5906 Finish Questions

[dddddmorgan]

Okay friends, I recently purchased a police trade in 5906 as I'm sure some of you have.

The gun fits the standard "carried much, shot little" profile. However, as I'm sure you all know "carried much" means holster wear. Now on a stainless handgun this doesn't bother me much. I purchased this as a shooter/nightstand gun.

My question is this: Can I get the finish redone? Can I do something myself?

I'm just curious if there's a way to "knock-down" the shiny spots?

Thanks, and if anyone has a magazine they want to sell me just pm me.

[S&W 10]

I recently purchased a 5946 with a similar condition, well actually a lot of holster wear. I've had some success using a small piece of medium grade scotch-brite hand pad. I use it manually, in a non-directional fashion, being careful not to disrupt the non effected areas, then very, very lightly go over the entire surface to blend it all together. It looks close to the original finish and worked well enough that you have to look pretty hard, in just the right light, to see any defects. If you choose to use this method just remember to tape/mask your sights (and trigger if it's black) as the scotch-brite can easily damage their finish. Take your time, going lightly at first, adding aggressiveness until the desired results are achieved; if you don't like it, you can always send it out for blasting.
This is a simple and cheap "do it yourself" process that only requires a normal strip and cleaning when completed.
Good luck and I hope this bit of info is helpful to you.

[dddddmorgan]

Thanks 10. I was wondering if this would work. I also have access to a sandblast cabinet and someone who has a lot of experience in blasting. Will have to see how it goes. As I said, I'm not too concerned, maybe it's the vanity since this is a defense gun.

[2K7]

I had an old M-39 that was the same way. Short on rounds but heavy on wear. Shiney frame exposed in numerous locations and moderate blue loss on the slide, etc.

I had it disassembled and everything that was aluminum was beadblasted and left in the "white". Everything that was steel was gray parkerized including the magazines. Barrel was polished to a mirror finish. Added Pachmayr grips and you be the judge.

This was all done over 25 years ago and still looks great. It never see's a holster, just the Mexican carry waistband.

[q3131a]

Nice M39 !!

[biggs357]

or you could turn the whole thing around and finish polishing the sides of the slide.

before


after

[dddddmorgan]

Wow those look great! And the idea of having it refinished has crossed my mind.

I think I'm going to work a little on the shiny spots and try not to get too fussy as this is a "house-gun" kept for defensive purposes and not a collection.

FWIW: I think I have to have one of everything before I can honestly say I'm collecting, right? ;-)

[KurtC]

Flits metal polish on a cotton patch works well for blending shiny spots. Work slowly and lightly.

Bead blasting stainless works best, as that is how the factory refinishes it. If you do it yourself, you must remove all parts (including sights), so it helps to know your way around a Smith auto. You also have to make sure every bit of blast media is removed afterwards, or you will have the proverbial "crunchenticker."

Blasting an aluminum frame removes the hard anodizing that was done by the factory. This anodizing is like the shell on a hard boiled egg. There are shops that can chemically strip the old anodizing and reapply with new, dyed to match the color of the slide if needed.