I am looking to polish a 686 down the road. A high polish, maybe not 'glow in the dark' polished, something like the polish of a Magna Classic would work.

To do it right, the barrel would need to be removed. Even if I could manage to remove the barrel without marring or damaging the gun, I don't believe I could get it back on properly.

What is the best way to approach this?

It might be worth it to pay S&W $275 to do it for you.

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

If your revolver's barrel is aligned spot on (not "clocked"), if your barrel / cylinder gap is .004" - .006", and the revolver is dead on accurate - I would leave the barrel on. It would be a bit more of a pain in the butt to get that high polish you desire, however the more important issue is your barrel won't be disturbed, you won't have to build a special vise jig to remove it and no possible damage can occur.

There are not many barrels that are installed with perfect spec's these days, so if your is - I'd opt to not touch it and work around it. If it's not, then you have less to loose I suppose.

I have polished a few Stainless Revolvers with the barrel on and yes it is a bit harder but not too much of a big deal that I had to remove the barrel. I did not put a mirror finish on any, I just basically restored years of neglect and minor scratches. They came out very nice!

If the revolver is sent out, you risk theft, damage, loss, and of course would incur shipping charges back and forth (more expense). Today, the "Factory" has been hit or miss as far as people's satisfaction and quality is concerned. Polishing is something that I deem a non-necessary reason to be sent out - but that's just me. Your gun - your choice!

One final note: When that mirror finish is put on, it is next to impossible to keep it perfect! Mirror finishes show minor defects and handling marks much more than satin finishes do and IMHO it becomes sort of a maintenance headache if you want to keep it looking perfect. That is of course if you are actually going to use and shoot it. Not as much if is is going to be a Safe Queen or display gun.

Chief38 nailed it.

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VCDL, GOA, NRA

Thank you @Tom S. How do I contact the factory about this? I looked at the website, didn't see anything obvious.

@Chief38 Thanks. Lots of good information there. Unfortunately none of it is relevant to my interests.

I had my 627-0 polished at the factory a few years ago. It’s shiny, but not glow in the dark shiny. I also have a 2.5” 686-3 that was hand polished.

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213th FBINA

I bought a Model 586 several years ago that was in need of a refinish. I sent it to S&W and they did an excellent job.

I wouldn't remove the barrel to polish it and if I did polish it I would do by hand. But...I think a 686 is a good candidate if you want to remove the barrel at home because of the barrel shape. I had a 686 PPC revolver that I removed the bull barrel and replaced with a 4 inch factory. I made some wood inserts to hold the barrel and frame and used a bench vise. Putting the 4 inch on was quite easy.

Again, I wouldn't remove the barrel just to polish it.

I am pretty sure most of the members who have polished their revolvers have done so with the barrel attached ... and the ones I have seen photo's of ... which looked very nice were done by hand !
If I were going to do one ... it would be done assembled and done by hand ... that way I couldn't bubba it up with my dremel tool ...
A dremel tool can mess up a good revolver faster than you can say...
" Holey Sheep ... I didn't mean to do that !!! " .
My best advice ... Go Slow , take your time and don't rush the hand polishing job ... it will turn out just fine .
Gary

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https://www.smith-wesson.com/custome...on-gunsmithing

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So many S&W's, so few funds!!

You could start by polishing the barrel in place. Then, if that work doesn’t meet your needs, you could progress on to polishing with the barrel off.

For me, if the current barrel installation is good, no way I would mess with it. But that’s my way of dealing with it.

Barrel removal and replacement is very simple IF you have the correct tools and instruction. Does not sound like you do. Leave barrel alone or send to Smith.

Smith and Wesson does excellent work, if you ca get them to do the work. The last 2 or 3 times I’ve sent something back to Smith, I was disappointed with mostly the lack of effort on their part.

I don’t know what you’re going to use to polish your stainless steel, but an ink eraser has worked for the touch ups that I’ve done.

Semichrome polish if you want bright stainless.

Same here , I polished my 686 and the thought of removing the barrel to do the work is something I would not have even considered doing.