Maintaing Polished Stainless

[SaberOne]

In the past few days I researched various websites for information on maintaining a high bright finish on stainless steel. Ironically, I could not find anything on the subject. Seems that all of the discussions are centric on achieving a polished finish i.e. first use... Mothers’ or Fritz, yada, yada, yada.

So once you have it, what do you use to maintain it without continuing to use abrasives? I have heard of everything from baby powder (no joke) to Renaissance Wax. Conversely, I've read that wax isn't so good as it will cause a hazy film after a while. Any thoughts from people in the know is appreciated.

 

[chief38]

SaberOne,

The reason most Stainless Steel guns are satin finished is so that maintenance is not really needed as most light scratches don't really show. I did once polish one of my M60 revolvers up to a high glossy finish, and it became a maintenance headache for me as this was a daily carry gun. I used Flitz to try and keep it looking respectable, but after a while I threw in the towel and restored it to the satin finish using a series of scotch-bright pads. Now I am a happy camper again!

If this is NOT a carry gun and you have the patience, try either Mother's Mag Polish or Flitz. Indeed they do look nice when all polished up and shinny, but then you almost feel bad shooting it in fear of scratching up the finish. I do not go out of my way to scratch up a gun (actually I am pretty anal) but "honest" wear marks, nicks and scratches are part of the hobby. I find that when gun owners have a gun that looks like it just came off the assembly line (or better) they wind up never shooting it.

I don't know if that helps, but that's my .02 cents.......

Chief38

 

[SaberOne]

Hello 'chief38'

Actually, your comments do help. My model-640 started its life as a primary cc and then I decided to have it tweaked a bit by Bowen Classic Arms. Once it returned it was fabulous. Then I decided to send it off to Smith’ and have it bright polished. When it returned I was amazed with how well it came out. Now it’s effectively a presentation piece and family heirloom. If I had to do it over again, I would have sent it off to Robar for NP3 and called it done.

BTW: I also agree that being anal is part of the hobby.

 

[chief38]

Dan,
The other option which is kind of a happy medium (did this for a friend who's gun was a beater) is to use Flitz polish but ONLY use a cotton cleaning patch and your hands. It gives it a"dull shine". Shinier than the standard production satin finish, but not like a mirror either. He now just touches it up once a year with the Flitz, and it looks and holds up quite well. Just don't go TOO FAR, or you will wind up with another "Heirloom".
(LOL!!)

By the way, I just DID IT as well.............

I have two Colt SAA revolvers that I bought new in the early 80's and used for Cowboy Action Shooting for 12 years. The beautiful Colt's got scratched, nicked, and the blue is worn from the barrels and cylinders. The case colors were also fading and the genuine Ivory grips were beat up as well. They do however shoot dead nuts on and the action's are silky smooth (did them myself). Last Friday the pair of Colt's went back to the Colt Factory for a complete refinishing (in Royal Blue) and they will also be re-case colored. After I get them back from Colt, they are going out to Jim Aliamo (Nutmeg Sports) to have two new sets of Ivory grips put on. When I am done, I will probably be too squeamish to fire the damn things! I just could no longer bear to look at these worn beauties after knowing what they once were. I did vow to my shooting buddies (and myself as well) to actually shoot them after they are completely done; well see..............

Regards,
Chief38

 

[m1gunner]

White automobile polish will clean stainless and will not cut the metal like a metal polish will.

The auto polish is essentially a plastic polish (that is what auto paint is), and does a good job cleaning a stainless gun without changing the finish.

 

[DRYHEAT]

I started using Blue Magic Polish on my '81 Python that I bought new. If it won't cut the (Super) Royal Blue on that gun I knew it would be fine for my M60 that I had mirror polished by S&W before getting it all scratched up.

 

[BigBill]

I use the simichrome polish its a very fine polish on a very soft rag. It will clean up the metal and restore its orginal shine. Its used in injection die molds to remove machining marks, on chrome and alumimum to restore the shine/finish on motorcycles. I also save the used simichrome polish on the soft rags to use on my older blued guns that are dull yet still have 100% bluing left on them. It restores the dull bluing to a gloss too. I don't press too hard on the blued guns just go lightly on them. Do not use new simichrome polish on the blued guns. I fear it will cut or clean too much with the new simichrome polish. The used simichrome polish will work if we go lightly. It brings the luster back to the old bluing. I've taking some older military dogs and cleaned them up with the used simichrome polish and they look like new again. Just remember to use a very fine polish so it won't leave marks.
Bill

BTW; If you have surface body sweat marks on your stainless the simichrome polish will remove that too. There is acid in our sweat too that can mar the shine on the stainless. We just need to unholster our guns more and wipe them down more to prevent this and switch out holsters in the hot summertime too. (in the pants holsters) I know no one wants to talk about this but we do sweat and on a hot humid tacky/sticky day our holsters to get sticky too. Which can be transfered to our guns too. I've had it happen and i seen it happen to others too. So your not alone wether you admit it or not. Now have you ever thought about what is making your shiney stainless going dull?

