Removing scratches

[UKWildcatFan]

Hello, I picked up a really nice 19–3 last weekend at my LGS. It’s blued, and is in good shape but if possible I’d like to try to buff out some scratches. What do y’all use/do?
Thanks.


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[03hemi]

pictures help?

 

[gwpercle]

You have to be Very Careful ... a buffing wheel can buff out the Blued finish easily ...
Scratches can be too deep to buff out .
My advice is use the hand and a very very fine polishing compound to see if you can clean up some of the surface ... Blueing is not very thick or hard so ... go slowly .

Post some good photo's for more better advice ...
Let's see what cha got .
Gary

 

[Alk8944]

You don't "buff out" scratches on a blued gun. Bluing is not a coating like paint, it is the actual surface of the steel that has been chemically treated to produce a surface that is Iron oxide, literally fancy rust! There is no thickness to it, it would be measured in microns if measurable at all. What the result would be is removal of the blued finish leaving bare metal.


If the marks bother you enough then re-finishing/re-bluing is the answer. Either that or have it plated in one of several Chromium/Nickel finishes or painted with Cera-Cote or one of the other synthetic finishes

 

[UKWildcatFan]

You have to be Very Careful ... a buffing wheel can buff out the Blued finish easily ...
Scratches can be too deep to buff out .
My advice is use the hand and a very very fine polishing compound to see if you can clean up some of the surface ... Blueing is not very thick or hard so ... go slowly .

Post some good photo's for more better advice ...
Let's see what cha got .
Gary

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[UKWildcatFan]

You have to be Very Careful ... a buffing wheel can buff out the Blued finish easily ...
Scratches can be too deep to buff out .
My advice is use the hand and a very very fine polishing compound to see if you can clean up some of the surface ... Blueing is not very thick or hard so ... go slowly .

Post some good photo's for more better advice ...
Let's see what cha got .
Gary

Maybe a tiny speck of Mothers, very lightly in a circular motion?


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[Retired W4]

That's not a scratch. This is a scratch.

 

[Truckman]

That's not a scratch. This is a scratch.

That's also a horrible example of using a butterknife for a screwdriver......Ben

 

[03hemi]

Maybe a tiny speck of Mothers, very lightly in a circular motion?


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I wouldn't, like already said, bluing is not like paint or epoxy and can be buffed, it'll just wear down thin.
Ren wax is just about the only thing that'll help you with that imo.

 

[usedkid]

Those won’t polish out…

 

[A10]

Those minor handling marks wouldn't concern me if it were mine. If you are looking for a 99%+ collector grade gun, keep shopping. Polishing will remove the bluing, and if you have it refinished then you just have a shooter grade gun anyway. Your gun your call, I'd just shoot and enjoy it.

 

[jeffrefrig]

Leave it alone. That gun's in great shape. I'd love all my revolvers to be that shiny!!

 

[BC38]

I agree with 03Hemi - the best you can do with those scuff marks is polish them with some wax. It won't eliminate them, but it will make them less noticeable.

 

[stansdds]

Buffing out scratches on a blued firearm will result in the buffed areas having a visibly thin (lighter shade) blue finish or bare steel. My advice is to not try buffing.

 

[moosedog]

I'd leave it alone. As you get older and your vision decreases you won't see them as well.

Just kidding.

 

[smoothshooter]

I wouldn’t worry about it. Hit it lightly with some steel wool and a little Hoppe’s and call it good.
You can file or sand down damaged screw heads while you are at it.

 

[gwpercle]

Maybe a tiny speck of Mothers, very lightly in a circular motion?


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Yes ... Very Lightly in a circular motion , by hand ...
Then a protective Wax Job .

It's better to under-do polishing on a finely blued revolver like yours than to over-do it .

Stay away from Steel Wool ... copper wool from Brownell's is safer ... I have emoved blue with steel wool when I didn't mean to ... it acts fast !
Gary

 

[Shotguncoach]

That's not a scratch. This is a scratch.

The first guy never has a chance....these are scratches.

OP: you've got a pretty one there. Just put some Ren wax on it and enjoy it. IMHO anything more will only make he final product worse.

 

[steelslaver]

Mothers, Fitz and the like are rubbing compounds with very fine abrasives. They will remove blue, they will not fill the scratches with blue. Gun blue is a hard form of iron oxide and is only about .0001 thick. Notice that even a leather holster will wear it away when rubbed against the muzzle or front of cylinder. DON'T use polish on it expecting it to remove scratches. Light haze, etc maybe, but any goo, paint hardened oil wax etc is better removed with a solvent.

 

[T44spl]

To OP, you have a beautiful gun that has acquired handling marks from usage & just general wear & tear. It is a 50 year old gun afterall. You were given good advice, the most you would want to do is apply a light coating of wax which will minimize those marks.
However if those marks will always bother you or your eye will always be drawn to those "scratches" I suggest that you just sell this gun and shop for a finer condition gun. Some guys are that way, they have to have things in a perfect condition. I'm Not knocking you for that, But there are alternatives and this may be the solution for you.
So before you end up doing more harm than good trying to mask those blemishes give this some thought. In any event Good Luck in whatever you decide to do. Your gun, your choice.