Polishing

cw308 · January 22, 2018, 09:23 AM

I watched some videos on polishing the outside of the barrel just for looks , Would JB Compound work just as good as polishing compound?

lamarw · January 22, 2018, 12:20 PM

What are you attempting to achieve. Are you referring to a nickel, stainless, blued or what type of finish is the barrel.

For a very light polishing I like Mothers Billet Polish. It is less aggressive than Mothers Mag Polish, and others like Wenol, Simichrome Posish or others. The pad you use can also affect the aggressiviness. Light application pad would be cotton, sligtly more aggressive is Shurhold Ultra Fine brass wool pads, and then on up to 0000 steel wool.

Then follow it up with a coat of Renaissance Micro-Crystalline wax polish to protect the final finish.

If you are attempting to remove bluing, then simple soak the barrel in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. It will remove all the bluing in a couple of hours or less.

T. O'Heir · January 22, 2018, 12:31 PM

Polishing the outside of the barrel, especially the top, can cause the sights to disappear in bright sunlight. No point polishing blued steel. The bluing will wear off all by itself anyway.
JB Compound is for cleaning the barrel. It's not a polish. Flitz is a polish. Isn't cheap stuff either. Runs $12.25 for a 50 gram(1.8 OZ.) tube. Mind you, it works on metal, plastics and just about anything else.
White vinegar takes a lot less than a couple hours. Removing the bluing will result in premature rusting too.

cw308 · January 22, 2018, 01:13 PM

Thanks for getting back , the barrel is stainless steel in the natural state , It's on a Colt New Agent . The gun has trench sights not the conventional sights . Blued slide . Just another thing to do on the gun , can't polish the feed ramp it's the same as the frame aluminum . I enjoy shooting the gun alot , kind of baby it . Changed the recoil dual spring recoil assembly to the EGW assembly. Other then that will leave it that way . I shoot it every week 50 rounds of 230 FMJ's loaded on the mild side . 4.6 of W231 like I said I baby it . 100% reliable so far , want to keep it that way .
Thanks again for answering my post.

Chris

lamarw · January 22, 2018, 03:16 PM

Chris, With your response to baby it, I would use Mothers Billet Polish and an old t-shirt. Then follow it up with the Rennaissance wax.

The billet polish maybe a little hard to find. You can get it and the Rennassance from Amazon.

cw308 · January 22, 2018, 04:37 PM

larnarw
Will order Mothers Billet Polish , thanks for getting back.

Chris

tsillik · January 22, 2018, 06:25 PM

Lamarw would that combo be good for a 5906 with some kind of staining on the slide? terry

lamarw · January 22, 2018, 10:02 PM

The wax should not be a problem as a protection. I really doubt the Mothers Billet Polish will hurt, but you would want to try it on a less obvious place first. It is a very mild polish. The bronze wool which is also sold on Amazon is less aggressive than 0000 steel wool.

When you say stain, I am not sure of what you are referring to unless it is a browning from a light rust. Just not sure what the cause of the staining. Kano Kroil might help with the staining especially if it has to do with light rust causing a browning of the finish.

tsillik · January 23, 2018, 05:23 AM

Thanks I'll give it a try. terry

rodfac · January 23, 2018, 08:04 AM

Quote:

4.6 of W231 like I said I baby it . 100% reliable so far

Wow, I can't get any of my 1911's to operate with that low a powder charge. BTW, Sierra's Infinity Reloading program lists 4.9 gr of Win 231 as the starting charge with 230 gr FMJ's. Rod

cw308 · January 23, 2018, 09:14 AM

rodfac
The first reloading book ( Modern Reloading - Richard Lee ) starting load 4.6 , Modern that was in 1986 the newer reloading books are higher . I have 4 load books , what I do is take the lowest & highest of all four to use as my range . 4.6 works fine in my 3" 1911 at a distance of 21' it's a carry gun not a target . Even though at that range it's just as accurate as my 5". 4.6 is a infant load is more like it.
Rod, thanks for answering my post.

Chris

cw308 · January 26, 2018, 04:30 PM

lamarw
Used the Mothers Billet Polish on the outside of the barrel to remove any scuff marks . It really put a nice shine on the Stainless Steel . Will be part of my cleaning schedule . Thanks for the heads up . Really pretties up a plain Jane carry .

Chris

lamarw · January 26, 2018, 09:34 PM

Chris, You made my day. I am happy to hear you liked the results. It is also great for nickel finish guns.

cw308 · January 26, 2018, 11:45 PM

lamarw
You made my day , I have a nickel 1911 70 series Government model . Guess what I'm doing tomorrow . Thanks again , Chris

Bill DeShivs · January 27, 2018, 12:18 AM

Polishing is not as simple as you guys make it sound.
You can't polish without abrasion.

