Refinishing/Replicating Factory Brushed Stainless Finish on 686-3

[ThirdGen9623]

Hello all!

I have a S&W 686-3 that’s in phenomenal shape…minus one thing. Someone clearly took sandpaper or an abrasive pad to the sideplate side, ruining the factory brushed finish that the rest of the revolver retains well.

The gun is mechanically flawless and super clean, so I want to bring it up to that standard in the finish department. S&W quoted me 6 months, but I’m not sure that they still offer the brushed factory stainless finish. The gun just spent 7 months (despite a 3 month turnaround quote) sitting at a local gunsmith, who didn’t fix it at all. I was told when I finally gave up on them and picked it up that they have not been able to replicate the factory finish on test samples over several months. Their poor service is a story for another place and time.

I am trying another local gunsmith tomorrow, but should that fall through, does anyone have recommendations of a gunsmith that can and will replicate the 1980s-era factory brushed stainless finish this gun should have? I’m willing to send it out if needed, it does not need to be local to me.

**I’m not interested in doing it myself**, but I can’t imagine the finish is unobtainium for a professional, as this most recent gunsmith seemed to act like.

I’ve attached pictures of the flawed area of the finish so you can see what I mean.

Any help is appreciated!

 

[JackM]

You could try calling Ford’s in Crystal River, FL. They’re business is blueing and plating but they might be able to help.

 

[mchom]

I’ve never attempted it but if I recall there are members here who have done admirable work using various 3m pads restoring factory brushed finish. It’s been a while and I can’t recall who.

Do some searching or maybe someone can comment

Also a member recently posted about returning guns to S&W. They have refinish packages available for stainless. Might be worth looking into.

 

[dfariswheel]

Most people do this using Scotchbrite pads.
These are similar to the green pot scrubber pads in grocery stores but are available in finer grits.
Best places to buy are online or in auto supply stores that sell car paint materials.

Usually the gray pad is closest to S&W finishes.
Use by rubbing to remove all scratches or small defects, then finish by "stroking" the pad in the direction the factory grain finish ran.

Of course a good gun refinisher would be able to do this but would probably need the entire gun to prevent rounding off side plate edges.
APW-Cogan would be my first stop.

Due to changes, Ford's in Florida is suspect because of poor quality polishing.

 

[chief38]

I have helped out friends in this same case scenario a few times. Use fine 3m sandpaper and work up the grits until about 2000. ONLY go in the direction of the grain - from muzzle to hammer as straight as you can. When you are satisfied, switch to gray 3m Scotchbrite pads and follow the same direction for the final finish. If everything is done right it looks pretty much just like a factory finish and in some instances even better!

HINTS:
Whenever I have done this I have fully disassembled the gun. It is easier to work on plus you do not need to get sanding dust and debris inside the gun and cylinder. Again, ONLY sand in the front to back direction! do the same with the extra fine gray Scotchbrite. Before reassembling the revolver, properly clean, lightly lube and reassemble.

This is a pretty easy and satisfying restoration so take you time, do it carefully and you will have a fine revolver when done.

 

[BillBro]

Yes, grey scotchbrite pads. The gun must be COMPLETELY disassembled. I guess it could be done by hand but rigging up a "wheel" or "jig" of sorts to hold the pads put onto a benchgrinder or a small one for a drillpress works great, think flapper wheel. Go in one direction and use light pressure. Some people use a sort of lubricant but I did not, and mine wasnt a Smith but a ruger redhawk. I think it came out great.

 

[chief38]

BTW, I want to stress that IMO you should not start with the Scotchbrite pads. You should have the surface of the metal all prepared, scratches removed and ready for the finial finish with the Scotchbrite pads. This is done with very fine grip sandpaper, finishing with 2,000 grit before moving on to the Scotchbrite. As in almost every job, it's all about the prep work. That is what makes the final product come out picture perfect.

 

[PatriotX]

I depopulate the gun, but attach side plate, when refinishing stainless revolvers.

chief38 is correct, it is far better to start with other means, then finish with the Light Grey Scotchbrite pads and oil.

In your case, I might consider polishing the areas lightly to knock down the scratches before the 3M pad, but that would depend on how deep the scratches are.