 

[Beemerguy53]

Dan,
The other option which is kind of a happy medium (did this for a friend who's gun was a beater) is to use Flitz polish but ONLY use a cotton cleaning patch and your hands. It gives it a"dull shine". Shinier than the standard production satin finish, but not like a mirror either. He now just touches it up once a year with the Flitz, and it looks and holds up quite well. Just don't go TOO FAR, or you will wind up with another "Heirloom".
(LOL!!)

By the way, I just DID IT as well.............

I have two Colt SAA revolvers that I bought new in the early 80's and used for Cowboy Action Shooting for 12 years. The beautiful Colt's got scratched, nicked, and the blue is worn from the barrels and cylinders. The case colors were also fading and the genuine Ivory grips were beat up as well. They do however shoot dead nuts on and the action's are silky smooth (did them myself). Last Friday the pair of Colt's went back to the Colt Factory for a complete refinishing (in Royal Blue) and they will also be re-case colored. After I get them back from Colt, they are going out to Jim Aliamo (Nutmeg Sports) to have two new sets of Ivory grips put on. When I am done, I will probably be too squeamish to fire the damn things! I just could no longer bear to look at these worn beauties after knowing what they once were. I did vow to my shooting buddies (and myself as well) to actually shoot them after they are completely done; well see..............

Regards,
Chief38

Chief38, please post photos of those Colts once you get them back...I can't wait to see what they look like!

 

[Beemerguy53]

I use the simichrome polish its a very fine polish on a very soft rag. It will clean up the metal and restore its orginal shine. Its used in injection die molds to remove machining marks, on chrome and alumimum to restore the shine/finish on motorcycles. I also save the used simichrome polish on the soft rags to use on my older blued guns that are dull yet still have 100% bluing left on them. It restores the dull bluing to a gloss too. I don't press too hard on the blued guns just go lightly on them. Do not use new simichrome polish on the blued guns. I fear it will cut or clean too much with the new simichrome polish. The used simichrome polish will work if we go lightly. It brings the luster back to the old bluing. I've taking some older military dogs and cleaned them up with the used simichrome polish and they look like new again. Just remember to use a very fine polish so it won't leave marks.
Bill

BTW; If you have surface body sweat marks on your stainless the simichrome polish will remove that too. There is acid in our sweat too that can mar the shine on the stainless. We just need to unholster our guns more and wipe them down more to prevent this and switch out holsters in the hot summertime too. (in the pants holsters) I know no one wants to talk about this but we do sweat and on a hot humid tacky/sticky day our holsters to get sticky too. Which can be transfered to our guns too. I've had it happen and i seen it happen to others too. So your not alone wether you admit it or not. Now have you ever thought about what is making your shiney stainless going dull?

I too use Simichrome, and can recommend it without hesitation.

I've used it for more than 35 years on stainless steel guns; chrome and stainless motorcycle exhausts; gold rings; aluminum motorcycle wheel rims; and almost any other metal surface that needs to be polished to a mirror shine.

I have a Model 640 Carry Comp that I bought new in the mid-90s, and which still looks new thanks to Simichrome. It's great stuff!

You can get Simichrome in tubes or tins in most well-stocked motorcycle shops, or you can easily find it for sale on line. It isn't cheap, but a little goes a very long way, and nothing else, IMO, works quite as well on as wide a variety of materials.

Good luck!

 

[chief38]

Beemerguy53:

I will be happy to post photo's when they are done. From what I was told by Colt and Nutmeg, I do not expect them to be done until mid Summer or so. I probably should have taken "before" pictures, but I just did not think of it.

Two of my buddies just received guns back from Colt within the last few months, and I must say that the Colt Factory does about the best bluing job I have seen, ANYWHERE! I hate so say this (because I am really a S&W Man) but I only wish they would re-blue S&W guns. Their refinishing (IMHO) is way better than Smith's, even though Smith's is pretty good. Both my friends sent in really old guns, in fact they were so old that originally Colt said they will not do them, but I guess they were persuasive enough, because Colt ultimately agreed. One gun was an Army Special (38 Spl.) from 1926, and it came out dead nuts GORGEOUS!!

Can't wait to see mine!

Chief38

 

[SaberOne]

Good, bad or indifferent, I ended up blotting the surface with 90-proof alcohol to remove trace amounts of oil and then I applied a coat of Renaissance Wax. I buffed it with a super plush micro fiber cloth that I picked up from the local auto supply store. Not the standard variety with the semi-tacky feel to it.

Overall, it’s about as nice of a polish you could imagine and no, it's a shooter. S&W did a superb and I do believe it was worth the premium fee. They also re-stamped all the factory lettering and logo. It came out much better than new, as the markings are now deeper and even throughout. This in itself was impressive!

Unfortunately, my pithy camera can’t pick up the details without blowing the highlights. BTW: Thanks 'chief38' for the lead on Nutmeg. I realize the predictable route would be full engraving and ivory grips, but I’m actually considering a different approach.

 

[Maximumbob54]

I spray silicone onto a microfiber cloth and wipe mine down. It keeps the shine pretty good. I have a 629 that once I get the plug into I’m going to give it some Flitz treatment. I will post pics once I give it a polish and get the new Ahrends onto it. I will have to remember to do a before, in-between, and finished series of pics.