First- polishing nickel plate can easily go right through the plating to the underlying steel.
Most people have no idea how to polish and scrub as hard as they can. Nickel plated guns can be safely PROPERLY polished 2 or 3 times- maybe. It's just not a good idea.

Second- polishing is not as simple as using some polish and a rag. If the surface is already very smooth, this can work. Most surfaces need to be sanded to at least 1000 grit before hand polishing does much good at all.
Another problem is getting polish where it doesn't need to be. It will work it's way into the action-causing increased wear, and the polish can also gum things up.

BTW- those scuff marks you minimized? They will be right back after you work the slide a few times.

tsillik · January 27, 2018, 08:00 AM

Is the finish on a 5906 stainless or something else? terry

Also took another look at the pistol, it is more of a dulling of the finish, almost a dirty look to it.

cw308 · January 27, 2018, 02:14 PM

Bill DeShivs
Thanks for the heads up on polishing , what I'm doing is polishing the outside of a stainless steel barrel . It's a new gun a few normal scuff marks , it's just for looks as part of my cleaning schedule. I see you favor autos , nice knives .

Chris

Auto5 · January 27, 2018, 05:43 PM

posting deleted by author (wrong thread)

lamarw · January 30, 2018, 10:34 AM

I think we are having a failure to communicate.

Although I agree with BillDeshivs on the point of constantly polishing, it is not my intent to recommend such nor is it my intent to say you should apply polishing compounds to moving parts friction points of any equipment. On a pistol slide, you should be careful not to apply to friction points and to carefully remove any possible reisdue. Then the appropriate lubricating grease film, as recommended by the manufacturer, should be applied to the slide and/or barrel where specified prior to reassembly. I do not polish the slide channels of my pistol nor do I apply polish to the interior portions of my slides. It is applied to the exterior visible portion of an assembled pistol.

I do not believe any harm will done by polishing with a low friction very mild abrassive polish like Mothers Billet Polish for appearance purposes on infrequent occassions and following it up with good wax like Renissance to protect the finish. A good protective finish should preclude the need for frequent polishing.

cw308 · January 30, 2018, 01:45 PM

As l posted , wanting to polish the outside of the barrel just for looks . The post seemed to stray alittle. I received the information I was looking for. Thanks Guys

Chris

OzeanJaeger · January 30, 2018, 02:08 PM

You may not care, but it IS a Colt.

If it was shipped "brushed stainless" and you polish it to "bright stainless" (even if you do a flawless job) you can knock at least $500 off the value of it. If you have no box or papers then it may not matter that much. That said, even DS, Cobras, and NAs keep going up in value, and probably will forever. I have quite a few collector grade Colts in models that aren't very collectible at the moment. Someday that may change...

I bought a Colt 357 for $200 about three years ago, because someone had parkerized it. The guy who bought it thought it was a rare model he was stealing till he received it, and realized it was an aftermarket finish. Everything on it is excellent, and it functions perfectly, but the fact that it's been seriously messed with means it's hardly worth anything.

lamarw · January 30, 2018, 05:49 PM

OceanJaeger, I also agree with you, but once again we have a failure to communicate. The original discussion involved pistols with some appearance issues. None were listed as collectibles or pristine. I believe my responses involved stainless steel pistols.

I think the Colt revolvers you are referring to did not come from the factory in SS.

cw308 · January 30, 2018, 09:02 PM

O J
What I wanted to do , is polish the outside of the Stainless Steel Barrel , has a natural shine a few light rub marks . Not looking to change anything . The gun is all blued except for the barrel & guide rod. It is my carry gun , I shoot it once a week 50 rounds , clean it every time. Will add polishing the barrel with Mother's Billet Polish every time I clean .

lamarw
Instead of wax on the barrel I'm using Ballistol an Wilson Super lube grease on the locking lugs . What do you think ? that OK.

Chris

arquebus357 · January 30, 2018, 09:24 PM

If you are planning to use Mother's polish every week there is no need for you to add protection of any kind on that stainless steel slide.

How about some pics ??

I once ruined the collector value of a PEZ Dispenser by removing it from it's plastic wrap.

cw308 · January 30, 2018, 10:25 PM

arquebus357
It's not the slide , only the outside of the SS Barrel . I don't know how to post pictures , The gun is nothing fancy , It's a Colt New Agent came with CT Laser Grips in black . The only thing I changed was the dual spring recoil assembly to a single spring stronger guide rod assembly by EGW. It's a good carry firearm .

January 22, 2018, 09:23 AM	#1
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	Polishing I watched some videos on polishing the outside of the barrel just for looks , Would JB Compound work just as good as polishing compound?

