Hey all,

I have a S&W revolver that has some surface scratches and gouges. It's my Brother-in-laws pistol and he asked me to help him on it. He doesn't do much internet stuff.

Have any of you tried it on one of your stainless pistols? If so, what media did you use? Is there one media that works best on stainless? If there is, please pass that on.

If you know of someone that is good that I can send it to, or someone here in Houston, please let me know.

Also, if you have pictures, please post them. I'd like to see what it will look like if I recommend him to have it done.

Thank you for your help.
Have a good week.

Larry

Not a revolver but I bead blasted one of my 1911's with our blaster at work and it came out perfect.

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I've never had one bead blasted, however I have considered it for my model 64. It shoots like a dream but just isn't the prettiest. Like the posters 1911 above, it can serve a purpose and turn out nice. If I had access to a machine, I'd do it myself for sure. Just don't know anyone locally will do it cheap for me!

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Super easy. Glass media from northern tool. Was around $8 for a 50 pound bag. I did it to my wife’s Taurus. Let me get a pic

This thread brings up a question. I have a revolver which originally came from the factory with a bead blasted finish. It is my daily carry gun and I expect that far in the future the finish may show age from holster wear and such. Is there a way to refinish it...a way to remove a bead blast finish and replace it with a simple polished stainless finish?

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Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

Just re-bead blast it...easier than polishing it

Brownells sells the right media, I believe in a 25lb pail. They might have bulk sacks as well. I bought one of the pails, but haven't used it yet.

The key thing is not to get too aggressive with the blasting. Probably advisable to use a slightly lower than normal pressure. Keep it moving. A lot of bad blast jobs out there, and they're easy to spot. I wonder what soda blasting would look like.

The gun should be disassembled down to the component molecules. The media will get everywhere into the internals. Don't forget the tiny pin, spring, and plunger on the front barrel lug for locking the tip of the ejector rod. If media gets in there it can freeze the spring and lock the gun up. Needs to come apart.

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~ S&W aficionado in training ~

Thanks for the reply. That's probably true, but a bead blasted finish would not have been my first choice...if I'd even had a choice. I had to take it because that's the only way the factory is producing them. I just figured that if and when finish gets a bit worn, I'd take the opportunity to rework it into something else.

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Smith. And Wesson. And Me!

Here's an example of a 64-6 that Lewis Throne, a gunsmith in Trinidad, CO, bead blasted for a friend of mine. I chose to keep the original finish.

Here is a 681 that was a city of San Antonio Airport Police gun. I removed the markings, glass bead blasted all of the exterior parts, bobbed the hammer, and put some nice stocks on it. I did manage to smooth out the action as well. It now resides with a forum member in Houston.







Next is a model 65 with a 3" barrel. I glass beaded blasted all of the exterior surfaces and slicked up the action. This is one great carry gun.

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On the Oak Savannah

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Very nice qballwill - and good photos. Did the mothership do those or someone local to you?

I do it myself in my garage. Really pretty simple with the right equipment. Nothing special. I use an air compressor, harbor freight blasting cabinet, blasting gun and medium glass beads from harbor freight. About 85 psi.

Private message sent larry