[MtrCty]

I was talking to a friend who does black oxide for a living, he does stuff for Trapper,Magnaport,etc. And he said if I preped my Sistema he would coat it for free! Hard deal to pass up. Now I havent even shot it yet, I would put some rounds through it first to make sure everything is to my likeing. But when I do refinish it do I need to take off the front sight blade? Or how about the plunger tube? All I have to do now is decide on buffed or sand blasted.

[Old Fuff]

"Black oxide" is an industrial term for what we call "blueing." There are different kinds of blue finishes, but this one is the black-blue you see most often. Sand or bead blasting will give you a matt finish. Polishing or buffing will result in a bright blue like that on older Colt or Smith& Wesson revolvers.

You do have to detail-strip the pistol, but you don't have to remove the grip screw bushings, plunger tube or either sight, unless you plan to replace them - and if so do it before any refinishing.

The quality of the finish, or its "brightness" depends entirely on how well it is polished. I suggest that you do most of it by hand, and only do the final work on a wheel. A lot more work, but a lot better looking.

[asiparks]

i think black oxide and bluing are two different processes. Black oxide can be applied to stainless steel, aluminium and other metals that can't be blued. Kimber for example uses it on most of their basic 1911's that are "blue" except for the Royal, which really is blued. ( Kimber apparently are fairly random in their use of steels for their pistols. They could be carbon steel, which the Royal always is, or they could be stainless with a black oxide finish over the top.) You can't polish the black oxide to match a true deep lustrus "blued" finish that you would find on older Colts or S&Ws, you just get a shinier black. Or, if you own an Eclipse, it rubs off ..:p