I do! Hopefully the pics loaded... Clean after shooting every time, and go over it with Mothers Mag Polish when done cleaning...I love the look, not quite as "blingy" as nickel, but nicer than factory finish IMHO...

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Persoanlly, I don't like it.

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Dick

I don't bother with it, I just leave them as is and let them pick up the little handling marks that stainless gets. Most of my stainless S&W's and Rugers are PD trade in's and I don't see a point in trying to buff out decades of holster wear. If you keep buffung it, eventually it will dull the lettering on the frame and barrel after years of doing it.

I read that a few cops who were "gun guys" would keep their 66's and 67's polished up, some just for looks and others did it so the gun was more "intimidating" at night.

M60

Just this one.

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Bill - SWCA #2327

Since you asked, I don't. I just keep 'em clean. But, those in the photo do look good.

All of the Smith's I have are stainless and all of them are polished except for one. Once they are polished it is easier to keep them looking good than what most people think. I have both Mother's Mag Polish and Simichrome but prefer the Simichrome. I am constantly having people mistake my stainless guns for nickel.

Maybe it's just me, but I never understood why gun manufacturers made the same gun in both stainless and blue at the same time. If a gun was available in stainless I thought it to be foolish to purchase one in blue as the cost difference between the two was usually minimal.

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Expect no quarter.

My thoughts exactly. I can admire photos of polished-up revolvers, but I'm not inclined to do it myself.

The primary reason all my handguns all stainless is the fact that I don't like to spend a lot of time cleaning and polishing. I've convinced myself that the scratches constitute "character."

I try to keep them polished:

I polish mine every now and then...I like seeing how much cleaner and brighter they can become with just a t-shirt and some Mothers. That's one of the things I find so appealing about SS Smiths; is that their "finish" is renewable, you can almost always get it back to something close to factory...whereas with blued guns, you're kinda stuck with the wear you've earned; which I can see as appealing too. I guess it's just one of those "different strokes" deals.

The first application of Mothers yielded wonderful results without alot of effort. And now, it takes just a quick once over to mantain. I do try and go easy on it around the S@W etching on the frame as well.. I bought my 686-6 new last november and am VERY pleased with it. Its my baby. I just sawwed down about a 2" sapling tree at 20 yards in about 15 shots with it yesterday. It a great shooter. I like to do challenging things like that. But boy, after 100 rds, it sure does look like doo-doo! And yes, Robinett 11B, the "renewability" of stainless is the main reason i went with the 686. I only carry at thr range, or while hunting. But i like not worrying too much about holster wear.

Some nice looking pics there too folks!

I do my best to keep mine clean and shiney. I clean it every time i finish shooting. I like using never dull.

Mother's Mag Wheel Polish for me too. It keeps my Model 66 4" looking better than new.

I like the polished look too.

I keep ALL my firearms clean & pristine at ALL times just as I do my Auto Repair shop.........It makes me feel good. I work hard for the things I have aquired over the years and take the best care I can of them.....Just a personal thing

I bet you old boys that don't like it shiney never bought onea' those beat-up police trade-ins from J&G Sales!!!



It's the only way to get the scratches out.

GF

If the gun isn't rare or highly desirable I'll polish it up. This Model 64 cleaned up pretty nice...

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"Shall not be infringed"

My collector S&W stainless revolvers I don't polish and my shooter S&W stainless revolvers I do.

I bought the stuff to do it but could never bring myself to actually do it. First thought about my no dash 610 then my lew Horton 624.

I didn't get this gun from J&G, but it was a police trade in. As long as it works good I don't really care how brightly it shines. It shoots perfectly and that is good enough for me.

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better have that checked

NO WAY WOULD I EVER POLISH MINE:

Dumb question. I have a M60 that I want to polish up, it has the laser engraved logo and barrel markings. How do I avoid polishing those off? Just be careful and avoid those areas???

I just recently polished my 686, that I inherited from my Dad. I used Simichrome polish on it, with great results. I replaced the Pachmayr grips he had on it, with some nice original smooth wood ones. I think it gives it more of a classic look. It gets shot often.

Can't help you, mine is so old Lasers had not yet been invented.

Here's my 66 its my everyday carry and only takes a minute or two to keep it up. once polished I use some carnuba wax to keep it nice.

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I have a Stainless I'd like to shine up a little. What is the proper process? Buffing pad? Buffing Wheels? Size, type? Sorry for my ignorance. Much appreciated

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Tim

I just got my ex-LEO 66-1 back from Frank Cape in Florida and the dang thing looks like it's been chromed!
Now I don't want to shoot it and get it all dirtied up.
If anyone needs his contact info, let me know. Great guy to deal with. My photo skills are lacking, it looks much better in person.....

