Use toothpaste for trigger job?

[JellyJar]

Almost every post I have read bout the Ruger SP101 mentions they need a trigger job. Also many people do trigger jobs on their other revolvers.

I have heard that you can use toothpaste as a lapping agent to help smooth out the trigger pull. Just put a dab where the trigger and sear meet and dry fire awhile then clean and oil.

What do you think?

 

[Leadhead]

Might take a while....

 

[ArchAngelCD]

I've read it works but I have never tried it and don't know anyone who has.

 

[GunTech]

Sure, then work the trigger about 10,000 times.

The abrasive in toothpaste is so mild I doubt it will do much to the hardened steel bearing surfaces in most guns. If you don't know what you are doing, just pay a good gunsmith to do the work - someone that offers a guarantee. It can be a real pain to get parts from Ruger if you mess something up. Often you have to send the gun back to them, where they reinstall factory spec parts.

 

[Oyeboten]

I think it would make a lot more sense to simply dis-assemble the Mechanism, inspect all parts and side plate areas...and to carefully remove any burrs or flange-feathers, and where needed, use a thick sheet of Glass with some Silicon Carbide abrasive Paper wetted on it, to rub and flatten or true any flat parts, etc.


This will make a world of difference in many Revolvers of the last several decades.

 

[zoom6zoom]

Depends a lot on the paste, too. Some of them won't do much more than give your Ruger a minty fresh feeling.

I use grease, not oil, on such parts.

 

[Drail]

It might remove some very small burrs on a few surfaces but it's absolutely not going to give you a "trigger job". Unless you really know what you're doing you probably will do more harm than good using any type of abrasive. I have had to repair far more guns that the owner attempted to do a "trigger job" on than I have done trigger work on stock untouched hammer and sears.

 

[1911Tuner]

J&B Bore Cleaner mixed with oil does a better job. I've used Pearl Drops...and in times past...Pepsodent toothpaste as a finishing lap. 606S DuPont polishing compound also works pretty well...but J&B/oil slurry is by far the best.

A useful trick for rebound slides is to work a little straight J&B into a patch of rough denim, and glue it to a piece of glass...then use that to buff the slide briskly.

 

[bannockburn]

I have used toothpaste as a polishing compound on watch crystals and it does a fairly decent job of taking out small scratches and the like. But I would have to agree with everyone else and say it is far too mild of an abrasive to use it effectively on a metal surface.

 

[Sav .250]

I`ve used it on reels but as some have noted, you need to keep at it for a long time. It may be like a lapping agent but it`s a whole lot milder. Hence the need for a lenghty .......lap in.

 

[Captcurt]

Iosso works well. You can lap the barrel with it too.

 

[wheelgunslinger]

I imagine you could use it as a final polish agent, but there are much better agents out there for polishing/abrasive work.

I start with valve lapping compound and work into an ultra fine abrasive/cleaner like simichrome.

 

[CraigC]

No, you don't want to just flood your action with any abrasive. There are surfaces you want to remove the burrs and high spots from as well as put a slight polish on and there are surfaces you don't want to touch. You certainly don't want an abrasive between pivot pins and their respective holes. You want to be very deliberate with what you polish as you want to keep your flats flat and your rounds round. You also do not want a mirror finish on mating surfaces. A fine brushed finish will hold a film of oil and be slicker than pig snot. A mirror polish will chatter. Which is why gunsmiths do action jobs with files and stones, not Dremels.