Will Mothers Mag Remove Light Scratches?

kbm6893 · Aug 11, 2011

I have a 65 on the way with some light handling marks and scratches. Do I have to use sandpaper to smooth it out before the Mothers, or will the Mothers be enough? Can I try the Mothers first, and if it's not enough, lightly sand and then re polish with Mothers?

gmiller0737 · Aug 11, 2011

I have never tried the Mothers on a Gun (Have used it on wheels) On guns I have always used Flitz,In any event I would try the metal polish 1st

Dragon88 · Aug 11, 2011

Hmm I would not use sandpaper on one of my guns, unless the finish were so bad I felt I couldn't damage it more. Start with the Mother's, if it doesn't do what you want then you can consider something more. Be careful though, light scratches can quickly become damage if you go too aggressive in "polishing" the gun. Nine times out of ten it's better to just leave the beauty marks and enjoy the gun as a shooter.

Blackcloud2 · Aug 11, 2011

I bought a police trade-in Model 64 a couple of years back and used Mothers Mag polish and their drill-chuck ball to bring some life into the gal. Here's a before and after pic:

Before

After

kbm6893 · Aug 11, 2011

Nice. What is this drill chuck ball?

Blackcloud2 · Aug 11, 2011

You can find them at most Auto Parts places where they sell the polish; Checker/O'Reilly, Pep Boys, Auto Zone, etc. It's a rod that will chuck into an electric or pneumatic drill motor, of which the end is capped with a ball shaped wad of sponge-like cloth that the polishing compound can be applied to. I chucked up the ball in an electric drill motor, placed the motor into a vise, adjusted the speed, applied Mothers' compound to the ball and the semi-disassembled gun, working it like a polishing wheel until I got the consistency of finish I wanted. Go slow, you can always go back, but don't rush it!

jepp2 · Aug 11, 2011

kbm6893 said:
I have a 65 on the way with some light handling marks and scratches. Do I have to use sandpaper to smooth it out before the Mothers, or will the Mothers be enough? Can I try the Mothers first, and if it's not enough, lightly sand and then re polish with Mothers?

As you can see from BlackCloud's pictures, Mothers will really shine the area it is applied to.

As far as removing scratches, it can actually make them appear worse as you polish the area around them. So it really depends on what finish your revolver has now, and what type of finish you want on it. Flitz will leave more haze and less luster.

Lots of folks tend to use Scotch Brite pads (they come in various colors for different grits) to remove scratches and blend to the original finish.

I'm not trying to tell you what to do, just trying to help you think about what you want in the end. Once you put some Mothers on a spot, you are going to probably want to do then entire revolver. Otherwise you will have one shiny spot that will draw attention like crazy.

Blackcloud2 · Aug 11, 2011

Jepp2 makes a good point, I was intent on polishing the whole gun, not just an isolated spot. I was also removing a matte finish that was marred and had seen better days, knowing I was going to now have a shiney appearance, which I was okay with. I have also used Flitz in limited areas, which works well and that was all applied with an old sock and "finger power"!

Bugs Bunny · Aug 11, 2011

Scotch pads "gray" seem to be close to factory S&W finish, I used "michiana" wheel polish "truck stop" stuff on a 625 barrel & cylinder to match them for a 629 frame, probably relabelled "mothers mag polish" after the gray pad treatment.

I prefer to avoid motor powered polishing, I usually buy those cheaper with the swirl marks and hand polish the mess out

Here is what the polish looks like done by hand on the gray factory finish cylinder & barrel - the frame has swirl marks I need polish out yet.

There is a sticky posted on this which I got the info from you may want to read it.

Shooting4life · Aug 11, 2011

I just hit this 629 with scotch bright. It was in pretty rough shape. Some of the deeper dings still show but it cleaned up pretty well. I started with green then moved to grey and then to white.

Big'un · Aug 12, 2011

Simply amazing stuff.
This is a before and after on a 66-2.All done by hand polishing using only Mother's and a felt cloth.It took about four hours in total over a few days while watching TV and finished it off with Eagle One Nanowax.That part only took about 5 minutes
Come to think about it now,I did use some 400 grit automotive wet sand paper on a couple of bad spots at the start, before using the Mothers.I also tried to avoid the stampings and the top of the barrel as much as possible during the whole process and removed the the cylinder release thumb piece instead of trying to work around it.

kbm6893 · Aug 12, 2011

I should have mentioned that I have used Flitz and Mothers to polish my other stainless guns (686, 66, uger GP100), but those didin't have any scratches. I just like the polished look. What is automotive wet sandpaper? Is there a certain way to use the paper? Lightly, I'm sure. But do you only go in one direction?

