End of month coming up and I've got my sights set on a couple of possibilities. One is a 649 - the other is a 64 2-inch. Both are fairly finish-challenged. There is one revolver-smith in the area - but I don't think he does any bead-blasting let alone refinishing. Does anyone know of a good refinisher in Northern Virginia? The top tier smiths - like Dave Clements - are so back-logged that I'm sure they won't take a small job... I would rather contact someone I can drive to versus the expensive process of shipping to someone.

I'll be watching this thread with interest... my local (CV) gunsmiths who did this type of work are all gone now, so I'd be willing to drive that far if I could find somebody.

Froggie

Could you go to Harbor Freight, buy a blasting cabinet,,
pick up some old stainless flatware at a yard sale,,
and practice,,

You might be surprised how easy it is to DIY!!

David Sams at Sams Custom Gunworks in Cartersville, VA does excellent refinishing work.

I did some research and a small cabinet wouldn't be too bad - around $120. I'm guessing prolly that much again for a low-end compressor. My biggest concern is dust inhalation. I guess a decent mask would be another $60 or so. Cartersville is a long drive from here. IF I had a separate shop I would go ahead and invest the money ... but I don't think my Frau - a neat freak - would tolerate something like this set up in the garage. So, I'm still looking ...

X2

That's pretty much what I did but I built my own blast cabinet.
There's very little airborne dust when using a sealed cabinet with a recovery system.

If I just have a piece or two to do, I do it in the grass outside the garage. It isn't worth trying to save the media. I wear a dust mask, face shield and rubber gauntlets. I have a little blaster from harbor freight for these jobs. I added a pressure regulator so I can fine tune. For anything bigger, my father in law has a blast cabinet.

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Chris
SWCA #2243 SWHF #292

Bead blasting of guns is very simple to perform, anyone can do it. I have done many guns, followed by hot bluing, far simpler and quicker than polishing. But of course you don't get a highly polished surface. I had access to a professional bead blasting cabinet where I worked at the time. Something from Harbor Freight might work OK for small jobs. Use the finest bead blasting media possible. I am not sure what size media I used, but it was about the consistency of flour.