How do I polish the trigger/hammer on my 686?

[BamBam-31]

I absolutely love my S&W 686 w/ 6" barrel. It's smooth and accurate, simply a joy to shoot.

I'm thinking of dressing it up a bit by slapping a pair of Ahrends cocobolo grip on it. Also, the hammer and trigger look like pot metal. I'm thinking of polishing both with Flitz.

I'll prolly need to remove both from the gun first, no? My question is: In very small words, how does one go about removing these parts? I took off the side plate and was shocked at how intricate the gun actually is. Looked like a clock's innards. I humbly closed it back up without touching anything.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

 

[Jim March]

You've just found one of your gun's big weaknesses vs. the GP100 - full takedown is a pain with the S&W.

There are a number of books on the subject. Somebody will be along shortly to recommend one. You NEED such a full "shop manual" for S&Ws covering the L-Frames before taking a screwdriver to that thing.

And second, you need GOOD screwdrivers - hollow ground that exactly fit the screws. Brownell's has kits at around $20.

Now, once it's apart, a felt Dremel wheel with mild polishing paste (Flitz or even toothpaste) will work. You want to POLISH! without taking significant metal off, and you don't want to mess with the "sear surfaces" unless you KNOW what you're doing. You can polish the sides, no problem, even cosmetically polish all of what shows outside of the gun's innards. But the places where the trigger scrapes against the hammer, internally, don't even think about messing with that casually. "Critical safety area" doesn't even begin, OK?

 

[Hal]

with mild polishing paste (Flitz or even toothpaste) will work.

Pretty much exactly what I used -toothpaste (tooth polish really)- on the inards of my Model 66. I took the sideplate off, flushed it out with paint thinner to get the oil out, packed it with toothpaste, put the sideplate back on and dry fired it a bazillion times. Then took the cylinder out, the stocks off, removed the sideplate and ran it under hot water to flush out the toothpaste. Reoiled/regreased it and put it back together.

Understand, I wasn't after a cheapo method of getting a $125. pro trigger job. All I wanted was to smooth things to the point they would be after a few thousand rounds.

 

[C.R.Sam]

Get Jerry Kunhausen's book on SnWs.

Read it a couple times cover to cover.
Keep it in the can for spot reading.

Heed the warnings.

Have fun.

 

[ChristopherG]

Another excellent resource is Jerry Miculek's video on S&W trigger jobs, available at Clark Custom guns online (et al.).

the hammer and trigger look like pot metal

That, you're gonna have to learn to live with. They're Machine Injected Metal (is that right? I think so) parts (MIM), and are never going to shine like the older forged/milled/whatever triggers and hammers, which were hardchromed. You won't hurt them if you just brush them up, a little, but neither will you ever get them to gleam; and if you try hard enough, you might damage them. Go easy.

 

[BamBam-31]

Okay, thanks so far for the input.

Fortunately, I know enough to not damage my guns. I have gunsmithing screwdrivers, hollow ground, so I didn't bugger up the screws at all. I also know enough to not mess with anything I'm unfamiliar with (practically everything), and that especially means engagement surfaces on the trigger/hammer. I simply don't like the way the hammer and trigger look on the outside.

I was under the impression that polishing them would remove the blackened areas. Maybe not to a brushed chrome shine, but at least not pot metal blotchy. Are the trigger and hammer made of a material that looks that way underneath as well, or is it simply an exterior finish that can be polished off?

Would it be better to polish what I can with both still on the gun?

Again, thanks for the input. I'll track down the books.

 

[Jim March]

Sorry if I came across as too cautious . But a LOT of people read these threads; where safety issues are concerned, I go into some detail no matter who posted .

 

[mattz357]

What is the difference between a set of screwdrivers from Brownells and one from Sears (Craftsman)? Thanks!

 

[BamBam-31]

A side view of a regular screwdriver tip would show a more V-shaped profile, while hollow ground screwdriver tips are more squared. Regular screwdrivers are made to fit all kinds of screws; as a result, they don't fit any one screw exactly.

Gunsmiting screwsdriver tips are made to fit screw slots as closely as possible. The tighter fit helps the screwdriver stay in the screw better, so it wont slip out and mar the screw like a regular screwdriver would.

Hope that helps.

Jim, always better to err on the side of caution.

 

[dfariswheel]

mattz357:

Regular screwdrivers (Craftsman) have a chisel-like wedge shape. When they are placed into a screw slot, they grip only at the top of the slot, and usually mar the screw.
They are also tapered or wedge-shaped on the sides. The tapered sides will gouge guns around the screws.

