Polishing Barrel on XD's

[General Disarray]

Over the years I've gotten into the habit of polishing the black coating off of my pistol barrels when they get looking raggedy. With my Dremel and some orange compound I can get the barrrels of Sigs, Glocks, etc., to a nice shiney finish. All except for XD's; no matter how much compound I add I can't get the coating off of an XD. Has anyone else tried this and succeeded? Would it be bad for the barrel to use a stripper of some kind?

 

[GLOOB]

The only part that shows is the muzzle and side of the chamber. I polished those parts on one of my milsurp pistols, taking care to avoid the crown and to only polish the external part of the barrel that extends past the slide. I wouldn't polish anything else, though, because you'll be reducing accuracy. If it looks raggedy, put your gun back together?

I'm not an expert on polishing compounds, but I'm going to go head and guess that if it doesn't come off with that orange stuff, it's better to leave it alone. Even a melonite finish can be rubbed right off with the wrong compound, and it can't be easy to apply the buffing evenly with a little Dremel.

 

[possum]

after almost 18,500rds, the first 2/3's or so of my barrel is almost a polished shinny color!

to answer your question no i do not know how you would go about getting it like you want. I personally think that wear is nice, and it lets you know that it isn't a safe queen, and that it is actually used. I don't have need for a "pretty gun".