Glass bead finish care & lead removal

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Hurlow

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Hey all,
I just got my first S&W, which was a performance center 44 with a glass bead finish. I love the gun, and really prefer the look of the finish to my more glossy stainless guns, but was wondering how to care for it, since I tend to be pretty careful with my guns (for future generations) and shoot quite a bit.
I usually use a Birchwood Casey lead remover cloth to get rid of lead on my other stainless firearms, though not any blued guns, since it can be fairly abrasive. Is this cloth safe for the glass bead finish, or will it wear it down over time? If it can wear it down, does anyone have a suggestion for lead removal (cylinder lines tend to be common otherwise) or care of these glass bead finishes?
Thanks for the advice,
Hurlow
 
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I generally use and old toothbrush dipped in #9 for general S/S finish cleaning. If I were to use a Lead Away cloth I would be sure to have a soft hand when I did.

Good luck.
 
I owned a Gemini Customs SP101 with a great BB finish.

I used a Lead Away cloth as well as "regular" gun cleaning products, and found that they worked fine to remove carbon without damaging the finish.

Be gentle and patient, and it will stay looking great!
 
Hurlow said:
Hey all,
I usually use a Birchwood Casey lead remover cloth to get rid of lead on my other stainless firearms, though not any blued guns, since it can be fairly abrasive. Is this cloth safe for the glass bead finish, or will it wear it down over time?
Click to expand...



I have a 637 with a bead-blasted cylinder and it looks like the Birchwood Casey cloth is too abrasive for the finish.

I've used it on my satin finish guns before with great success, but after only a few cleanings on the bead-blasted finish it's clear that I'll end up with a polished surface if I continue to use it.
 
I use a soaked rag (#9)that I keep in a zip lock baggy. I use it on my sp101 and on the 627. Works great on powder ress on the outside of the pistol.
 
The rings on the front of the charge holes are not something to remove. What comes off with hoppies 9 is all you need to do. Learn to like them. They hurt nothing, in fact they are better there than not there. All the effort to remove them most often degrades the accuracy of the gun. When you use a gun it's not new anymore, no matter how much you clean it. But hey what floats your boat, right. I'm just putting it out there because I read so much about this obsessive cleaning. I think it's a reflection of how much nice guns cost today and how long people wait and save to get them. Use and enjoy one day you will be dead, then it's too late. Clean normally get out lead but don't kill yourself getting carbon rings out, they come right back.
 
I would not use any polish or a polishing cloth ,it would take some time but polish would eventually smooth out your matt finish. Try a cotton rag soaked in a good lead-copper solvent and for the hard stuff lightly use a bronze brush saturated in solvent. Pro-Shot Gun Brush bronze double end is a good one and it's made in the USA.

If you have to get rid of the rings try a little bit of jewelers rouge on that solvent soaked rag. I am with Gunsnwater I like the rings,Smith & Wessons are made to be shot!
 
I've had S&W revolvers for 30 years; don't be obsessed with the "burn rings" on the front of the cylinder. Just wipe them with a little solvent on a rag after a shooting session and leave what remains. Trying to remove them completely will do more harm than good. Think of them as "the badge of a professional".
 
Gunsnwater said:
The rings on the front of the charge holes are not something to remove. What comes off with hoppies 9 is all you need to do. Learn to like them. They hurt nothing, in fact they are better there than not there. All the effort to remove them most often degrades the accuracy of the gun. When you use a gun it's not new anymore, no matter how much you clean it. But hey what floats your boat, right. I'm just putting it out there because I read so much about this obsessive cleaning. I think it's a reflection of how much nice guns cost today and how long people wait and save to get them. Use and enjoy one day you will be dead, then it's too late. Clean normally get out lead but don't kill yourself getting carbon rings out, they come right back.
Click to expand...

That needed to be said.

I do the same as you; I brush off the front of the cylinder with a tooth brush and Hoppe's 9, What comes off, comes off, and the rest stays. It never builds up very much anyway. No good can come from continually cleaning it down to bare metal.
 
I was wondering the same thing. I also have a 44 PC with the bead blasted or matte finnish. And am wondering how minor holster use and cleaning after shooting would effect the finnish.
 
Removing the rings removes metal - not optimum.

You remove small amounts and doing it once or twice is no biggie, but over time...

Don't do it.
 
I only remove the blast rings on stainless guns when I am going to trade them in.
I think if they are removed regularly on the front of the cylinder, it will eventually become polished, no matter how fine the polish.


Best,
Rick
 
I have a bead blast finish on my Judge, but I will avoid it on anything further. There hasn't been a problem so far, but I want the ease in restoring the look of the brushed stainless. I found this beadblast finish to be a deal breaker for my interest in the Talo Wiley Clapp Edition of the 3" Ruger GP100. Now they are doing it in black, and that is even of more concern.

I have the same concerns for blued guns. I am just a brushed stainless sort of guy. Even classics in nickel finish are just too bling and beg to hide in a gun safe rather than be shot or carried.

I just think this beadblast finish is a cheap (or cheap-looking) way of preparing the gun.

To include something actually on topic, I clean the bead blast Judge chemically as much as possible but not to like new look, no rubbing with anything abrasive that obviously would polish. I currently use Otis Carbon Remover or Slip2000 and let it go at that. If I did polish out the cylinder face, further shooting would cover any shine anyway.
 
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