Polishing a Gun?

Status
Not open for further replies.
D

DS Gun

Member
Joined
Jul 31, 2008
Messages
32
I just got a new revolver yesterday and it has some fine scratches on it. I was wondering if there is anyway to safely take them out - polish/buff whatever. I think what happened was they put a strap on it so that people wouldn't play with it in the store but probably over time and during shipping one of the harder sections of the strap lightly scratched the surface of part of the gun. There is a small section that looks like it was just sanded down with fine scratches in a ball shape.

I have a bad habit at trying to fix things and normally making them worse. So I am curious if there is any safe way for me to buff out these scratches to make it shiny again in that area.

The gun that I got is the Last Cowboy version of this gun - http://www.ruger.com/Firearms/FAProdView?model=5119&return=Y They say it is stainless steel and has a gloss stainless finish.

Also, around the front sight there is something black that I can sort of rub off around the edges of the sight. Any idea what this might be? I can rub it with my nail and get some black off, but for the most part I can't seem to get it all off. I don't know if maybe it is something to due with them attaching the sight to the front of the gun...(some kind of glue or something that happens with welding?) Are there any chemicals I can safely use to help remove the black?

Thanks for any help.
 
If the gun is already high-polish, Flitz or Simichrome metal polish should remove the scratches.

I have no idea what the black stuff is, but you might just try normal gun cleaning solvent & see what happens.

rcmodel
 
Thanks rcmodel. I will look into those. I definitely don't want to make it worse so I appreciate your suggestions.
 
He's correct, Flitz or Simichrome metal polish. I've also used MOTHERS Mag and Aluminum polish.
 
Ok, I bought some Mother M&A and ordered some Simichrome. I thought I would try both on other metal objects around the house before trying to polish the gun.

Can you tell me if this is correct -
From what I read on the Mothers container, I would put a small dab of polish on a microfiber towel and then put it on the scratched area on the gun. I then rub the polish on and it says it should turn dark in color. Then I simply wipe off the polish before it dries. And that should remove these small scratches? I know this is probably silly even asking but I want to make sure. Also, is it ok to just polish the one scratched spot or should I polish the entire section of the gun (blending, etc)? It is already almost a mirror finish in the same section, it is just dull/scratched in one spot.

Thanks!
 
If the Mothers doesn't blend just do a entire section. Heck you can mirror polish a entire pistol, I have done 8-9, in a few hours.
 
Mothers is really good stuff. best advise. Clean rags. keep them handy and change often. Works really good though
 
Thanks guys. Critgit, are you saying only to use Never Dull on SS and not other metals, or are you saying you would recommended Never Dull on SS over the other products?
 
Does anyone know how polishing actually works? Does it just clean up the metal so much it disguises the scratches? Or does it actually remove small scratches? I know deeper scratches would require sanding or something else, but I wonder how much I can do with hand polishing.

I have been using the Mothers Mag and Aluminum around the house. I am having fun polishing for the first time...lol I have done a couple of metal objects and for the most part I haven't seen any reduction in scratches. I haven't touched the gun yet.

I am attaching a photo of a penny (lol) that I polished. :D
 

Attachments

  • Penny.jpg
    Penny.jpg
    120.6 KB · Views: 44
OMG get a hobby. Supposably it will take them away. however that will take a long time of polishing. As the polish does have a very small amount of grit in the polish. This helps in the polishing itself. However you can spend a long time doing that. So at the same time i tell you it does clean out the scratches and make them harder to see. A couple of post up above the never dull. Well it works and it doesnt. I have found that it works good on some surfaces and not on others. Some how though Mothers works on a lot of surfaces. We used to use mothers on motorcycles. Aluminum framed motorcyles. You can make that alumnum look like Chrome in a few hours. Thats some pretty good stuff. If you have a piece of aluminum around. Try it on it.
 
Wow, haven't seen Nevr-Dull wadding since I was a kid.... that stuff has a stink to it that you never, ever forget.

These days, I'm having really good luck with Maas. WalMart sells it for a couple of bucks for a tube. It has a stink to it, but they did a decent job with some fragrance... still doesn't pass the wife test.... she asks me to go into the other room with Maas.... I'd be asked to leave if I opened a can of Nevr Dull, though.
 
DS, polishing with these products will remove a tiny amount of surface material... which could be dirt, oxidation, or scratches.. a sight metal texture, etc.

Don't be concerned about removing "too much" using these types of products and a rag. Don't use stuff like Rogue... certainly don't use anything resembling a rotary tool (Dremel).
 
i have seen lots of guys use a carbide smoker to make the front sights reflection proof on a silhouette gun at the matches.... if your gun is new to you and has been previously owned that might what it is................
 
Thanks guys. Critgit, are you saying only to use Never Dull on SS and not other metals, or are you saying you would recommended Never Dull on SS over the other products?
Click to expand...

