Stainless Steel and Walnut Hulls?

[Southern Raider]

I have a stainless S&W revolver that I'd like to refinish in a matte finish. I have heard suggestions to being sand blasted using walnut hulls as the abrasive medium. What kind of finish will I get from this?

Is there any reason I wouldn't want to drop the parts in a vibratory bowl with the walnut hulls?

 

[dfariswheel]

I've never tried bead blasting with walnut hulls, but using a vibratory cleaner would:
A. Take forever to do much due to the hardness of steel.
B. Give the parts a shinier finish, not a dull finish.

Remember, case cleaners POLISH cases, they don't dull them.

I don't know how you would get walnut hulls to feed through any type of blaster, since the hulls aren't exactly uniform in size.

You can get whatever finish you want with standard bead blasting, from a fine "vapor" finish to a rough "orange peel", by selecting the type of media, and regulating the air pressure.

 

[Riss]

Best I have found is glass beads that are used in paint on the highway. It degrades pretty quick if used at high pressures but is cheaper than standard glass blasting media. Think I paid $15 for a 50 Lb bag at the local township roads maint. building.