An Ugly Taurus Gets a Pretty New Face

wiscoaster · Nov 27, 2020

This is how I spend my spare time - I like to make ugly guns look prettier. Taurus firearms are IMO reliable, solid, capable firearms that do what they're supposed to do. Attention to fine finish detail and looking pretty aren't their strong points. So I decided to give my Taurus 82 .38 Special revolver a pretty new face:

View media item 3471
And after a couple days of elbow grease:

View media item 3470 View media item 3469

bannockburn · Nov 27, 2020

wiscoaster

Looks great! So what did you use on your Taurus besides lots of elbow grease?

Sovblocgunfan · Nov 27, 2020

And please let us know where you got the grips. Nice job!

wiscoaster · Nov 27, 2020

The grips are DIY. The polish was "Mother's". Thanks.

Tallball · Nov 27, 2020

Great job! That looks really nice.

hso · Nov 27, 2020

wiscoaster said:
And after a couple days of elbow grease:

View media item 3470 View media item 3469

WOW!

George Dickel · Nov 27, 2020

Nice work!

gotboostvr · Nov 27, 2020

The finished product looks great, but is that stainless or carbon steel?

Sistema1927 · Nov 27, 2020

gotboostvr said:
The finished product looks great, but is that stainless or carbon steel?

Inquiring minds want to know. Is that now "in the white", or was that stainless under the black finish?

Pat Riot · Nov 27, 2020

gotboostvr said:
The finished product looks great, but is that stainless or carbon steel?

Sistema1927 said:
Inquiring minds want to know. Is that now "in the white", or was that stainless under the black finish?

Yes, I would like to know too.

That revolver looks great! :thumbup:

wiscoaster · Nov 28, 2020

Sistema1927 and others said:
Inquiring minds want to know. Is that now "in the white" ...

No, not stainless steel ... just blued steel. It's definitely going to be an ongoing effort to keep it that way now. I've deblued and polished several steel guns and this one was the hardest due to the steel used. I'm no metalurgist, but the steel under the bluing on this pistol was definitely not the same steel under this originally blued CZ-70:
View media item 3298
Polished steel will remain shiny for quite a while if it's polished absolutely smooth and has a light coat of oil. Due to the rough milling by Taurus that I couldn't completely polish out, I expect this one will need more continuing attention than the CZ.

Thanks for asking.

doubleh · Nov 28, 2020

It will stay shiny a lot longer if you use wax instead of oil. I di a rifle about 10 years ago and with Johnson's paste wax every 6-8 months it's still just as shiny as when it was finished. It does the same for polished aluminum.

wiscoaster · Nov 28, 2020

doubleh said:
It will stay shiny a lot longer if you use wax instead of oil..

Good idea!! :thumbup:

Then also it doesn't need to be wiped every time it's handled. Do you think Birchwood Casey Gun Stock Wax would work OK?

doubleh · Nov 28, 2020

I looked it up and it contains silicone which is not something that's good on stock finishes. I would pass on it or any liquid wax and go with Johnson's paste or Renassiance wax. You can buy a tin of Johnson's that will last you almost forever for just a few bucks and you can protect your guns, belts, holsters etc, and I even use it on a pair of Sperry docksider shoes. I started using Johnson's in the late sixties and have had no rust problems since.

wiscoaster · Nov 28, 2020

Thanks!!

Pat Riot · Nov 28, 2020

I would go with Renaissance Wax.

It is not cheap. A little goes a long way and it isn’t waxy once dried and buffed.

Renaissance Wax Polish , 200 ml https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B0012S1XBO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_fabt1_wzQWFb5SF481R

Like I said, it is not cheap.

Monac · Nov 28, 2020

Wow. I would not have called that gun a sow's ear to begin with...but it's sure a silk purse now. Great job, wiscoaster.

BullRunBear · Nov 28, 2020

Great job on the polishing and new grips. Darn impressive.

Another vote for Renaissance Wax. I use it on all my BP guns and plan to use it on my old mil-surp rifles. Looks great, dries hard and REALLY protects. Good on both wood and metal. In spite of the price, a little goes a long, long way.

Jeff

jdavis123 · Nov 28, 2020

It wasn’t too many years ago that Taurus guns were finished in a beautiful high polish blue with wooden grips. Perhaps for economic or environmental reasons, they changed to the current mat black and rubber grips I really miss the bright blue and pretty wood on guns from times past.

ontarget · Nov 28, 2020

jdavis123 said:
It wasn’t too many years ago that Taurus guns were finished in a beautiful high polish blue with wooden grips. Perhaps for economic or environmental reasons, they changed to the current mat black and rubber grips I really miss the bright blue and pretty wood on guns from times past.

I have a Taurus 689 6 inch 357 from back in the late 80s I believe. The bluing, fit, and finish is superb. IMO on par with S&W.
I recently picked up a used Taurus 65 in 357. It is new enough that it has the stupid internal lock hole on the back of the hammer but it too has a very nice bluing. Fit and finish is good too but not as good as the 689.

Mn Fats · Nov 29, 2020

Now if only it could be less ugly on the inside...

Haha, just messing with you op. Looks good, black has no business on the metal pieces of a revolver. Unless it's on the sights. Nice job.

wiscoaster · Nov 29, 2020

Mn Fats said:
Now if only it could be less ugly on the inside...Haha, just messing with you op.

No, you're quite right. It's pretty ugly on the inside. Definitely not the fine detail and precise fit of a Smith & Wesson's internals. But ... it works.

An Ugly Taurus Gets a Pretty New Face

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Moderator

Member

Member

Member

Contributing Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Contributing Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Member

Similar threads