My SW1911 has some factory machine marks on the barrel where it is exposed through the slide. Does anyone know a method for removing them?

pics would help but are you sure they aren't scrapes from shooting it?? The chamber hood will get scuffed a lot when it gets fired...nature of the gun. You can polish them out but they return next range session.

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They were there before I shot it. I went back to the store where I bought it and the new one they had in the display was the same.
What would you polish them with, Brasso?

Good Lord!! Leave it alone!! The gun is going to get bumped and bruised throughout it's life.

I just don't like them because the gun was pricey and otherwise looks awesome.

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Polish carefully, if at all. A lot of the accuracy of 1911's depends on the fit of the barrel to the hood, among other things.

If you're talking about the exposed part of the barrel hood (visible in the ejection port), it's normal for that area to experience marking from normal use.

Might as well object to having tire tread wear occur on your car or truck tires, and look 'worse' compared to new, unused rubber.

Or, object to the presence of a "stop track" on a S&W revolver (the cylinder "ring" caused by the ball of the cylinder stop touching the cylinder as the cylinder turns ... which is actually normal and expected for the S&W DA revolver design).

As a general rule of thumb, unless you're a collector who likes to keep pristine unfired guns, or just likes to look at guns more than shoot them (for some perceived cosmetic or aesthetic attributes), normal wear is to be expected.

Also, there's the potential for the occasional owner to try and "fix" something (that's not a problem) until it's really broken.

If you're concerned about a condition with which you're unfamiliar, call the company and explain your concern to them.

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Or buy two of each, one for shooting and one for display

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Wachuko

Brasso aint removing tooling marks, you would need some type of abrasive depending on how much metal needs to be removed to make the surface flat, at the same time you would be removing any finish and rust where the finish was gone will be the next problem. Realize not much in the world is perfect and guns are massed produced by machining metal as fast as practical to keep costs under control and that leaves machining marks.

You guys seem to have missed the part where I said they were there when the gun was new.
Anyway, I kind of figured I was stuck with them. It's not really a big deal, I was just curious.

Got a camera? Can you take photos of the marks (remember to use the macro function in the camera)?

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Wachuko

I'll try when I get home from work.

If the marks were there when the gun was new and you are looking at the marks on the end of the barrel where it is exposed through the front of the slide, then the marks are known as rifling. It's normal, and are very important to accuracy. Do not buff them out.

Nah, didn't miss it. Just didn't want to over-state the obvious.

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Ever heard of factory test firing? Did you get spent brass in the box?

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Whaaat? Michiganscott.....

Sorry. Bad humor. I knew he was referring to marks on the barrel hood, not the muzzle crown.

What does that have to do with the marks? And yes it was there. It's really just superficial and doesn't affect operation. It's not that big of a deal.