January 22, 2018, 12:31 PM	#3
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	Polishing the outside of the barrel, especially the top, can cause the sights to disappear in bright sunlight. No point polishing blued steel. The bluing will wear off all by itself anyway. JB Compound is for cleaning the barrel. It's not a polish. Flitz is a polish. Isn't cheap stuff either. Runs $12.25 for a 50 gram(1.8 OZ.) tube. Mind you, it works on metal, plastics and just about anything else. White vinegar takes a lot less than a couple hours. Removing the bluing will result in premature rusting too. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

January 22, 2018, 04:37 PM	#6
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	larnarw Will order Mothers Billet Polish , thanks for getting back. Chris Last edited by cw308; January 22, 2018 at 10:21 PM.

January 27, 2018, 12:18 AM	#15
Bill DeShivs Senior Member Join Date: April 7, 2006 Posts: 10,985	Polishing is not as simple as you guys make it sound. You can't polish without abrasion. First- polishing nickel plate can easily go right through the plating to the underlying steel. Most people have no idea how to polish and scrub as hard as they can. Nickel plated guns can be safely PROPERLY polished 2 or 3 times- maybe. It's just not a good idea. Second- polishing is not as simple as using some polish and a rag. If the surface is already very smooth, this can work. Most surfaces need to be sanded to at least 1000 grit before hand polishing does much good at all. Another problem is getting polish where it doesn't need to be. It will work it's way into the action-causing increased wear, and the polish can also gum things up. BTW- those scuff marks you minimized? They will be right back after you work the slide a few times. __________________ Bill DeShivs, Master Cutler www.billdeshivs.com

January 27, 2018, 08:00 AM	#16
tsillik Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2011 Location: Carter Lake Ia. Posts: 237	Is the finish on a 5906 stainless or something else? terry Also took another look at the pistol, it is more of a dulling of the finish, almost a dirty look to it. Last edited by tsillik; January 27, 2018 at 09:17 AM.

January 22, 2018, 12:20 PM	#2
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	What are you attempting to achieve. Are you referring to a nickel, stainless, blued or what type of finish is the barrel. For a very light polishing I like Mothers Billet Polish. It is less aggressive than Mothers Mag Polish, and others like Wenol, Simichrome Posish or others. The pad you use can also affect the aggressiviness. Light application pad would be cotton, sligtly more aggressive is Shurhold Ultra Fine brass wool pads, and then on up to 0000 steel wool. Then follow it up with a coat of Renaissance Micro-Crystalline wax polish to protect the final finish. If you are attempting to remove bluing, then simple soak the barrel in a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and water. It will remove all the bluing in a couple of hours or less.

January 22, 2018, 01:13 PM	#4
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	Thanks for getting back , the barrel is stainless steel in the natural state , It's on a Colt New Agent . The gun has trench sights not the conventional sights . Blued slide . Just another thing to do on the gun , can't polish the feed ramp it's the same as the frame aluminum . I enjoy shooting the gun alot , kind of baby it . Changed the recoil dual spring recoil assembly to the EGW assembly. Other then that will leave it that way . I shoot it every week 50 rounds of 230 FMJ's loaded on the mild side . 4.6 of W231 like I said I baby it . 100% reliable so far , want to keep it that way . Thanks again for answering my post. Chris

January 22, 2018, 03:16 PM	#5
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	Chris, With your response to baby it, I would use Mothers Billet Polish and an old t-shirt. Then follow it up with the Rennaissance wax. The billet polish maybe a little hard to find. You can get it and the Rennassance from Amazon.

January 22, 2018, 06:25 PM	#7
tsillik Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2011 Location: Carter Lake Ia. Posts: 237	Lamarw would that combo be good for a 5906 with some kind of staining on the slide? terry

January 22, 2018, 10:02 PM	#8
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	The wax should not be a problem as a protection. I really doubt the Mothers Billet Polish will hurt, but you would want to try it on a less obvious place first. It is a very mild polish. The bronze wool which is also sold on Amazon is less aggressive than 0000 steel wool. When you say stain, I am not sure of what you are referring to unless it is a browning from a light rust. Just not sure what the cause of the staining. Kano Kroil might help with the staining especially if it has to do with light rust causing a browning of the finish.

January 23, 2018, 05:23 AM	#9
tsillik Senior Member Join Date: January 23, 2011 Location: Carter Lake Ia. Posts: 237	Thanks I'll give it a try. terry

January 23, 2018, 09:14 AM	#11
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	rodfac The first reloading book ( Modern Reloading - Richard Lee ) starting load 4.6 , Modern that was in 1986 the newer reloading books are higher . I have 4 load books , what I do is take the lowest & highest of all four to use as my range . 4.6 works fine in my 3" 1911 at a distance of 21' it's a carry gun not a target . Even though at that range it's just as accurate as my 5". 4.6 is a infant load is more like it. Rod, thanks for answering my post. Chris

January 26, 2018, 04:30 PM	#12
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	lamarw Used the Mothers Billet Polish on the outside of the barrel to remove any scuff marks . It really put a nice shine on the Stainless Steel . Will be part of my cleaning schedule . Thanks for the heads up . Really pretties up a plain Jane carry . Chris

January 26, 2018, 09:34 PM	#13
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	Chris, You made my day. I am happy to hear you liked the results. It is also great for nickel finish guns.

