Need to duplicate matt / satin finish on S&W stainless revolvers

[bobthenailer]

I have a few revolvers that have the matt /satin finish , and have a few burnish marks on the satin finish that I would like to return back to factory type matt finish , I would prefer to only clean up the trouble spot not the entire handgun.

#1 What type & brand of abrasive media & grit size ect ?

#2 What air pressure PSI to use ?

#3 Is there anything else im missing ?

Thanks Bobthenailer

[Sax.45]

For spot repairs I just usually use Scotch Brite pads. They are cheap and can be had in various grades.

Oops, Just noticed matt/satin finish. I was thinking just stainless finish, sorry.

[dubber123]

I don't think you will meet with much success just doing a spot finish repair, but you may luck into the magic combination that perfectly matches. For a nice soft, satin finish, I like well worn out glass beads. It would take longer to detail strip the revolver than it would to blast it. Just a quick fluff over the whole thing is all it sounds like you need.

[bangerjim]

Guns, like us,........ show our wear. I would not worry about it! A ton of work for a little change.

Cosmetic blemishes are just part of the scheme of this thing we do.

bangerjim

[John Taylor]

Use glass bead, probable 180 grit size.

[Blackwater]

I'm very familiar with holster wear, etc., and have wanted to refin some SS guns, but have never really found the magic combination. One thing that I've wondered about in the past with some of the matte and semi-matte finishes I see is whether flour, cream of wheat, or grits or something like that might not provide the very smooth, microscopically matte finishes. Never tried it, but have wondered about it. A good wash with warm soapy water and rinse with plain hot water would be in order after one of these, but that's not nearly the bugaboo most would think with guns. I redid several guns that had sat in salt to brackish water for a week after the storm, and nothing cleaned them up as well or as fast as common amber colored hand soap, followed by a rinse in dishwashing detergent to remove the soapy scum that can be left, and a rinse in the hottest water available. After a really good rinse in hot water, the guns air dry quite quickly due to the heat picked up in the wash/rinse cycles. Follow that up with WD-40 for its water displacing qualities, and wipe dry after a few minutes, and reoil with a good, sticky light synthetic oil and yer good to go. Just a FWIW that I've never tried, and if you should give it a go, I'd be interested in how it worked for you. Not exactly standard practice, of course, but lots of non-standard practices work really well on guns. Gunsmithing is really limited only by the imagination of the 'smith, and some of them do things their customers will NEVER learn about lest they get the reputation for being crazier than they really are!

[bobthenailer]

Guns, like us,........ show our wear. I would not worry about it! A ton of work for a little change.

Cosmetic blemishes are just part of the scheme of this thing we do.

bangerjim

One particular gun is unfired PC handgun that I was thinking of buying from my shooting buddy its a competitor model with a flat sided barrel . it has removable barrel weights that's in the lower lug of the barrel .

I could not remove the bolt using the supplied tool or a 3/8 " rachet using hex socket holding the gun & tool in my hands, so I put the gun in my padded vice and tightend down gently and when I was breaking the bolt loose the gun twisted ever so slightly in the padded vice and it put a burnish mark on the side of the barrel about 2" long a .1/4" wide

I have decided not to buy this gun as it weights 10.5 oz more and 7.25 oz with weights & bolt removed than my 6.5" 629 classic , too front heavy for likeing.

[Cap'n Morgan]

John Taylor nailed it; Use glass bead. The sharp grains from sand blasting will give a dull finish which pick up dirt and grease.

Polishing a sand blasted SS surface with a fine-grit Scotch-Brite pad will produce a decent result, but factory finish it's not.