Recently got a 4596 and wondering if I can buff out a few small scratches with a 3M pad (color?) to bring back the original finish? For some reason I was thinking these were a bead blast Finish but not certain. Thanks for any help that can be offered.
3rd Gen Finish Restoration
- Thread starter ChiefTJS
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Pictures would help us diagnose what you're dealing with.
Agree that a picture of the wear you are talking about would help. But if you are talking about wear on the high spots of the slide and frame, then yes a 3m scouring pad and some CLP can be used to dull them down and blend them back with the finish.
I use a green 3m pad. I slice off a 2.5 inch strip about 1/8th wide. I put a liberal amount of CLP on both the area Im treating and on the 3m pad. Then go smoothly across the area in the same direction - NOT BACK AND FORTH.
Usually 3 passes is enough to remove the shiny holster wear from the trigger guard. Sometimes 4 or 5 passes to remove it from the side of the slide. Be advised that it will not "perfectly" blend it in. But it is pretty close and definitely less noticeable.
I had a pawn shop rescue 4506-1 that had a lot of scratches and holster wear. It also had some tiny corrosion spots on the slide and frame. I decided to redo the entire pistol using the above described method. But in that case I also used a blue 3m sanding block because I had a lot more area to treat. That gun came out looking like new.
Hope this helps! Regards 18DAI
I use a green 3m pad. I slice off a 2.5 inch strip about 1/8th wide. I put a liberal amount of CLP on both the area Im treating and on the 3m pad. Then go smoothly across the area in the same direction - NOT BACK AND FORTH.
Usually 3 passes is enough to remove the shiny holster wear from the trigger guard. Sometimes 4 or 5 passes to remove it from the side of the slide. Be advised that it will not "perfectly" blend it in. But it is pretty close and definitely less noticeable.
I had a pawn shop rescue 4506-1 that had a lot of scratches and holster wear. It also had some tiny corrosion spots on the slide and frame. I decided to redo the entire pistol using the above described method. But in that case I also used a blue 3m sanding block because I had a lot more area to treat. That gun came out looking like new.
Hope this helps! Regards 18DAI
I'll try to get some pictures tomorrow, I can't do it while the wife is home because it's her Christmas present. Very minimal markings, and an idiot scratch. I'm used to dealing with stainless Rugers and a white pad pretty much matches the standard brushed finish on those. This would be fine as is but just wanted to make it a bit better.
Roger that. If the white pad has worked well for you already, Id use it on a small area of the Smith - maybe the scratch - and see how well it matches before trying something else.
Let us know how it turns out. And how she likes her present!
Regards 18DAI
Let us know how it turns out. And how she likes her present!
Regards 18DAImetalmole
Member
I have glass beaded a couple 5906 pistols with 120 grit at 80 psi, they look brand new...
After looking at it again and putting a little break free on it, I was really over reacting. This thing looks great and the few tiny scratches hardly seem worth messing with. My eyes must have been a little more critical on first examination.
I've seen where people have polished the slab sides of a 3rd gen automatic to make it look more like a 2nd gen. I don't believe it was to be deceptive so much as to appeal to their aesthetic. To restore that level of alteration, would you use ground walnut shell grit-blasting material or would you use baking soda as a grit blasting media?
skjos
Member
What I have done in the past:
Glass Bead Media Testing on 5906 Frame
The last one I did I adjusted the ratio to 12 parts glass beads to 1 part aluminum oxide and upped the pressure to 65psi; turned out great.
Glass Bead Media Testing on 5906 Frame
The last one I did I adjusted the ratio to 12 parts glass beads to 1 part aluminum oxide and upped the pressure to 65psi; turned out great.
Regards 18DAIBought it to be a shooter, paid more than collector price but it was an important score. Wife bought me one when they came out and like an idiot I traded it for a 1911 and have been paying the price for 25 years. This one will go under the tree for her this Christmas and will stay with us forever.
metalmole
Member
That is so cool. Been there. It is a great pistol, as is. Luckily my wife/best friend, (35+,) is the same. Had to sell a few as the family grew, but it's all coming back. She is complaining now that we don't have as many of "those", (S&W revolvers.) 
MattyD380
Member
That 4596 looks awesome. Nice find.
Question:
Mechanically are the 4596s 4516-1s or 4516-2s?
Question:
Mechanically are the 4596s 4516-1s or 4516-2s?
MattyD380
I got my 4506-1 in '92, and my 4516-2 in '94. After a couple of years I decided to switch the top ends. Everything worked perfect. I didn't know it would work, Frankensmiths was not a term, and the great resource of S&W Forum was not even imaginable.
I was totally tired of my 4506 and it was only worth a couple of hundred dollars. (I actually liked the long 4506 slide on the 4516 frame.)
Luckily for me, I got a early 4513tsw, and a few years ago a cs45, so everything is back where it should be.
I got my 4506-1 in '92, and my 4516-2 in '94. After a couple of years I decided to switch the top ends. Everything worked perfect. I didn't know it would work, Frankensmiths was not a term, and the great resource of S&W Forum was not even imaginable.
I was totally tired of my 4506 and it was only worth a couple of hundred dollars.
(I actually liked the long 4506 slide on the 4516 frame.)Luckily for me, I got a early 4513tsw, and a few years ago a cs45, so everything is back where it should be.
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I got my 4506-1 in '92, and my 4516-2 in '94. After a couple of years I decided to switch the top ends. Everything worked perfect. I didn't know it would work, Frankensmiths was not a term, and the great resource of S&W Forum was not even imaginable.
I was totally tired of my 4506 and it was only worth a couple of hundred dollars.
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FrankinSmith's for me are full size slides on compact frames..........a 915 top end on a 6906 frame is perfect for concealed carry!!!!!
Well, the Bible says they are a 4516-1 slide on a 4506-1 (non-stepped) frame... but we have seen both hooked and round trigger guards on them so at least some of those frames (earliest ones?) aren't what most of us would consider a true 4506-1 frame but rather a step in-between a 4506 (No Dash) frame and a 4506-1 frame.
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