[valnar]

Can anyone recommend a place that will do bead blasting or mirror finishing on a stainless S&W revolver? Any idea of pricing?

I have a 66 and 686+ that I would like to make better.

Thanks,
Robert

[Erich]

Based on a tip from someone at some forum, I just took my 940 to a place that rebuilds auto starters (any engine place should do). They refinished the gun while I waited for $15. My revo looks fantastic!

(The local shop wanted $40-50, and they wanted to keep the gun 4-5 weeks before getting to it.)

[valnar]

How was it refinished? Mirror?

Thanks,
Robert

[VictorLouis]

A mechanic's blast cabinet contains all manner of coarse, worn-out, size-unknown grit media of all sorts. Your'e really lucky you got the level of 'matte' or 'satin' you were hoping for. Blast guns require a certain level of touch and finesse' with guns that I DOUBT your average shop-jockey posesses.:rolleyes: Dulled edges, or smeared rollmarks could be the result, or worse.:o Then, there's all of the rusty, filthy carbon-steel particulates left in the mix. IOW, your stainless gun may now be permeated with minute particals of rust!:eek: Pay extra-special attention to it in the coming months.

[Erich]

I did take it to a place that builds racing motors. Maybe I just lucked out with it.

Mine came out a lot more "matte" than "satin," but it looks terrific. My rollmarks are fine, and the edges are fine. I covered my hand-polished trigger face with tape (it was removed when the gun was handed back to me, but the polish was perfect). I took the gun out to the range this weekend to make sure the action (I'd also taken off the grips and taped up the opening in the grip frame and the hand, bolt and firing pin holes) was grit-free (you're not supposed to dry-fire new Centennials, so I didn't want to just check it) and ran a box through the gun: it was just wonderful. The chambers were still mirror shiny and extraction was still perfect (I'm sure it would still stick with Blazers :) ).

Still, VL, thanks for the heads-up. I'll watch out in the coming months, but I think this guy did a fine job. I was wishing that I had a decent digital camera so I could post photos - it really came out great.

Oh, and sorry, valnar . . . I can't believe my initial post didn't specify that I had it bead-blasted. :scrutiny:

[Serpico]

I did my model 60 in a mechanic's bead blaster and it came out perfect....but i went from shiny to matte...

[WebHobbit]

(you're not supposed to dry-fire new Centennials,

Who said? According to S&W you can dry-fire all of their guns except the .22s.

[Standing Wolf]

The good folks at http://www.magnaport.com have bead-blasted all my stainless steel guns, and have done outstanding work. Cheap? No. Fast? Not usually. Worth it? Definitely.

[Erich]

Um, I don't remember. Maybe S&W said, in a manual I have?

That is, I think they did. For years and years, I'd always understood that it was okay to dry-fire all newer centerfire guns. Then, when I got this gun a couple of years back, I learned I shouldn't dry-fire it. So, I don't.

Now, writing this today, I don't recall for certain that the info was from S&W. But, I'm the kind of guy who doesn't come off a solidly held understanding without something substantial to pull me off it. My vague recollection is that I read it in S&W literature on the pistol.

But, hey, I'm not going to dig out the manual to find out what it says. I know I had a good reason for programming myself not to dry-fire this one when I bought it.

And I'm certainly not trying to tell anyone else what to do. It's a free country. Dry-fire anything you want to dry-fire. :)