5, 2010
Location: Miami, Florida
Posts: 6,429
|
I'd leave them. They're badges of honor for the guns. I wouldn't worry about a scratch on my hammer much either. I just don't know if I feel the same about the mark from reassembly on a 1911...I can't stand those.
Depends on what you want to do and if you find it worth it to refinish the gun because of those marks. Do what makes you feel happy. I mean that in 100% honesty. |
|
|