Removing scratches from stainless steel

[rhatimi]

I have a ruger gp-100 that has a few light scratches on the satin stainless finish of the frame. What do you guys think the best way to remove these scratches are

 

[kanook]

I used 600grit wet/dry sand paper, now I've decided to beadblast it.

 

[Nowhere Man]

I used 1500 emery cloth with Hoppes. Make sure you go with the grain.


Dave

 

[earlthegoat2]

You could use Flitz if they arent too deep. I do like the 1500 grit idea. Generally the finer the grit the better to the point that it will remove the scratch at hand.

 

[harmonic]

For some reason stainless is very susceptible to scratches. If it's a gun you use at all it's going to get more scratches.

And, it's almost impossible to "spot eliminate" scratches on a stainless gun. The section that's been buffed/polished will look different than the rest of the gun.

Accept the scratches. Get on with your shooting and don't worry about it.


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If you ignore the above, Flitz is always good.

 

[earlthegoat2]

Like harmonic said, stainless attracts scratches so you can clean it up and put it in the safe or you can just let the scratches happen as they will. It wont affect the value of the gun.

 

[Oro]

For some reason stainless is very susceptible to scratches.

I think you mean "matte, satin, or bead-blasted stainless" is very susceptible to scratches.

The rough surface of those types of finish mean a scratch will break off the tiny, uneven facets of the surface of the finish, leaving a trail behind (scratch). Stainless itself, when polished smooth, presents about as hard a surface that is as resilient to scratches as carbon steel.

My solution is to let matte/satin stainless guns wear until it's annoying, then just polish the whole gun to a smooth, shiny finish. No more scratches, and now much harder to scratch.

There is a fad the last years for "matte" and bead blast. it looks attractive, and while the surface won't rust, it does make the surface of the gun much more susceptible to scratching.

 

[rcmodel]

I noticed it right off the bat when the first stainless guns came out.

I had an early S&W Model 60, and a pair of the first Ruger Single-Six & Blackhawk when they came out.

All of them were semi-polished.
Not matt, but not polished like chrome either.

They all scratched like crazy and looked like heck in short order.

A blued gun would have faired far better then any of the three where scratchs were concerned.

My later S&W stainless guns are much more scratch resistent then the early ones were.

rc

 

[Clifford]

red scotch-brite pads work great, nice semi-matte finish. Just do the entire gun, spot jobs show.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

my screw around model 65 gets a touch up on the wire wheel every now and then- heck- thats how the factory gets its factory finish-

 

[JohnnyOrygun]

I had a scratch on the flat of the frame of SA SS 1911 near the barrel bushing, it was in an area that was polished. For the record, I made the scratch while doing a melt job on the barrel bushing and area around the muzzle on the frame, a little (very little in attention) and I had a nice vertical scratch. So I took wet/dry automotive sandpaper starting with 600 grit and working up through 2000 grit, always wet, and you can no longer find the offending scratch and it perfectly matches the rest of the gun. Much elbow grease and lots of patience. YMMV, but it worked great for me.

And the melt job looks good too, showed my friend and he thought it was factory done.

Just be careful if you do decide to trying and polish it out, I am one of those people that if it doesn't turn out perfect, I chalk it up to a lesson learned and go on, as long as the gun is functional and safe. Just make sure that you are comfortable if it doesn't turn out like you planned it or plan on sending to have it refinished professionally.

Good Luck!
JohnnyOrygun

 

[rhatimi]

thanks for all the responses. I know it's really not a big deal and the scratches are not that prominent, but was just wondering if there was a simple solution to getting rid of them.

 

[paul45]

Scotch pads found in the wood refinishing area of Lowes, Home Depot, etc. They come in various degrees of "grit".

Works wonders on SS.

 

[nulfisin]

Use a bore snake or something similar

My stainless GP 100 used to get scratched every time I was the least bit careless with a cleaning rod. I'm leaving those scratches as is because they don't really bother me and because they remind me to be careful when I'm cleaning.

It is odd, though, that these great guns scratch so easily.

 

[ghoster]

dremmel with buff pad and jewlers ruge? ( RED STUFF ) i did a buddies and it took forever but man, his girl could do her makeup in the reflection now.

 

[shameless]

Mothers polish works great. Apply with finger, allow to dry, and wipe away.
If scratch is still there, repeat with a little more pressure.
when scratch is gone apply a coat on all the stainless and it will shine like new.