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S&W Revolvers: 1980 to the Present All NON-PINNED Barrels, the L-Frames, and the New Era Revolvers


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Old 03-07-2018, 12:06 AM
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Default Anyone Thought of Polishing a New Model 66?

Has anyone though of polishing a new model 66 Combat Magnum (with the bead-blasted matte finish) to make it look like the "standard" stainless steel revolvers of the past?

Is it feasible? I'd hate to try a $700 experiment and get it half-polished, and then find out it cannot be done... so I'm wondering if anyone has tried it, and what the results were?
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Old 03-07-2018, 12:14 AM
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I polished a bead blasted 65-5 Lady Smith. I had to use a bit of 800 grit paper to get the Lady Smith etching off. The rest was done with mothers polish.

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Old 03-07-2018, 03:47 AM
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Yes it can be done. DON'T USE MOTHERS!!!!!!! Ever wonder why polished revolvers are almost always worth less? Its because people that don't know what they are doing use Mothers and screw it up. If you don't have the proper equipment and know how to use it, then don't do it. Send it out to someone that can do it right. It will cost some money. If you want a top quality polish job it will cost a lot of money. You don't get a decent polish job from some guy with a rag and some goo. And if you are thinking of using a Dremel tool, you can save yourself a lot of time by throwing your gun in a lake.
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Old 03-07-2018, 04:06 AM
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Default EEEEK!!!!

Do what you want, but I don't like shiny guns. Reminds me of Roy Rogers, which was ok for what it was then, but not for my guns.
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Old 03-07-2018, 04:07 AM
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Default I'm not saying.....

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Originally Posted by Bill Raby View Post
Yes it can be done. DON'T USE MOTHERS!!!!!!! Ever wonder why polished revolvers are almost always worth less? Its because people that don't know what they are doing use Mothers and screw it up. If you don't have the proper equipment and know how to use it, then don't do it. Send it out to someone that can do it right. It will cost some money. If you want a top quality polish job it will cost a lot of money. You don't get a decent polish job from some guy with a rag and some goo. And if you are thinking of using a Dremel tool, you can save yourself a lot of time by throwing your gun in a lake.
I'm not saying that your comments are right or wrong, but they sure are FUNNY!
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Old 03-07-2018, 04:11 AM
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Polished (shiny) can look good -- like nickel -- but I was thinking: could a new Model 66 be changed from its original finish to look like a classic stainless revolver, with the tumbled/stressed look (with the swirls) of a 686, for example. The new model 66 has a lot of new features - two piece barrel, ball detent lockup -- but the biggest cosmetic difference is that it comes from the factory in a bead-blasted matte finish, which is fine but not what I like.
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Old 03-07-2018, 09:55 AM
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I like shiny....
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Old 03-07-2018, 10:01 AM
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It’s your gun, but also no quicker way to loose value then to change the factory finish. But it does have the IL, so few consider it collectible.
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Old 03-07-2018, 12:29 PM
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Shinny is nice for a Safe Queen or a Display / BBQ gun. Any Stainless Steel gun carried on a routine basis will be all scratched up and look worse than a satin finished one in short oder.

So if this is not an EDC I could see it, but otherwise Factory satin finishes hold up way better and longer than super shinny IMHO.
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Old 03-07-2018, 12:46 PM
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Shinny is nice for a Safe Queen or a Display / BBQ gun. Any Stainless Steel gun carried on a routine basis will be all scratched up and look worse than a satin finished one in short oder.
and can be easily touched up with a rag and some more Mothers..

The satin finish can be mimicked but is difficult to replicate exactly the same.
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Old 03-07-2018, 01:52 PM
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A nice even brushed finish is harder to achieve than a polished finish. This is a work in progress and getting this finish was tricky.

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Old 03-07-2018, 08:32 PM
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Quote:
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A nice even brushed finish is harder to achieve than a polished finish. This is a work in progress and getting this finish was tricky.


What process did you use to get that finish?
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Old 03-07-2018, 08:43 PM
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I have polished my m69 with a rag and some mothers, shined up easier than I expected , about 8 hours spread out over a number of days
I like it don't care if anyone else does it's not for sale haha
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Old 03-07-2018, 11:35 PM
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What process did you use to get that finish?
first I polished the gun as evenly as I could with 400 grit wet/dry (dry) in a horizontal grain. Because I have done some rust blue jobs I just happened to have one of Brownells small (toothbrush size) stainless steel carding brushes. I also find this to be an excellent burnishing tool. So I used it to burnish the gun in the same horizontal grain. This has an almost magical effect on the 400 grit finish. I need to try different polishing grits like maybe 500 grit would work even better. Hope this makes sense.
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Old 03-08-2018, 12:28 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arquebus357 View Post
A nice even brushed finish is harder to achieve than a polished finish. This is a work in progress and getting this finish was tricky.