January 26, 2018, 11:45 PM	#14
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	lamarw You made my day , I have a nickel 1911 70 series Government model . Guess what I'm doing tomorrow . Thanks again , Chris

January 27, 2018, 02:14 PM	#17
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	Bill DeShivs Thanks for the heads up on polishing , what I'm doing is polishing the outside of a stainless steel barrel . It's a new gun a few normal scuff marks , it's just for looks as part of my cleaning schedule. I see you favor autos , nice knives . Chris

January 27, 2018, 05:43 PM	#18
Auto5 Senior Member Join Date: March 18, 2013 Location: Chicago suburbs Posts: 662	posting deleted by author (wrong thread) __________________ At the young age of five, a bear told me that I was the only person who could prevent forest fires. Why I was chosen, I'll never know.

January 30, 2018, 10:34 AM	#19
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	I think we are having a failure to communicate. Although I agree with BillDeshivs on the point of constantly polishing, it is not my intent to recommend such nor is it my intent to say you should apply polishing compounds to moving parts friction points of any equipment. On a pistol slide, you should be careful not to apply to friction points and to carefully remove any possible reisdue. Then the appropriate lubricating grease film, as recommended by the manufacturer, should be applied to the slide and/or barrel where specified prior to reassembly. I do not polish the slide channels of my pistol nor do I apply polish to the interior portions of my slides. It is applied to the exterior visible portion of an assembled pistol. I do not believe any harm will done by polishing with a low friction very mild abrassive polish like Mothers Billet Polish for appearance purposes on infrequent occassions and following it up with good wax like Renissance to protect the finish. A good protective finish should preclude the need for frequent polishing.

January 30, 2018, 01:45 PM	#20
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	As l posted , wanting to polish the outside of the barrel just for looks . The post seemed to stray alittle. I received the information I was looking for. Thanks Guys Chris

January 30, 2018, 02:08 PM	#21
OzeanJaeger Senior Member Join Date: September 8, 2014 Posts: 301	You may not care, but it IS a Colt. If it was shipped "brushed stainless" and you polish it to "bright stainless" (even if you do a flawless job) you can knock at least $500 off the value of it. If you have no box or papers then it may not matter that much. That said, even DS, Cobras, and NAs keep going up in value, and probably will forever. I have quite a few collector grade Colts in models that aren't very collectible at the moment. Someday that may change... I bought a Colt 357 for $200 about three years ago, because someone had parkerized it. The guy who bought it thought it was a rare model he was stealing till he received it, and realized it was an aftermarket finish. Everything on it is excellent, and it functions perfectly, but the fact that it's been seriously messed with means it's hardly worth anything.

January 30, 2018, 05:49 PM	#22
lamarw Senior Member Join Date: April 12, 2010 Location: Lake Martin, AL Posts: 3,311	OceanJaeger, I also agree with you, but once again we have a failure to communicate. The original discussion involved pistols with some appearance issues. None were listed as collectibles or pristine. I believe my responses involved stainless steel pistols. I think the Colt revolvers you are referring to did not come from the factory in SS.

January 30, 2018, 09:02 PM	#23
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	O J What I wanted to do , is polish the outside of the Stainless Steel Barrel , has a natural shine a few light rub marks . Not looking to change anything . The gun is all blued except for the barrel & guide rod. It is my carry gun , I shoot it once a week 50 rounds , clean it every time. Will add polishing the barrel with Mother's Billet Polish every time I clean . lamarw Instead of wax on the barrel I'm using Ballistol an Wilson Super lube grease on the locking lugs . What do you think ? that OK. Chris

January 30, 2018, 09:24 PM	#24
arquebus357 Senior Member Join Date: December 19, 2016 Location: Atlanta, Georgia area Posts: 455	If you are planning to use Mother's polish every week there is no need for you to add protection of any kind on that stainless steel slide. How about some pics ?? I once ruined the collector value of a PEZ Dispenser by removing it from it's plastic wrap.

January 30, 2018, 10:25 PM	#25
cw308 Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2010 Location: Plainview , Long Island NY Posts: 3,863	arquebus357 It's not the slide , only the outside of the SS Barrel . I don't know how to post pictures , The gun is nothing fancy , It's a Colt New Agent came with CT Laser Grips in black . The only thing I changed was the dual spring recoil assembly to a single spring stronger guide rod assembly by EGW. It's a good carry firearm .