The title says it all. After I hit the range yesterday (She shot beautifully, no problems what so ever), I cleaned the 686 and decided to give it a good polish. I'm liking the results, Mother's always did good by me when it came to polishing chrome bumpers and rims.

Now that I know I got a good polish, I'm going to have the gun buffed to remove all the tiny haze marks and get the stainless back to a clean, non haze, polished finish. Here's some pics of how the gun looks currently.

UPDATE. I Went ahead and wet sanded this beauty from 600 grit to 3000 grit and then elbow greased the heck out of this with Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish . I finally think I achieved the "Mirror Finish" I was looking for.

Great looking gun! Looks fantastic.

I bought a new Talo 3" 686, cleaned it and then put a mirror finish on it using Mother's.
After a year or so of shooting, a quick touch up brings the shine right back.

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2B1ASK1

Good to know, Cant get much better than a stainless finish. It lasts forever.

I'm a big fan of polished stainless. I've done several myself and I've picked up a couple new-to-me's over the last year that were polished up nicely.

Lookin' good! Mother's works well. It doesn't take a lot of elbow grease to make stainless shine.

I would suggest, instead of " having it buffed " that you keep working on it with the mothers. Far more control and just as good or better finish quality.

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1st smiles,lies.Last,gunfire.

Looking good! Try going over the gun with Hoppes to get rid of the "Mothers" haze and follow up with Ren wax. Fingerprints won't show near as bad.

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Very nice, I love that look!

I love the look of a nicely nickeled handgun. However, I think one of the ugliest is a nickeled handgun with the finish flaking off. Polished stainless remedies that nicely. And for me, a nicely nickeled handgun would more than likely never get real use, while all my stainless are working guns, regardless of how nice.

I have a Ruger Super Redhawk I've had plans to do the same to, but haven't gotten to it yet. Your photos have helped get that project moved back up nearer the top of the list!

I agree that elbow grease is much better than having it power buffed; I've done both. The irregularities you get using a buffing wheel will make you use more elbow grease later.
That is one fine looking 686!
John

Thanks for the tip. However, the haze is actually tiny fine scrtches from being in a holster over the years. I don, t think they will rub out.

Use 2000 grit sandpaper with oil very lightly and those will disappear. Take it easy and don't get carried away.

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Kind of a related question: how do you polish an old nickle finish? Or do you? Got a beautiful Series 70 Nickle Plated Colt Commander that's beginning to show some age......

Flitz followed by a waxing works for most. Just don't get carried away with the polishing.

The OP's revolver looks "Pythonesque" in finish.

Trust me I won't get carried away. I'm a certified auto body technician so I know my wet sanding well

I hope that's a good thing D:

Looks great.I always thought a highly polished 686 looks the most like a Python than any other L frame.

Mother's, Flitz and Renwax can be your friends. I've heard people criticize highly polished stainless but I really like the way it looks. I obtained my Model 60 used with what looked like a few holster marks. I buffed them with 2000 grit paper and polished with Flitz following up with Renwax. I intentionally did not polish the flutes on the cylinder and left them kind of a matte finish. I put some rosewood grips on and I think it looks great.

Your gun looks great. One word of caution though, don't buff with a Dremel or other power buffer. You can easily go too far and you can't come back from that. Do it by hand and take your time. You'll be happy with the results.

This is a Mod 60, mid 70's vintage that has been shot and cleaned many hundreds of times, and with the brushed finish nearly all worn off, I took Mothers and Ren Wax to finish up the job a few months back. I'm inclined to like it.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Found a dirty mildly scratched up model 60 at my LGS several years ago.$175 and some mothers mag polish got me this.

Nice job on that 686. I'm a fan of polished stainless and have done a few by hand and with a wheel. I've found that ending with a round of Simichrome really brings out the color. Protect it with a coat of Ren wax and cleanups after a trip to the range are pretty effortless.

And in regard to using a Dremel - limit that to the inside of the trigger guard only.

What kind of oil do you guys recommend for sanding with 2000 grit paper?

Done many of these. Wet or dry seems to make no difference, so I settled on dry.

This one was a total wreck. LGS refused to boy it at any price.
After polishing, a lot more than just 2000, however:

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Good 'ol 3 in 1 worked for me.

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Here's a pic of my 500 after a dose of Mother's. It came out pretty snazzy.

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Don't You Ever Wash That Thing

Used Mothers and Never Dull on my 686+. Purposely tried not to overdo it and leave slight factory finishing marks. Really cleaned up nicely from stock.

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M60 442 642 637 686 686+ 629

Great looking guns guys. I decided to sand the scratches and pitting out of the 686 last night. After I polished out the sand scratches the stainless is looking more like chrome than stainless. I'll post some more pics when its all done.

Excellent! My ex wife's husband has the exact gun with the same treatment. An impossible gun to find in CA. that is on my want list is a 6" nickel 586. Your gun would be close enough for me.

Polishing SS guns is a popular trend right now, but I always prefer to own and buy guns with their original finish. I think that many who are doing this will one day regret it.

I like my satin finish, but if you want a shiny gun, that's gorgeous.

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"He was kinda funny lookin'"

Lots of beautiful guns shown here! But IMHO, most of them have had their value reduced by polishing. However, if that's what you like and you intend to keep and enjoy the gun then who cares? It's your cup of tea. On the other hand, whenever I see a highly polished stainless S&W for sale in a LGS, I never even ask to see it.

I'm a fan and consumer of Mother's Mag Polish, Flitz, Brasso and Ren Wax. I use these products on my guns in various ways. I'm also a fan of "factory finish" on my guns and so whenever these products are applied they are done so with the light touch of an index finger only. And I'd never let one of my guns get too close to a Dremel or a buffer.

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I'm gonna grow fins.

Added and re-updated my OP in this post. The pics are up top for the gorgeous Mirror finish I spent 20+ hours on, lol. I'm very happy with the results.

That is seriously shiny! Kudos!

Yes it is (BTW, nice Job Dash). I'm picturing it right now full of gunpowder residue after a lengthy session with Unique

Yeah, that's the downside to having a highly polished gun. I hope the wax holds out D:

Really nice work!
And just think, if you ever want a satin finish - you passed it at about 600
That's why I love stainless - brush, blast, polish or buff - whatever finish you like.
Plus, you now know every curve, angle, nook and cranny of that gun. Some areas can be frustrating to work but with patience and a deft touch the end result is very rewarding.

Wow! It looks like nickel.

It looks great. PM me your address, I'm gonna send you a few of mine!

Not sure how polishing a battered, beat up revolver reduces its "value".
But, if it does, so be it.
I'll keep polishing them.

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-jwk-
US Army '72-'95

Well, altering the finish and value depends on the buyer. Some people will pay more for a polished gun for 2 main reasons.

1: The buyer prefers a polished look over the stock finish
OR
2: The polished finish is easier to clean after a session at the range than compared to stock finish.

Collector's on the other hand typically prefer stock finish and will pay more for an original , unmodified S&W than compared to a brightly polished S&W. And if I saw to 686's next to each other for sale. One polished and one stock finish. I would take the polished 686 (If the polish job was done correctly and has a high quality finish)

There's many variables that affect the value. There is no general "Value" to a gun because all buyers have different taste when looking to buy a gun. No matter if your a collector, casual shooter or retailer.