Removing bluing and protecting S&W 469

[Jin]

I just acquired a S&W 469 in a trade for my Sig P220 but the 469 has some frame wear that makes it an eyesore. The slide is fine so I decided to possibly remove the bluing from the frame with vinegar. Question is, since its just my beat around gun, is there a cheap DIY home thing I can do to protect the finish after I deblue it? I don't want it parkerized or duracoated as those will cost too much and I didn't wanna put too much $$ into it.

Thanks in advance. Yes, I did search lol

Kind of like this. I know the owner of this gun (who I believe is on this forum) likely bead blasted it. I hope he/she doesn't mind me using the picture....please PM me if you want the picture removed.

 

[Gunhacker]

If you want to keep the frame that natural aluminum color, a matte clear or stainless steel gray baking lacquer sold by Brownell's would probably be the best bet for something that's DIY practical as well as durable and economical.

Comes in a spray can, spray it on, bake in a 350 degree oven (make sure the wife/gf is away for awhile) for about 30 - 45 minutes and then let it "set up" over night.

Despite the instructions saying it's good to go after being removed from the oven and allowing it to cool, the finish is still too "green" to take any real use/handling.

I've used the dark parkerizing gray on knife blade blanks with great success.

Aerosol baking lacquer

 

[Jin]

If you want to keep the frame that natural aluminum color, a matte clear or stainless steel gray baking lacquer sold by Brownell's would probably be the best bet for something that's DIY practical as well as durable and economical.

Comes in a spray can, spray it on, bake in a 350 degree oven (make sure wife is out shopping) for about 30 - 45 minutes and let it "set up" over night. Despite the instructions saying it's good to go after it cools down out of the oven, it's too "green" to take any real use.

I've used the dark parkerizing gray on knife blade blanks with great success.

Aerosol baking lacquer

Thanks for the advice.

Turns out the frame is actually painted and the slide is blued. Doh!

Looks like I have to strip the paint....

 

[WHS 5906]

If you want to keep the frame that natural aluminum color, a matte clear or stainless steel gray baking lacquer sold by Brownell's would probably be the best bet for something that's DIY practical as well as durable and economical.

Comes in a spray can, spray it on, bake in a 350 degree oven (make sure the wife/gf is away for awhile) for about 30 - 45 minutes and then let it "set up" over night.

Despite the instructions saying it's good to go after being removed from the oven and allowing it to cool, the finish is still too "green" to take any real use/handling.

I've used the dark parkerizing gray on knife blade blanks with great success.

Aerosol baking lacquer

I am thinking of trying this stuff. How does the engraving on the frame hold up? Does the baking lacquer fill in the lettering to make it look odd?

Thanks

 

[Gunhacker]

I recently used it on an AR-15 barrel that got a bit scored when I used one of those stupid clamp-on scissor style bi-pods.

The key is practicing on something else to get a feel of how the stuff goes on, then when you do it for real, put on thin coats letting each dry before applying the next, and use only enough to ensure the surface is evenly coated, I only used 2 coats.

The barrel markings are just slightly less defined and they were on the shallow side to begin with, but they are still very legible... I would be willing to bet if someone looked at it that did not know the barrel had been sprayed, they'd be hard pressed to tell the difference.

Also another word of warning... the stuff STINKS while baking and it initially gave off some light wisps smoke at the start, when I noticed that was starting accumulate in the oven, I cracked open the door slightly and cranked up the thermostat setting a bit to compensate.

 

[killobytexl]

man this is easy on the eye here!!! what hammer is that off of??

 

[blackgun101]

Good morning all. This interest me, may I ask, when you remove the grips and prepare the metal for coating and bakeing, do you need to remove the internal parts (strip the gun out) or can you bake it whole. Do this also apply to the alumium frames like the 39-2. Has anyone ever tried powder coating

 

[joseph whitney]

removing bluing and protecting S&W 469

I know I will get blasted for this advise but for more than 50 years I have had good results by just removing the finish(I use oven cleaner) and either hand polish or use a buffer for a bright finish. If this is too bright you can dull the finish with either Scotch-Brite pads or very fine steel wool. I got this tip from Jeff Cooper's writings. He use to do this on his Colt Commanders and he did not use any finish after doing this. It works and I have done several alloy frames over the years without any problems. If you choose to put a clear coating over this, it won't hurt but is not necessary. Try it, you will like it.
Best wishes

 

[2K7]

I know I will get blasted for this advise but for more than 50 years I have had good results by just removing the finish(I use oven cleaner) and either hand polish or use a buffer for a bright finish. If this is too bright you can dull the finish with either Scotch-Brite pads or very fine steel wool. I got this tip from Jeff Cooper's writings. He use to do this on his Colt Commanders and he did not use any finish after doing this. It works and I have done several alloy frames over the years without any problems. If you choose to put a clear coating over this, it won't hurt but is not necessary. Try it, you will like it.
Best wishes

I'm with Joseph....had my 39 frame bead blasted many, many years ago and the steel parts parkerized just when two tone guns were beginning to be popular. No finish was applied to the frame after blasting and it looks as good today as the day it was done.

 

[Shaolink9]

so do the internals need to come out to bake it?