Model 627 is an eyesore!

If you're looking for a traditional S&W brush typed finish I think it could be achieved relativity easy with the proper application and sequence of wet/dry sandpaper and 3M synthetic steel wool. It would take me about 3 hours, and I'd do it all by hand. So if you take it to a smith keep that in mind. It's all labor, since the sandpaper and wool wouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks.

The sandpaper I'd back with a rigid foam sanding block cut about 1/2 inch wide. This would help to keep from rounding the edges. I'd glue or tape the sandpaper to the blocks. Finish with a small wad of 3M white synthetic wool, to fad out any sanding marks and get the level of shine I like.
 
Due to a cosmetic change required by the law, part of my barrel ended up more polished than the rest so I decided to mirror polish the gun. I had the time -- I broke my right collarbone 6 weeks ago in a motorcycle accident and couldn't do much else when I wasn't working except sit around and lightly polish something.

I bought some Mothers Mag and I had some Flitz. The local El Volcan -- a sort of mysterious Mexican Store that sells everything from Gas Stoves and Entrenching Tools to sandpaper and Black Powder (although they would loudly deny the last one) always has 2000 grit sandpaper. And I went to work. I sort of "Miami Viced" the gun by polishing all the flats to a "I can see myself in this 627, Madge!" but left the barrel rounds and the matte finish on the topstrap, backstrap, frontstrap and trigger-guard. It came out REALLY nice. I left the cylinder also in it's original Matte form and the gun has a really nice two-tone effect that I rather like.

I do not have a photo of the finished product, however I took a photo a few weeks ago and sent it out to all my friends letting them know that since I had to wear my arm in a sling for 6 weeks, I was planning to spend one hour a day polishing. There used to be a brand of Tequila here in Mexico called Porfirio, and it was really expensive and it's advertising line was: "What do you need to make a really great 10-year-old Tequila?" And of course, the answer was; "Ten years."

Well, what do you need to make yourself a really nice, 25 hour mirror polish? 25 hours to sit around polishing the thing. It was my nice way of letting my friends know what I was up to, and daring them to compete with a similar investment of time -- which of course, they probably won't.

Photo: The stripped frame. Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish, Flitz, 2000 grit sandpaper, tape, some gun oil for the sandpaper -- which sometimes I used and sometimes I sanded dry -- and an N-frame Nickle 6-shot cylinder to compare the Sheen. (And I don't mean comparing Martin to Charlie.) Have fun. I like mine.

 
Kernel Crittenden said:
If you're looking for a traditional S&W brush typed finish I think it could be achieved relativity easy with the proper application and sequence of wet/dry sandpaper and 3M synthetic steel wool. It would take me about 3 hours, and I'd do it all by hand. So if you take it to a smith keep that in mind. It's all labor, since the sandpaper and wool wouldn't cost more than a couple of bucks.

The sandpaper I'd back with a rigid foam sanding block cut about 1/2 inch wide. This would help to keep from rounding the edges. I'd glue or tape the sandpaper to the blocks. Finish with a small wad of 3M white synthetic wool, to fad out any sanding marks and get the level of shine I like.
Click to expand...

At what number paper do you stop? I've found that 400 & 600 give a really nice finish. I almost stopped there on my way to a higher polish on my 686 and 629. I use wd40 as a wet medium.

To me, it's a lot of fun (and sometimes frustrating) but the end result can really be rewarding. You really get to know the gun very intimately since you're affecting just about every area.

*Note that the finish on mine to begin with were the brushed/satin - not the bead blasted (which someday I'd like to try, too).
 
Marinerman said:
The trigger and hammer are bare metal. Uglier than sin. I'm taking my revolver to a gunsmith he's going to polish out and make it as stainless steel as possible. Including the triggers and hammer.
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The whole revolver is bare metal isn't it? Or, am I missing something?

I don't think polishing will make it any more stainless than it is already, will it?

Stainless is not a FINISH, but a MATERIAL.

And the "triggers?" Does it have more than one? Did you buy extra parts with this revolver? I assume you bought it online, so you did not have a chance to see the appearance of the revolver.

Perhaps I am not understanding this post. . . .
 
Marinerman said:
I just got my 627 Pro. The matte stainless is an eyesore.
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I like how it looks, but I hate how it looks after shooting it a little bit. Today I shot 24 x 44 mag out of my Performance Center 629 and there are nasty powder burn marks on the cylinder that will require polish to remove such as a lead away cloth. My older 686 with the smoother finish is much easier to keep clean and the powder wipes away. It is just a lot cheaper to bead blast a gun than polish it, so that is why they make them this way.