 

[dfariswheel]

If you have major scratching-gouges, you absolutely need to start with sand cloth backed with a small sanding block like a large eraser.

The Scotchbrite will remove fine scratches and is used as the final step of replicating the original factory grained finish.

If the finish comes out a little too shiny, a trick is to put the disassembled gun with the side plate on in a sink.
Use a good kitchen scrubbing powder like Bartender's Friend to mix a paste with water.
Use a brass toothbrush and the paste to scrub the surface.
This will matte down the shine slightly.

 

[shawn mccarver]

. . . does anyone have recommendations of a gunsmith that can and will replicate the 1980s-era factory brushed stainless finish this gun should have? I’m willing to send it out if needed, it does not need to be local to me.

Why not send it to S&W and have it done correctly?

 

[chief38]

Why not send it to S&W and have it done correctly?

Absolutely no attempt at all to to sound crass at all..... because some here can do a better job than S&W is doing now. We take our time, we are not being paid by the hour and we care because it is our gun and we care. I have refinished a bunch of stainless revolvers and IMHO they came out better than many factory new in the box guns were shipped.

Couple that with the cost of shipping round trip, the extraordinary long wait times, the poor workmanship that has been shipped from the factory over the last decade and the cost of the job itself, there is no reason to send it in for a basic simple job many can do better, quicker and basically free.

 

[ThirdGen9623]

Why not send it to S&W and have it done correctly?

Because I don’t want to wait the minimum of 12 months that S&W quoted me for the turnaround. Their turnaround last time I sent a firearm into them was 6 months longer than quoted, so it would really be closer to 1.5 years.

I should add that I asked in my original post for gunsmith recommendations around the nation that could do this work, likely all much faster than S&W, and made it clear I do NOT want or intend to do the work myself.

 

[Baxter6551]

ThirdGen … I know your goal is to have the factory finish replicated by someone else. Having read many times on the Forum about the grey scotch brite method and getting a recommendation from a friend I tried it myself twice this year. First on a friends new to him model 60. It didn’t come out well. Maybe the grey pads I bought at Lowe’s were the wrong grade or I had no clue how to do it properly. In any case it scratched the gun. We hand polished with Flitz and he’s ok with it now. His goal had been the same as yours - clean up the factory finish.
I stupidly tried a second time on another friends model 66 he had bought from the first friend. I thought the finish was fine but he wanted it better. Worse result. Again the hand polish with Flitz and finally he used his buffer but that made the gun shiny which thankfully he likes. He’s a nickel gun guy. Actually both friends remain friends …
I prefer a subdued finish and many of my stainless gun are bead blasted which I came to like after having my 3 inch 65 done at the factory with their “combat revolver package”. My local gunsmith has replicated this package for me several times with action tuning and the bead blast as I obtained used stainless revolvers that no longer retained their factory finish. My photos aren’t the best but if it will help at all here are photos of my 686s - the 4 inch is original, the 2.5 inch is bead blasted. The 65 three inch bead blasted by factory and the 4 inch 65 bead blasted by another gunsmith.

 

[series guy]

Before you get carried away you might want to look at photos of other comparable stainless S&Ws. The finish on many that I have looked at since your first post look to have the identical finish as yours. Digital photography can make fine details look catastrophic. Maybe just a normal wipe down with Mother’s or Flitz each time you clean the gun will even out the finish over time.

 

[Yendor357]

I’ve never understood why our guns have to sit at the gunsmith’s, or the factory for a year before they get to it. Why don’t they take a deposit, put you on the list and about a month before it’s your turn, send the gun in. Cajun and Mike Heffron do it this way. Mike is way behind, but when I’ve sent CZs to Cajun, they’re gone and back in 6 weeks.

I’ve never had the guts to take sandpaper to a stainless Smith. I’ve bought a lot of used ones. I’ve had good luck with ink erasers. Mostly, I’ve just rubbed out small “sun scratches”.

 

[ms]

The big issue with the OP's gun is that the screw holes in the sideplate are dished out. No matter how good a job you do polishing, it won't look factory unless it is flattened first.