Sorry for not getting back sooner. The Never Dull has been around since just prior to dirt. It's been bought and sold many times. It's now owned by Eagle One. It great stuff but I and others avoid using it on Blued guns.
As to what's best.... I like:
Flitz
Wenol
Simichrome
Maas
Autosolve
Never Dull
.......................In that order!

CRITGIT
 
All these products remove a little metal, has been said.

On Stainles that is probably not a bad thing!

On BLUED Steel it IS! the blue no matter how well done is very thin will become a white spot!

Althoug I like white spots! people come to me to make them Black again!
 
"...have a hobby, polishing pennies..." A guy from the Mint just called and said you had to get back to work. That pile of pennies isn't going to polish itself. snicker.
Jeweller's rouge and a cloth wheel in a bench grinder will do polish scratches in SS fast. Eye protection is required.
 
Mother's Mag or Flitz and an arm full of elbow grease, and you should be good. I did a 686 in about two hours, and it looked awesome. Doin' my SS Blackhawk tonight.
 
I am going to polish my gun soon, just haven't gotten around to it yet. I did polish one of my knives that is SS the other day. I couldn't completely get out the scratches on the knife but it did help a lot. I tried both the Mothers and Simichrome. I liked the Mothers a little more. I applied all different types of pressure but didn't notice a huge difference. Do you guys press hard when using Mothers?
 
Quote:
OMG get a hobby
Click to expand...
.

I have a hobby, polishing pennies!!

Thanks guys for the info, it is pretty neat how shiny you can get things
Click to expand...
!

Mothers is the best. just like i mentioned. a lot of people swear on flitz. i used flitz before. i never really cared for it as much as i do mothers. I even have a rare can of Boyds mag polish i bought around 1997. To bad they guy passed away last year. Boyd Cottington Best Hot Rod Builder ever.

Back to mothers mag and wheel its so good. As for never dull. They should change the name to always dull. Only thing better to use but you have to be carefull with it is Tarn X. That stuff is amazing. But i would caution on what you use it on. I used to collect old roman coins. I would get them in dirt form and take them down to the metal. It was hard used to use a brass brush and picks to get surface rust off then let them soak in tarn x for a few days. Then polish them up with mothers mag and wheel. Those ancient coins would look fabulous.
 
I am sure this has probably been discussed, but I wonder if it takes away value of an object by polishing it. Like with those Roman Coins. I have some old coins that could use some polishing, plus some old knives from around WWII. Some of the knives have rust spots and a black substance of some kind on them. I worry about touching those in case their value would drop.
 
yes and no. As for the roman coins. most of their value was if you could properly identify the pictures and were able to trace back around when and who made it. You have no choice but to take it down to the metal. some times i would buy the coins and they were stuck together and looked like big washers. You had to get off u700 years of dirt off the coin to see the picture. on a gun it depends. you could buy italian replicas of single action guns all day long. they all look new black finish nice grips. But if we went back a hundred years they didnt look like that. So you strip the blue polish the metal, mess up the grips put nicks in the wood maybe charcoal a part of the grips and now its worth its weight. Now other items like a wwII knife or sword people excpect them to look old. If you buy one that looks new. Then no one will believe its from WWII. they will think its a cheapo repo
 
My polishing experience

I was doing a "melt" treatment on my SA 1911 in SS, after I was done I was doing some polishing to the areas I had filed down when I made a nasty scratch on the side of the slide directly behind the muzzle. I was horrified, so I did some research here on THR and the internet in general and formulated a plan.

I started with some 600 grit wet/dry auto body sandpaper and worked my way through 2000 grit. After I was done with the sandpaper I used some simichrome and you cannot see where I scratched it and there is difference in sheen in the area I polished and the unpolished area.

I had read that you have to only sand in one direction and that you have to go in a straight line. I started off doing that, but I soon got tired of that and just tried sanding back and forth, no problem. So in my own experience you dont have to sand in one direction only and in a straight line. I just went back and forth, no circular sanding or anything like that. YMMV

I really enjoyed polishing out my mistake and went on and removed the marks I made when I was a little careless in installing the slide stop and just generally polished my whole 1911. It was an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Just my humble opinion.

Little John (not so little, but the name is stuck :p )
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Polishing out scratched Nickle plate
Replies
7
Views
1K
JohnM
J
B
  • Locked
Stainless steel maintenance?
Replies
2
Views
417
boredelmo
B
G
  • Locked
Need to touch up stainless
Replies
6
Views
580
glockster157
G
B
  • Locked
Polishing stainless revolvers?
Replies
10
Views
2K
bountyhunter
B
S
  • Locked
Just One Scratch
Replies
12
Views
19K
Trent
Trent
Back
Top