Tell me about it... I once set out to convert the finish on my S&W PPK/S from a Polished Stainless to a Satin Stainless, it took me 4 tries to get it anywhere close to my liking and then I finally threw in the towel because it was "good enough" and I didn't want to risk making it look worse by messing up on yet another attempt.

My biggest problem was with the time investment and finding a consistent source of lightning to properly keep track of my progress and ensure consistency.

Whatever you're doing, it's working well, so keep at it!
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Old 03-08-2018, 08:05 AM
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Thanks..That photograph is very flattering. I'm still having problems with the cylinder. I hate to sand without some kind of block for fear of rounding off edges. This tends to leave streaks on round surfaces. I need to devise a sanding block with the same curvature as the cylinder.
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Old 04-14-2018, 06:44 PM
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Understand this is a little bit older thread - but did S&W Rover or anyone else ever polish out one of the newer 66's? Wood714 - your 65-5 is nothing less than stunning!! I'm on the verge of scaring up the funding for a new-style 66 locally and also don't care for the BB look ...
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Old 04-14-2018, 06:49 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rwsmith View Post
Do what you want, but I don't like shiny guns. Reminds me of Roy Rogers, which was ok for what it was then, but not for my guns.
I always liked Dale Evans
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Old 04-14-2018, 07:43 PM
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The finish on the modern stainless revolvers makes them look like a cheap airsoft knock off on a decent revolver already screwed up by the IL frame contours.
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Old 04-15-2018, 08:24 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arquebus357 View Post
A nice even brushed finish is harder to achieve than a polished finish.
My 66-1 had some irregularities on the finish especially on the trigger guard and some light polishing actually made everything look like the same finish all over.
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Old 09-05-2020, 04:49 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S&W Rover View Post
Has anyone though of polishing a new model 66 Combat Magnum (with the bead-blasted matte finish) to make it look like the "standard" stainless steel revolvers of the past?

Is it feasible? I'd hate to try a $700 experiment and get it half-polished, and then find out it cannot be done... so I'm wondering if anyone has tried it, and what the results were?
I know this is an old thread, but I did it.
https://i.ibb.co/zfgjWzF/IMG-1527.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/uVcwUtG.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/Tm8ldy4.jpg
New model 66 classic

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Old 09-05-2020, 07:12 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Arquebus357 View Post
Thanks..That photograph is very flattering. I'm still having problems with the cylinder. I hate to sand without some kind of block for fear of rounding off edges. This tends to leave streaks on round surfaces. I need to devise a sanding block with the same curvature as the cylinder.
Get a hole saw a bit larger than the OD of the cylinder and use it to bore through a 2x6 board then cut the board in 1/2 going with the grain so that you have 1/2 the hole on each piece of board. Turn them back to back with hole lined up and screw them together. You now have 3" of the correct curve. Take another piece of 2x6 and screw it to the bottom for a base it you want.

I am not a fan of bright shiny guns. Not much good in bright sun light. Only nickel guns I own are old ttop breaks, stainless guns are all brushed or bead blasted. If I want I have a decent blast cabinet.

But, it is your gun

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Old 09-05-2020, 08:59 AM
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Default Me too!

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I like shiny....
Shiny is ok with me!

Doug
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Old 09-05-2020, 09:06 AM
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If you have a matte finish and want satin, sell the matte and find a satin gun (older stainless). If you want super shiny, find a nickel plated model. Changing the finish on a nice firearm isn't like repainting a car.
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Old 09-05-2020, 09:14 AM
Deceasedeye Deceasedeye is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bill Raby View Post
Yes it can be done. DON'T USE MOTHERS!!!!!!! Ever wonder why polished revolvers are almost always worth less? Its because people that don't know what they are doing use Mothers and screw it up. If you don't have the proper equipment and know how to use it, then don't do it. Send it out to someone that can do it right. It will cost some money. If you want a top quality polish job it will cost a lot of money. You don't get a decent polish job from some guy with a rag and some goo. And if you are thinking of using a Dremel tool, you can save yourself a lot of time by throwing your gun in a lake.
I think he's against it!
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Old 09-05-2020, 10:08 AM
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Why? Nothing wrong with current factory finish. I could see it if it had been carried on duty for 20 years and had "usage marks." Besides, the factory puts some coating on that's protective, at least they used to. Joe
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Old 09-05-2020, 10:26 AM
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I think bill raby may not be very handy with tools lol
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Old 09-05-2020, 12:35 PM
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I like it . Looks great
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Old 09-05-2020, 12:55 PM
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Here’s Mr Wonderful’s thread on his polish job. Best I think I’ve seen from pictures when it comes to replicating the old factory stainless finish.

New model 66 classic
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