Gunsmith's screwdrivers are "hollow ground". The sides and faces of the blade are parallel. They grip the sides of the slot, not the top, and don't mar the screws up.
The straight sides won't scratch or gouge the area around screws.

Regular screwdrivers, even Craftsman brand are made for the ordinary screws used on cars, tractors, around houses, etc.
Gunsmith's screwdrivers are made for guns.

BamBam-31:

Are you SURE you want to polish your parts?
S&W color-case hardens their hammers and triggers, and most people love the mottled colors.
If you polish the color casing off, the parts will rust much easier.

 

[Jim March]

S&W color-case hardens their hammers and triggers, and most people love the mottled colors.

Not the MIM parts I don't think...that's one of the issues, they look disgusting because case hardening is a thing of the past...

 

[carpettbaggerr]

Are they using MIM in revolvers now, too? Thought the 686 would be all honest steel.

 

[Old Fuff]

It depends on when the particular revolver was made. S&W introduced MIM triggers and hammers into the 686 line at dash-5 in 1998.

Easy way to tell: Look at the back of the trigger. If it is hollowed out and not flat it's a MIM part.

Also, most if not all of the revolvers with MIM hammers have the firing pin mounted in the frame, not on the hammer nose. All hand-ejector .22 rimfire revolvers have frame-mounted firing pins however.

 

[DoubleAction]

One sign of a good action job is a polished trigger; I like the case hardened steel on the S&W.

 

[bountyhunter]

Also, the hammer and trigger look like pot metal. I'm thinking of polishing both with Flitz.

The new hammers and triggers are all MIM. I have one 66 that the trigger and hammer polished up "decent" to a sort of silver matte finish. I have two other new smiths that the parts just look horrible on. The metal surface is very uneven and lumpy because the grain size in the mix was obviously uneven. Polishing actually made these look worse.

Remember you only have about .006 to .008" of hardened surface on a SW trigger or hammer. Don't go nuts polishing and stay completely away from the critical wear faces like the sear faces and pivot points.

 

[bountyhunter]

Not the MIM parts I don't think...that's one of the issues, they look disgusting because case hardening is a thing of the past...

The factory guy told me the MIM parts still get the final hardening step that gives them the blotchy blue-grey color. It is a bit confusing:: MIM parts go through a "firing" step where the parts shrink in size and harden into a homogenous steel part. All MIM parts have a "hardening" step as part of the fabrication. Hammers and triggers get cut and fitted and then final hardened so the sear faces will last a long time.

 

[BamBam-31]

Thanks, bountyhunter. That's the info I was looking for. So I take it I'd need to take the offending parts off the gun before polishing them, right? Again, I'd be giving only what's visible externally a light buffing to remove as much of the blotchy-ness as possible. All engagement surfaces will be left alone.

Double Action, that trigger is sure purdy. Sigh....

 

[E357]

I would stay away from doing anything to the hammer at all. Keep your polishing to the rebound bar and the trigger. As others have already pointed out the best books, I'll just add Wolf 11 lb. trigger return springs.

Elliot

 

[bountyhunter]

That's the info I was looking for. So I take it I'd need to take the offending parts off the gun before polishing them, right? .

Yes

Again, I'd be giving only what's visible externally a light buffing to remove as much of the blotchy-ness as possible.

I understand. I also think that mottly color is babboon butt ugly. problem is, on the two never ones I have, the surface was so uneven that I could not get the sides of the trigger and hammer to an even color with polishing. Not sure about yours. Try a little buff with some fine polishing compound and see if they silver up.

 

[MR.G]

I have polished the MIM hammer and trigger of several S&W revolvers, and like the way that they look when finished. I remove the parts from the gun and polish them with Flitz.

 

[Handgunr]

BamBam-31,

Tip of the day...........

Use "Mother's Mag Wheel Polish".

Flitz is good, but Mother's does a quicker and nicer job. I've done probably 8 or 10 guns with the stuff and it never ceases to amaze me on stainless pieces.
I've used the Dremel with it too, but it'll work well by hand.
I don't know exactly how Mother's works, but it seems that there are no abrasives in it. If there are, they're so microscopic it's hard to tell.
It seems to be a chemical reaction more than anything.

I had used Flitz for years, but due to it's price back then, I decided to change over to Mother's after trying it on several items. It worked so well, and cheaper, I never looked back.


Take care,
Bob