Clean and polish? Questions....

[Pocketrocket]

Ok so I've been reading the forum for a while and it seems all used guns need cleaning some need more. At least when we first get them. I have an old stainless gun that has a lot of scratches and nicks. Some you can catch a nail in others have sluffed material up. Should I stone down the high spots and then polish? I also have a new/old 10 in nickle that needs clean up, what's best to use on it? And I have seen Ren wax recommended for finishing, is that a hardware store item?
Any input helpful, thanks!

[old bear]

I prefer to start light and work up as needed. If it were my revolver I'd start with Mothers mag polish and cotton rags. Then a Scotch-guard BrightBoy pad, followed by bronze wool. Then as a last resort I'd use a fine diamond stone.

Good luck and remember to use a gentle touch.

[muddocktor]

For spiffying up your nickel gun, I would suggest that you use either Simichrome or Flitz polish. They both have a very mild and fine abrasive in them, so don't overdo it with them. Put some on a soft rag and gently start polishing and they can clean up cloudy nickel pretty good. And don't use it a lot, just every once in a great while and only if needed. For carbon/lead buildup on the cylinder face, you can use a piece of lead-way cloth to clean that stuff off. Just don't ever use a lead-away cloth on a blued finish as it will remove the blue.

And while a lot of folks say to steer clear of Hoppes #9, I used it for 40 years on my old 27-2 I bought in 1974 before I heard that you weren't supposed to use it on nickel. And that old 27 still looks pretty good even now. But if you do decide to use it, be sure to remove the stocks so that none gets trapped under them and gives the ammonia in the Hoppes time to eat on the nickel. And don't ever soak any nickel parts in the stuff either.

[Tom S.]

I've never seen Renaissance Wax in a hardware store, but it's easy to find online. Just Google it or look on Amazon.

[ACORN]

I recently bought a used 66 that had some light pitting that
I originally thought was crud. I'm anal about my guns and
couldn't leave it. After reading on this board I stocked up on
wet or dry sandpaper from 320 to 2000 grit wrapped the
320 around a paint stick and carefully attacked the pits. I
switched to to the next finer grit but I don't think I went past
1000. It came out really nice. If the marks are shallow you
may just need a Scothbrite pad. Gray or green usually. The
hardest part for me was getting the nerve to start sanding on
my baby. SS is pretty forgiving. I've done a couple now and
am on the lookout for more ugly ducklings to rescue.

[Arik]

Originally Posted by Pocketrocket

Ok so I've been reading the forum for a while and it seems all used guns need cleaning some need more. At least when we first get them!

That's not true at all. Cleaning the outside doesn't do anything for function or reliability. It certainly doesn't hurt anything but doesn't do anything either. It's simply superficial

Sent from my XT1650 using Tapatalk

[Pocketrocket]

Yes Arik, I mis-spoke.
I should have said MOST guns. Almost every post about recent purchases of used guns starts out with....when I get it home and cleaned up....
I can't afford NIB model 66's or Presentation Boxed 29's. I find used guns at the LGS or pawn shops if I can. These most always need attention. And like a used car the outward appearance is what we see. So I clean them.

[Pocketrocket]

Ok it's hard the first time you hit that $600 gun with sandpaper....but just like polishing headlamps you need to start rough then gradually work to finer grade. I am working on a model 65. I had to stone down some spots then sand. Started at 400 then went to 1000. Got most of the nicks out. Then went to flitz. Ok now it's cleaned up but too shiney. I heard bad things about polished stainless guns and puppies so I would like to get back to satin finish. Is this just a matter of a careful use of 1500 or something? Any input would be great. Also a before picture...

[gwpercle]

I've had great results cleaning and polishing , both stainless and blued , with Turtle Wax Chrome Polish and Rust Remover.
After cleaning and polishing then a wax job , the old grungy , freckled , model 58 in my avatar looked...not brand new but a whole lot better. The wax I used was Mother's Pure Carnauba .
Ren Wax is used by musems but Turtle and Mother's can be had at Wally mart and fits into my budget.
Gary

[TAROMAN]

Trying to get to that original brushed look finish is the hardest part of the puzzle.
I've tried the often-mentioned Scotchbrite pads with mediocre results.
Finally broke the code by mounting a stainless steel carding wheel in my drill press.
So, polishing to a gloss first, then carding back to the desired brushed finish has worked best for me.

[lamarw]

I use Mothers Billet polish with bronze wool and followed-up with Ren Wax. All of these are available on Amazon.