I just did a beadblast refinish on my new to me 659 and it came out mint, was SUPER easy to do and only cost me 25 bucks in materials including media and sprayer. It took longer to clean then it did to blast. Ten minutes blasting and half hour cleaning and i was able to erase 20 plus years of use (cosmetic of course). Now all i got to do is keep an eye out for more S&W 2nd and 3rd gen police trade ins and i will be blasting my way to a nice collection in no time. Now all i got to do is figure out a way to put up pics. Here are the before and after pics..........before is the one in box.

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fishhawk....I am assuming you completely detailed stripped the entire gun?

the media will get into tight openings and "tie" up your gun. just concerned if this is for duty or CCW use.

yep.....I took it all apart, blasted, cleaned and put it all back together. You are absolutely right about media getting everywhwere. Gun is still slick as snot.

Nice job Looks very good

cool...just making sure.

great job.

also, some red fingernail polish on your dimple will make it look factoryish. use a toothpick and dab a drop and it will fill the dimple.

How durable would the fingernail polish be? I was wondering how i was gonna get that red dot painted again.

very nice job you did on it.

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God save the SOUTH

Bead blasting does wonders on the matte Stainless S&W's. I've had a couple done by gunsmiths in the past, the results were great and it didn't cost much compared to other finishes.

I have had good luck with Testos Enamel model paint and a toothpick. Nice job on the bead blast.

Nice job. Now that you know how easy it is, and what a professional finish you can get, you might play around with different grades and types of abrasives. They give very different surface finishes. Including very smooth ones which don't even need polishing.

Another fact you might want to know is that, on conventional steel, blasting gives the perfect surface on which to parkerize. Then, when you put one of the modern bake on or spray on finishes, like Duracote, it is extremely durable. And there is every color imaginable.

Try some glass beads, also.

You can also put the spray coats on stainless, after blasting. The finish really hangs on. I wouldn't do it on stainless, but some people and some factories do. You get an indestructable gun, with whatever appearance you want, including camo.

You've just scratched the surface on having fun with the blaster. But to really get into it, with more guns, you should spend about $100 on a blast cabinet. Everything is so much easier. You won't waste and lose so much media. You can use it over and over for a very long time. Take a look at what Harbor Freight has.

Fingernail polish is solvent-based enamel paint. It'll work just fine.

Fishhawk... what blasting gun/sprayer did you get that got you in at such a low cost?

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Harbor freight had three different models and i went middle of the road. It was 15 bucks and if i only do just the one gun it has already paid for itself. I do got one more gun i am gonna do....a 4006.

That looks great. Can you walk me through what prep you have to do? Strip it down to the frame, is there anything else that needs to be done? Once its blasted is there anything else that you have to do it?

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5903TSW 5904 5906 6906 4006

Not much beyond that. Detail strip.....no real need to clean before blasting(i didnt) I tried to position the parts in such a way that i could blast all sides without the need to move anything to much. It was so easy i surprised myself. I blasted then looked at the parts then once i got going i just blasted until i was satisfied i got complete coverage. After blasting a very thorough toohbrush cleaning and rinse. Media seems to stick to some areas pretty good. I used glass bead media 40/70 mix also from harbor freight. One 5lb container will do several pistols. It was seriously the easiest and quickest refinish i ever tried. I have attempted cold blue before and that was not even close to being worth the time and effort. I also noticed, in my case anyway, that is was impossible to screw up. Everyone may have different results but i was very happy with how it turned out.

Thanks for the info, the 659 looks great. My 5906 could use some freshening up, I think I'll bead blast it.

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5903TSW 5904 5906 6906 4006

A 4506 PD trade in is what I have in mind, I saw those guns on the Harbor Freight website, wasn't sure if the Porter Cable pancake compressor for my nailer's would have enough oomph to power them.

What size/kind of compressor did you use?

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

I used a Dewalt twin stack. Its not big but did the job just fine. When the compressor was refilling i just stopped blasting. Mine fills up really quick so i was finished pretty fast. If you try to do the bead blast finish just maybe practice on a piece of steel to get the hang of it. I didnt practice. I just went to harbor freight, got the gun and media, came home, hooked up the compressor and hose and went right at it. I got the gun pretty cheap so didnt have any hesitation. Im glad I did it. It came out real nice and now I'm keeping a lookout for police trade ins that have been carried much but shot very little. Already got a 4006 that has the tightest frame to slide fit I have ever seen on an auto pistol to date. This one is next.

I have reworked MANY guns with shiny and rub spots in the matte finish with just a Scotch-brite pad and some patience. By rubbing lightly in circles I have made some ugly ducklings look brand new again, seriously. I use flitz polish on the bright finished parts with a dremel and they clean up well. Not much need for bead blasting unless someone has scratched the piece really bad and you did some sanding.

Glad it went so easy for ya. If I tried that for the first time I would probably make a mess out of it.

Nice, I'm about to do that to a Yugo M 57 that I have!