Dream to Dream
Member
I picked up one of the "Billboard" style JRD-prefix stainless SW1911s recently for $550. The previous owner (whom we shall title "Bubba") had apparently decided he was something of a gunsmith and delved headfirst into some "improvements".
First on the list… a masterful high-polish on his slide. Look at that puppy shine!
"Oops, probably shouldn't have left the polishing wheel in place for so long. Ah, no big deal... another six beers and I won't even be able to see it."
By the way, fun fact… if you don't bother removing the blued external extractor from a Smith 1911 before polishing the slide, you end up with half of it polished and the other half original. Do you think a pinto extractor is considered collectible? I should save it just in case.
Anyways, after the foray into refinishing, Bubba figured a little action work would be in order.
First, the requisite tools for sight removal:
Oh, that particular approach does tend to leave some tool marks.
Now that those pesky sights were off, the firing pin plunger needed some fixin'. The top of the shaft was all chewed up, so I assume he held onto the plunger with some vice grips and used a rag to lightly polish it.
Round this time, I'm guessing the case of Natty Ice wore off and Bubba realized his craftsmanship was not quite up to snuff. The gun was reassembled and brought to the LGS to be pawned off on the next fool who would spend time, money and effort trying to fix it up.
Hey, that's me!
After a full function check to make sure the gun was safe to operate, I dropped that cash and brought it home. A detail strip confirmed that none of the frame internals were tampered with. With the gun broken down, I filed the sights back into shape, smoothed them with steel wool, degreased them, and cold blued them to an acceptable condition. A little TLC with some 500 grit sandpaper and polishing compound repaired the mangled steel on the plunger.
The slide still needed fixing, though. I had to remove both the tool marks and the remnants of the SW1911 logo which Bubba polished out but was still faintly present. I secured the slide in my vise, leaving the top exposed, and then pulled 320 grit sandpaper tight over it and worked it back and forth. Once the tool marks were gone, I brought the stripped slide to Marshall at Paper City Firearms for an aluminum oxide bead blast. Back at home, I put 500 grit sandpaper on a marble slab and started working the sides of the slide. After moving up to 600 grit and finally polishing compound, here's where we are currently:
The buzz at the front of the slide is gone.
I really like the texture of the bead blast. No glare issues, and feels great.
I would have gone further with my sanding, but I ran out of sandpaper. At some point I'll pick up some more 500 grit and some 1000 grit to really make it smooth. If I ever decide to upgrade to new sights, the front dovetail will be enlarged for a standard Novak front sight so I can remove the tool marks that were covered by the bead blast.
Impressions?
First on the list… a masterful high-polish on his slide. Look at that puppy shine!
"Oops, probably shouldn't have left the polishing wheel in place for so long. Ah, no big deal... another six beers and I won't even be able to see it."
By the way, fun fact… if you don't bother removing the blued external extractor from a Smith 1911 before polishing the slide, you end up with half of it polished and the other half original. Do you think a pinto extractor is considered collectible? I should save it just in case.
Anyways, after the foray into refinishing, Bubba figured a little action work would be in order.
First, the requisite tools for sight removal:
Oh, that particular approach does tend to leave some tool marks.
Now that those pesky sights were off, the firing pin plunger needed some fixin'. The top of the shaft was all chewed up, so I assume he held onto the plunger with some vice grips and used a rag to lightly polish it.
Round this time, I'm guessing the case of Natty Ice wore off and Bubba realized his craftsmanship was not quite up to snuff. The gun was reassembled and brought to the LGS to be pawned off on the next fool who would spend time, money and effort trying to fix it up.
Hey, that's me!
After a full function check to make sure the gun was safe to operate, I dropped that cash and brought it home. A detail strip confirmed that none of the frame internals were tampered with. With the gun broken down, I filed the sights back into shape, smoothed them with steel wool, degreased them, and cold blued them to an acceptable condition. A little TLC with some 500 grit sandpaper and polishing compound repaired the mangled steel on the plunger.
The slide still needed fixing, though. I had to remove both the tool marks and the remnants of the SW1911 logo which Bubba polished out but was still faintly present. I secured the slide in my vise, leaving the top exposed, and then pulled 320 grit sandpaper tight over it and worked it back and forth. Once the tool marks were gone, I brought the stripped slide to Marshall at Paper City Firearms for an aluminum oxide bead blast. Back at home, I put 500 grit sandpaper on a marble slab and started working the sides of the slide. After moving up to 600 grit and finally polishing compound, here's where we are currently:
The buzz at the front of the slide is gone.
I really like the texture of the bead blast. No glare issues, and feels great.
I would have gone further with my sanding, but I ran out of sandpaper. At some point I'll pick up some more 500 grit and some 1000 grit to really make it smooth. If I ever decide to upgrade to new sights, the front dovetail will be enlarged for a standard Novak front sight so I can remove the tool marks that were covered by the bead blast.
Impressions?
