I am debating using mothers mag and aluminum polish on my stainless model 66 and had a couple questions. I am just wanting to hand polish and not use a dremel or buffer.

1 Will the gun looks polished throughout with a uniformed look?
2 Can I mess anything up or anything to watch out for?
3 does anybody have any pictures of their stainless gun hand polished with Mothers

Thanks for your time

You'll find a lot of pros and cons here. I have a stainless model 60 that I've polished using Flitz and, depending on how much you do, you can go from slightly to highly polished. One thing I would not do is use a Dremel. That can be very aggressive if you're not really careful.

It comes down to just how much of a polish you want to give it.

Mothers or Flitz will give you a uniformed finish Stay away from power tools ,too much damage can be done.You won't be able to achieve a true mirror like Colts ultimate bright stainless.But it will not be a scratch magnet like the Colts finish.

The only way to do it is with a soft cloth such as an old T-Shirt rag, and light hand pressure only. Never let a Dremel get within 3 ft. of a firearm.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

A really informative YouTube video can be found .

I personally have never polished any of my SS handguns. My reasons for not polishing:
- I don't believe it can add to the value, but it can detract or cause some not to buy
- without properly preparing the surface to remove scratches or flaws before polishing, the polishing action will serve to highlight these
- I really like the brushed SS look and have never been a big fan of nickel plated handguns. Polishing might make it look more like a nickel plated handgun.

But it is your handgun, so do what you want. But if I did polish mine, I would strip it down before I started and make sure you stay away from the bead blasted surfaces!

Here is a police trade that I polished like you asked with just hand rubbing with Mother's polish and an old t-shirt.

Here's a Model 67 that has been polished with Mother's.

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Mod 67 with Safariland Stocks (2).jpg (121.3 KB, 194 views)

The ONE and ONLY gun I ever polished was an old model 60 no dash that had been ankle and IWB carried for many years and was really beat up so I figured I had nothing much to loose.

I used Flitz and an old tee shirt , disassembled the entire gun and entire cylinder first (to make sure all Flitz was removed before shooting) and polished to a medium shine. By no means a mirror finish which I don't care for but just enough to get rid of all the carry marks and make the finish even all over. It came out quite well and sold it years later because I had upgraded to the 60-7 model. The 60-7's finish has faired better because I no longer ankle carry and only use high quality holsters now.

While I have never tried Mother's Mag Polish, I do own a can of Simichrome which I don't care for much. I think the Flitz is the way to go if you are going to polish. DO ONLY BY HAND - NO DREMEL or POWER TOOLS!

I see that my comment on the use of Dremel tools has been repeated. Hopefully you won't try that. I've found, that with minimum effort using Flitz and a soft cloth you can achieve the results you want in a very small amount of time. Work at it slowly until you achieve the shine you want. I personally like the higher shine and did my Model 60 that way. I avoided doing any polishing on the fluted part of the cylinder and it looks almost as if the flutes have been bead blasted compared to the rest of the gun. Nice IMHO.

I have used mothers as well as flitz...both work great..the more you polish the brighter it gets...simply stop when you have the finish you are seeking

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SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

Zephyer Pro 40 works great also. You can get it at most truck stops. No power tools required.

I have a question on polishing stainless and I believe I have read this somewhere here before: Doesn't polishing stainless S & W's remove some sort of final coating that is done at the factory? Something to do with rust preventive? Can't remember.

I've heard that ,but haven't seen any evidence of rust on the two guns I polished 5-6 years ago.

Simichrome is an excellent product for hand polishing stainless steel. The barest whisper applied to a soft flannel cloth results in a smooth even finish.

Details here: 686-4 Silhouette - Polished

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Dave

what you see and hear above, the sky is limit, and yes, as they said, stay away from any and all "power tools" UNLESS you know HOW !!!
My like is to use a Micro fiber clothe for your final steps, it will come out looking like nickel plate.....
as for any "coating" some say or call it "passification" and applies to finishes used in industry, I've NEVER seen a gun that has been polished, "fail" in any manner, unless butchered using "power tools" by bubba or his half wit buddy in the back yard............

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dan
NRA Benefactor,PMA

I just picked up a nice 686-3 in 4 inch. The gun has been used but certainly not abused. Shot it this morning with both 38's and 357 factory ammo. Shoots very nicely...go figure, it's a S&W.

It has normal wear marks as are expected for not being a safe queen. Today I will start a detailed cleaning as well as HAND polishing with Flitz and Mothers. This will not be a high bright finish when I'm done, simple a light polish to somewhat even things out, and enhance the luster.

Big thing to keep in mind here is DREMEL tools are for dentists! Not for the guy who wants his gun to look good! Nothing better that hand rubbing your investment while watching football on TV. Enjoy your investments and stop rubbing when you are happy!

I carefully hand-polished this 66-2 with Mothers. I think it turned out nicely - hard to tell from nickel.

John

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- Cogito, ergo armatus sum -

I use Mother’s to clean my Model 66 after every range visit & it looks like the 1973 gun it used to be, only more of a mirror finish.

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Old Cop
LEO (Ret.)

This model 60 was covered in fine scratches when I bought it. A few hours with Mothers and a t shirt shined it up nicely.

I polished a 66-1 with mothers to a nickel like shine. I also put on some Grasshorn "No Bark" elk antler grips, and a Meprolight tritium front sight in the red ramp groove.Looks pretty nice, I think, and has a good sight picture.
My "Agency" (A group of reserve deputy volunteer pilots) had a couple of bullseye shoots a year. I know that having a flashy gun wouldn't help my score, my hope being it might intimidate the loss of of a point or two off of others.... ; ).

OZ

I purchased the 629-6 shown for cheap a number of years ago because of the ragged rubber grips and the finish, which was covered in a spiderweb of fine scratches. No dings or deep marks, almost like a fine haze of scratches; not sure how the previous owner managed that...

A couple evenings watching football, and polishing the gun with Simichrome polish and an old T shirt made a big difference, as did decent grips. Turned out to be one of the most accurate N frames I own.

Larry

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629 1.jpg (69.5 KB, 173 views)

Necro thread but possibly still relevant?

The only way I would polish one of mine is to send it to Patriot Polishing and have a professional do it, and the only reason I would do it is to have it Ionbonded afterwards. It would look like obsidian, I think it would be jist about as sharp too.