Chris
 
"Stainless is not a FINISH, but a MATERIAL"

True, but stainless has a finish, unless it has just come from the machine shop.
Polish is a finish.
Bead blast is a finish.
Vapor hone is a finish.
Some SS finishes are easier to "repair" than others.
Bead blast can only be repaired by doing more blasting. Other S&W finishes are easier to buff out a small scratch, or other blemish, with common materials. When I round butted a M67, I sanded the back strap to 600 grit, and then used a white nylon pad to dull the polish to a close approximation of the rest of the gun. If the gun had a bead blast finish, I would have had to send it off to someone who did bead blast work. Big difference. This is like doing similar work on a blued gun and needing to have it re-blued. But, I think, less expensive. Personally, I like revolvers that have a slightly hazy polish. I don't care for a full mirror polish. Too harsh for me.
With any type of polishing, it is hard to avoid leaving a "pattern" on the polish.

Best,
Rick
 
At what number paper do you stop?
Click to expand...

Last one I did I stopped at 1000 grit. At that grit the sandpaper clogs really fast, so I kept everything swimming in WD-40. Then cleaned it out good on an old tee shirt every now an then. As you work, the sandpaper looses some of it's bite, which is nice, because it makes for a natural progression. You want less bite as your work progresses.

I then switched to a fine synthetic steel wool that Brownells sells. I kept that wet, too, with WD-40. The wool is pressure sensitive, so you can adjust the shine based on how much force you put into it. I don't care for a real shinny gun. I like the "brushed" look.

The synthetic wool also lets you adjust the grain of the brush. Look at a few NIB Smiths and you get a sense of how the factory grain flows. It's a certain way on the barrel, a certain way on the cylinder, and a certain way on the frame. Other parts are left as machined. I leave those alone. And of course, the sight channel and top of the barrel usually has a flat bead blasted finish. I leave that alone too.
 
I've had my 627 since March 3rd and just popped it's cherry April 20. Was shooting 158 lswc's and she ended up quite ugly at the end. Spent about 30 min cleaning and looks almost good as new. Only thing I could not remove was the lead build up on the crane and above the forcing cone. Any good methods for removing the lead? If no safe way with chemicals I will try my soda blaster as I use it on my suppressor baffles to remove lead build up. TO the OP-you have a fine weapon,shoot it,clean it,and enjoy it! JMHO.
 
thomasinaz said:
The 627 Pro is 4" only. Perfect, in my opinion....
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I just reread the original post. Yes he said Pro but somehow I was thinking he said PC. Funny cause I have a 627 Pro which has of course a 4 inch barrel and I enjoy it quite a bit. To my taste the 4 inch Pro looks better than the 5 inch PC. I do like the looks of the 2.5 inch PC but I would like it better if it came with a fluted cylinder.

PS. I like the Matte finish of the Pro. It has held up well for me. I clean it after each use but I don't worry too much about the carbon stains on the front of the cylinder face or the BB sized carbon stain on the flutes.
 
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Let me add, if you do refinish it yourself it will make things 10 times easier if you remove the trigger, hammer, side latch and related innards. The bolt stop can stay, as it's not in the way. There's a sticky somewhere on this site that steps thru how to do this with detailed pictures showing every move.

I'll also leave out the first two side plate screws when working. The rear one I'll leave in (the flat one). Make sure the side plate is fully reseated before you start sanding (I'll put all the screws back in, tighten them down all the way, then remove the two front screws). Be sure to back the sandpaper with something firm. That way you'll keep the flats flat, the edges sharp, and won't dish out the screw holes, etc.
 
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A flattened out .223 case will scrape the lead off.


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9mmsubgun-m11 said:
I've had my 627 since March 3rd and just popped it's cherry April 20. Was shooting 158 lswc's and she ended up quite ugly at the end. Spent about 30 min cleaning and looks almost good as new. Only thing I could not remove was the lead build up on the crane and above the forcing cone. Any good methods for removing the lead? If no safe way with chemicals I will try my soda blaster as I use it on my suppressor baffles to remove lead build up. TO the OP-you have a fine weapon,shoot it,clean it,and enjoy it! JMHO.
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*chris* said:
I like how it looks, but I hate how it looks after shooting it a little bit. Today I shot 24 x 44 mag out of my Performance Center 629 and there are nasty powder burn marks on the cylinder that will require polish to remove such as a lead away cloth. My older 686 with the smoother finish is much easier to keep clean and the powder wipes away. It is just a lot cheaper to bead blast a gun than polish it, so that is why they make them this way.

Chris
Click to expand...

I have the same problem with my new 625JM. At first I thought there was something weird about the rounds I was shooting or the cylinder. The burn marks are really tough to get off and I can still seem them a little even after I clean them with Kroil. I might have to try a lead away cloth.
 
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