Extreme Makeover: Revolver Edition
- Thread starter BADUNAME9
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Gundenstern
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- Jan 9, 2006
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- 51
I too would like to know. Nothing better looking than a revolver with smooth lines unbroken by legaleze
Gundenstern
Member
- Joined
- Jan 9, 2006
- Messages
- 51
Are you there? Many would probably appreciate info on how to do this.
Sorry guys, been away from the computer for awhile. Wow, I don't really post much, but it looks like my photos have stirred some attention.
First off, I would like to credit TFL member Dhart from inspiring me to do this. It can be a little nerve-wracking to put sandpaper to a new revolver.
Here's what I did. My method was a little different from his, but it worked for me. First, I took an electric drill with a 5" adhesive backed sanding disk with 120 grit disc. This was foolish of me. This was way too big for this project, but it was all I had available at the moment, and I can be impatient. I tried to be really, really, really careful.
I would recommended a dremel tool with a 120 grit or so sandpaper drum. Brush over the billboard lightly, trying to maintain even pressure as you move it along the length of the barrel. You want to maintain consistency in the radius of the barrel, rather than only grinding away the billboard, which will leave a noticeable concave surface (which if you look closely, that is what happened to me. I fixed that, though.)
After I removed enough metal to be done with the billboard, what I did was take a small 2" or so length of automotive heater hose, cut it like a pie lengthwise until it matched the curvature of the barrel, and backed that with a small piece of wood. This was my sanding block. I used 50 grit sandpaper and went back and forth, always trying to maintain even pressure and sanding in a straight line, for about an hour until I could see that the barrel was about as straight as I could get it. This levels it out so you don't get a bunch of "ripples" in the finished product.
Anything else that I didn't take the drill to, I just sanded without a block; that metal was already straight and my sanding didnt seem to change that. I progressed up in grits, next to 100, then 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1000, and finally 1500. I say once you get up around 150, you've done all the leveling you're going to do. 150 grit doesn't remove much metal; it just removes the larger sanding scratches from the coarser 100 grit. From 150 grit on, I just used my fingers (no block.)
After doing all this up to 1500 grit, I brushed everything with a red Scotchbrite pad, and then spent about 30 minutes or an hour or so polishing with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish (the stuff in the metal can, not the liquid in the bottle.) I've heard of others using Flitz, too.
So that is the basic process. The main thing to keep in mind is to not be in a hurry. Don't move on to the next finer sandpaper until you've ready. Don't just work on the barrel, which is easy. Pay attention to the small crevices and smaller areas that are harder to work on. Finally, spray everything down with cleaner before reassembling.
Oh, last thing, is be prepared to explain what it is to the guy at the range who asks.
Here is a better shot of the finished project. Notice the concave area where the billboard used to be is reduced. Cheers, everyone.
First off, I would like to credit TFL member Dhart from inspiring me to do this. It can be a little nerve-wracking to put sandpaper to a new revolver.
Here's what I did. My method was a little different from his, but it worked for me. First, I took an electric drill with a 5" adhesive backed sanding disk with 120 grit disc. This was foolish of me. This was way too big for this project, but it was all I had available at the moment, and I can be impatient. I tried to be really, really, really careful.
I would recommended a dremel tool with a 120 grit or so sandpaper drum. Brush over the billboard lightly, trying to maintain even pressure as you move it along the length of the barrel. You want to maintain consistency in the radius of the barrel, rather than only grinding away the billboard, which will leave a noticeable concave surface (which if you look closely, that is what happened to me. I fixed that, though.)
After I removed enough metal to be done with the billboard, what I did was take a small 2" or so length of automotive heater hose, cut it like a pie lengthwise until it matched the curvature of the barrel, and backed that with a small piece of wood. This was my sanding block. I used 50 grit sandpaper and went back and forth, always trying to maintain even pressure and sanding in a straight line, for about an hour until I could see that the barrel was about as straight as I could get it. This levels it out so you don't get a bunch of "ripples" in the finished product.
Anything else that I didn't take the drill to, I just sanded without a block; that metal was already straight and my sanding didnt seem to change that. I progressed up in grits, next to 100, then 150, 220, 320, 400, 600, 1000, and finally 1500. I say once you get up around 150, you've done all the leveling you're going to do. 150 grit doesn't remove much metal; it just removes the larger sanding scratches from the coarser 100 grit. From 150 grit on, I just used my fingers (no block.)
After doing all this up to 1500 grit, I brushed everything with a red Scotchbrite pad, and then spent about 30 minutes or an hour or so polishing with Mother's Mag and Aluminum polish (the stuff in the metal can, not the liquid in the bottle.) I've heard of others using Flitz, too.
So that is the basic process. The main thing to keep in mind is to not be in a hurry. Don't move on to the next finer sandpaper until you've ready. Don't just work on the barrel, which is easy. Pay attention to the small crevices and smaller areas that are harder to work on. Finally, spray everything down with cleaner before reassembling.
Oh, last thing, is be prepared to explain what it is to the guy at the range who asks.
Here is a better shot of the finished project. Notice the concave area where the billboard used to be is reduced. Cheers, everyone.
1KPerDay
Member
Looks great.
Question: would starting with larger grit sandpaper on a curved sanding block remove the billboard without making a concave depression?
Question: would starting with larger grit sandpaper on a curved sanding block remove the billboard without making a concave depression?
ChristopherG
Member
I think it certainly would be, if you ground away at it. You'd have to be willing to polish the entire gun to achieve a consistent appearance.
I went through a very similar process on my Bisley Blackhawk .41. I went very slow, and actually stopped when the polished barrel still had tiny, barely discernable traces of a few of the characters of legaleze--just so I (and anyone else who was interested or concerned) could tell exactly how much material I did and did not remove.
I'm sure you could, but the downside would be that it would take significantly longer. It would probably be the better way. I started off doing that but was making such slow progress that I decided to get out the drill.
There are still three areas with barely discernable traces of periods and what I think was an "N" that I didn't remove. I would have had to remove more metal than I felt comfortable with in those areas. I'm guessing the billboard is stamped into the metal, and those areas just went a little deeper.
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