Refinishing question

[Motorcop]

What's the difference between the bright high polished finish and the bead blasted finish, I have a stainless model 60 that I'm trying to decide which finish to go with

 

[TAROMAN]

High polish:

Bead blasted:

 

[Motorcop]

Thank you sir, they both look nice, now I guess I need to make a decision

 

[bigwheelzip]

The polished holds up better to use, like holster wear. It can be touched up simply, whereas bead blasted is more involved.

The bead blast doesn't show finger prints.

 

[zonker5]

Bead blasting is great for hiding dings and scratches that can't be polished out.

 

[gman51]

High polish looks like chrome and bead blast looks like flat silver paint. I think the high polished SS could someday go by the wayside like the deep blued finish has. It has gotten down to keeping labor costs down and producing more guns quicker.
Personally I like high polish much more. I have sanded and polished bead blasted for the high polish look. If there is one thing I could have different about my 627-5 pro it would be that it came polished finish.

 

[patrickd]

Main thing to consider is if you scratch the polished surface you can polish it out at home with a buffing wheel whereas you scratch the blasted surface you'll need to first polish out the scratch with fine paper then you'll need to either invest in a bead blaster or pay someone else to blast it again.

 

[jim46ok]

Almost any metal to metal contact (like hitting it accidentally on the work bench, range bag, etc.) stands a good chance of scratching it. Even holster wear to some degree. I do a lot of Cerakote jobs for folks just to hide those marks. Polished is a bit more durable in that regard.....