Maximumbob54 · Aug 12, 2011

Another Mother's user -

On stainless steel:

Cleaning up old cloudy nickel:

Bugs Bunny · Aug 12, 2011

if you go to an autobody supply shop you can buy paper up to 1600 I am thinking.

it is used to go over stuff like a lacquer paint job between coats, the paper is kept clean dipping it in a pail of water.

I have tried various paper on "idiot marks" on Colt 1911's it has a fairly flat surface there but prefer the scotchbrite pad to remove those ugly scratches.

Another great post with alot of info & pictures

EDIT keep the paper off any edges & corners as it will eat fast even the ultrafine stuff.

kbm6893 · Aug 12, 2011

I thought the Scotchbrite was to give it the brushed factory look, not to remove scratches.

Big'un · Aug 12, 2011

Bugs Bunny said:
if you go to an autobody supply shop you can buy paper up to 1600 I am thinking.

it is used to go over stuff like a lacquer paint job between coats, the paper is kept clean dipping it in a pail of water.

I have tried various paper on "idiot marks" on Colt 1911's it has a fairly flat surface there but prefer the scotchbrite pad to remove those ugly scratches.

Another great post with alot of info & pictures

EDIT keep the paper off any edges & corners as it will eat fast even the ultrafine stuff.

I agree,definitely a feather light hand even with the finest wet sand paper.The water also acts as a lubricant to avoid any deep sanding marks.Also wipe off the sanded area often because it will turn "muddy" so you can check on the progress.

biggs357 · Aug 15, 2011

wet sanding is a step,and will get out alot of scratches but please be careful.Mother will shine up a gun but won't really hide the scratches.

The best way is using auto sandpaper,then polishing everything.I did this with a 66 and worked great but if you want to go all out then you need to start with something abit more aggressive.

I started with 400 grit sandpaper,then moved up the scale to 2,000 grit sandpaper then to my dremel tool with several polishing wheels.The whole process took about 6 days,an hour or 2 each day.

I also did the same thing to this 4006,and a 5906.the hardest part was polishing the decocker and break down pin.

Big'un · Aug 16, 2011

Mothers' mag polish does have mild abrasive qualities or else it would not polish metals.I also agree that wet sandpaper has it's place if the flaws on the gun are severe enough to require fine sanding.I sure would not use Mothers on a blued gun as it will damage and remove the bluing eventually if used often enough as a polish. The label does state this for a reason.........

"Not recommended for gold plating, chrome,anodized, painted or coated metals."

As an example, the revolvers in the photo were purchased new,one originally matte and the other a brushed finish.Over a period of time,routinely polishing and waxing the stainless steel revolvers the end result was a high shine finish.No sandpaper or Scotch Brite pad has ever touched either of these tw

ne is only a few years old and the other around 25 and has spent a great amount of time at the range.

Bugs Bunny · Aug 16, 2011

Just got a 629 back yesterday from S&W they went over, will have to post a picture, a rougher scotchpad alone would be comparable to the factory finish which hides many small scratches very well.

Deep ones you can feel with your fingernail you may want to really evaluate before jumping into, test the paper under the grip panels to see how fast it cuts, 400 wet paper cuts FAST and theres no putting the metal back.

I personally would not use wet paper on a S&W revolver when various other means are available, rubbing coumpound, polishing compounds, will remove scratches, they just wont cut as fast as that wet paper - haste makes waste

ol' geeser · Aug 16, 2011

I use some stuff called "wadding". Several manufacturers make it. A friend that restores old cars reccommended it to take the road crude off the chrome on my Harley. Works great on stainless and electroless nickel finishes.
It is sort sort of chemically impregnated wool looking stuff that does an excellant job of polishing and leaves a protective film on the metal. Used it for several years with no undue negative effects. It will handle light scratches very well but is too light for true gouges. Works wonders on old blue and will make previously polished stainless and/or nickel shine like a new penny.....from there I move to Flitz.....after that I usually make up a story as to how the blemish came to be there...the kids love it and makes the piece a little easier to sell or trade shoould the occasion arise

Will Mothers Mag Remove Light Scratches?

SWCA Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

US Veteran

SWCA Member

US Veteran

Well-known member

US Veteran

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

SWCA Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

SWCA Member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Well-known member

Similar threads