Bullseye...... Me Likey Dat!!!

Hows the double action pull? Have you done a trigger job on that beauty?

I do like it...nice job!

It is a 686-5 5 inch barrel that I used for matches, has a 4 pound double action pull (Federal Primers Only) and is a Sweet Heart to shoot. I'm working on two right now to replace it and my 10-32 . Has something to do with a 38 super "L" frame. Plus I do all of my work on these.

This is my 10-32:

Someone help the boy! What's the best way, technique, materials to shine up the Stainless?
Thanks

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Tim

To the guy asking how to do it

I did mine with an old Tshirt and mothers mag polish. About 15 coats or so and then put some wax to protect it.

The only thing I don't like is that it seems to bring out some of the scratches a lil more. Anyone have tips to make it look better?

My 2 cents worth, THERE'S NOTHING LIKE A NICE BLUE S&W.......
CookE

I LOVE the look of a high polished stainless smith!

Lookin good, guys!

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Ephesians 6:10-20

The best part about a nice shinny gun, when you have to pull it on someone at night they can see that nice dark hole that is going to spit at them any sec. .

Oh yeah. i do light buffing by hand. No machine ,dremel ,etc of any type.
The few factory polished 66's i have barely need anything. A liquid turtlewax(express shine) does the trick on those. The ones i have done love a good deep handjob. Still getting black on the microfiber after all this time. I own no blued smiths. Stainless Steel is the deal.

To those that are asking how its done. I just used Mothers Mag Polish and an old clean cotton baby burp cloth. Didnt take any hard buffing or anything. Just let the cotton and polish do its thing.

Thanks for all the pics and replies fellas! Even opinions opposed to the polished look....all opinions welcome!

My first transformation was with micro mesh pads. Ultra fine sand paper that I used to get a high gloss finish after I've painted guitars. The roughest grit starts with a 2400 grit and goes to 12000. I can usually stop at 800 and hive a high gloss shine. I've also discovered that using a cotton cloth and McGuires all metal motorcycle polish gives it a real nice shine. I love shiney things... Almost breaks my heart to shoot it. "Almost" :-)

I use Mother mag polish, a latex glove and a lint free tee shirt to rub the residue off. If you use a latex glove to apply the polish, the polish does what it's supposed to do instead of absorbing into the rag.

Posted a few times, but what the heck.....





A few in here after polishing....disregard the ugly blue and satin guns.....

Boy we can't tell you like the factory combat stocks there rollin hot All S&W guns are great in a photo, but when you add colts and ruger the picture isn't worth posting - just my two cents.

How about this one, does it have a double load?

what can be done to the MIM triggers and hammers? i just picked up a 65-6 that looks real nice except for the trigger and hammer, which look kinda dirty. i tried a little mothers on them, but they dont seem to polish up very well. is there another product to use on mim, or do i just have to do multiple applications of mothers?

Your not going to be able to get the hammer and trigger to look like the rest of the gun but with a few more coats it looks pretty decent

Only buy stainless and they are all polished to one degree or another, except those that were originally matte finish.

Wish my camera was working.

Look at the above picture, that hammer is mim and it can be polished.

Hello,
My Dad used to have me get several S&W Model 66's (2 1/2") and Model 60's (Stainless Chief's) with my FFL to polish. Dad would also mask off the areas that he wanted the flat/un-reflected and bead blast them with fine media. We'd take the finished product to the Gun Shows along with our Custom 1911 display and sell out to all of the 45 naysayers. Great memories with Dad and those shinny Smith's always supported the weekend expense nut!

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Mike...ConquestN98858

Yuck, you're right those are ugly. Good God man, I love that picture.

heres mine after a fresh coat

Here's another you may like....



And this....

Here is how I give all of my stainless revolvers a lite polish.
1-Unload!!
2-Clean well.
3-Remove grips
4-Use Mothers mag polish
5-With tip of finger gently run polish on, so one section at a time.
6-Gently buff using old 100% cotton T-shirt.
7-Repeat as necessary to achieve the shine you want.
8-When you get to the etched marking on your revolver, just be extra careful not to over polish.
9-When you are done again clean well, remember to look for polish build up in every nook and cranny. I use lots of Q-tips and cotton balls.
10-When entire revolver is as polished as you want, apply one or two thin coats of Johnson's paste wax.
11-Reapply grips.

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Always Stay Strong!