Revolver Polishing Services
- Thread starter cladd1
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Pisgah
Member
I mirror-polished a Model 64 one time. A soft cloth, about 1/4 tube of Flitz metal polish, lots of elbow grease, and about 4 hours. Other than the slight color difference, it passed for nickel many times.
How about a Saturday afternoon "damage-it-yourself" project"? Mother's Mag and Aluminum Polish and some elbow grease.
Or S&W will polish it for you for $275.........Precision Gunsmithing | Smith & Wesson
Or S&W will polish it for you for $275.........Precision Gunsmithing | Smith & Wesson
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You could send it to Ford's who will perform this work for a couple of hundred dollars. But keep in mind mirror, mark-less polished stainless steel scratches as soon as you breath on it.One of the primary reason a flawless Colt Python in their ultimate stainless will sell for thousands above other Pythons.
I had a gunsmith (since retired) do a model 66 for me back in the 1970s. Looks good to this day.
OLDSTER
Member
No need to pay to have it done. As others have posted, Mothers Mag or Flitz and some old cotton socks. A fun " sit and watch football" project with great results 
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Not a hard job. Just make sure the gun is totally disassembled and don't get tempted to use power tools.
UNCLE PAULY
Member
Mother's Mag polish and a cut up white tee shirt.
Something to do while watching TV.
Something to do while watching TV.
robvious
Member
I am interested in trying this myself but am nervous about messing up... like my math teacher said... show your work...
Here's a 629 I did last year. I did use power tools and rouge along with elbow grease after disassembly. I've done them by hand too. It takes time and care either way.
Tape off areas you don't want the polishing to touch...like the top strap.
On several, I bead blasted the cylinder indents to give some contrast and a custom look.
On the right side panel I added my own little lasered patriotic American Eagle and Flag. This right side view wasn't finished yet. I just took the picture quickly before it was completed. I have a completed right side somewhere.
As you can tell...I like Culina grips too. I've got a few to dress up for special occasions.
They don't scratch that easy with normal care. I use Ren Wax as a finish. All high polish finishes will attract smudges and the like. Just wipe them off. I've shot these and clean them up again. They're pretty...
Here's the same one before I polished it... and it was uglier in person.
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TAROMAN
US Veteran
I posted this several years ago when a similar question popped up:
I have polished up a number of really beat up SS Smiths.
For jobs like these, you will need a lot more than Mother's.
I use auto body sandpaper (dry - tried it both ways) cut into 1" wide strips.
Depending on how bad it is, have started out with as coarse as 320 grit.
Different areas will probably need different grits to start. You may even need to use a fine file to smooth out deep gouges, usually the bottom of the triggerguard where the gun has been dropped.
Strip the gun, re-install the sideplate with all flathead screws. I keep a set of screws just for this purpose.
For the flat areas, I wrap the sandpaper around a little aluminum sanding black I made.
After all has been worked with the first sandpaper, go to the next finer grade. Work it with this one to smooth out all the scratches from the last grade.
Repeat this with finer and finer sandpaper until you end up with 2000 grit.
You will quickly learn that if you don't completely remove the previous scratches before going finer that you will have to back up and do it over, Trust me on this!
After its polished to 2000 all over, start in with Mother's and rub, rub, rub. I start out polishing with a cotton shop rag and end up with a microfiber cloth.
Here are some of the worst that I have done:
This model 67 was a complete junker. $150 at the LGS. Dirtiest and most beat one I ever saw. Soaked 3 days in Ed's red before even starting on it:
This one had a very coarse sandblast finish with lots of pitting (yes, stainless DOES rust!) like it had been a boat gun. It took more work than the others:
This was another well-used gun dinged all over and rusted in a couple spots:
And one that looked as if it had been dragged behind a truck:
Final note: Unless you REALLY know what you're doing, do not use any power tools!
I have polished up a number of really beat up SS Smiths.
For jobs like these, you will need a lot more than Mother's.
I use auto body sandpaper (dry - tried it both ways) cut into 1" wide strips.
Depending on how bad it is, have started out with as coarse as 320 grit.
Different areas will probably need different grits to start. You may even need to use a fine file to smooth out deep gouges, usually the bottom of the triggerguard where the gun has been dropped.
Strip the gun, re-install the sideplate with all flathead screws. I keep a set of screws just for this purpose.
For the flat areas, I wrap the sandpaper around a little aluminum sanding black I made.
After all has been worked with the first sandpaper, go to the next finer grade. Work it with this one to smooth out all the scratches from the last grade.
Repeat this with finer and finer sandpaper until you end up with 2000 grit.
You will quickly learn that if you don't completely remove the previous scratches before going finer that you will have to back up and do it over, Trust me on this!
After its polished to 2000 all over, start in with Mother's and rub, rub, rub. I start out polishing with a cotton shop rag and end up with a microfiber cloth.
Here are some of the worst that I have done:
This model 67 was a complete junker. $150 at the LGS. Dirtiest and most beat one I ever saw. Soaked 3 days in Ed's red before even starting on it:
This one had a very coarse sandblast finish with lots of pitting (yes, stainless DOES rust!) like it had been a boat gun. It took more work than the others:
This was another well-used gun dinged all over and rusted in a couple spots:
And one that looked as if it had been dragged behind a truck:
Final note: Unless you REALLY know what you're doing, do not use any power tools!
Golly!!! What a person with time and patience can accomplish. Y'all have done " EXCELLENT ".
Great reply TAROMAN, that explains why it cost so much to properly polish a stainless firearm. Too many people think that Mothers, Flitz, toothpaste or some other magic formula will do the job. While that stuff may make the gun shiny, it will NOT give the same appearance as a chrome plated finish unless you happened to have a perfectly flawless specimen to start off with. I've seen lots of shiny guns, including some posted here, that still showed what I refer to as 'grain' marks in the stainless. A proper polish job removes these but requires a lot more aggressive action than what Mother's will supply. That's why places charge what they do to polish stainless guns.
hardcase60
Member
I saw this information posted in another thread. Perhaps this would be an alternative if you choose to not DIY. I'm sure it's not cheap but IMHO he does good work.
Polishing Stainless Steel Gun to Mirror Finish
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with this vendor nor has this vendor done any work for me. Merry Christmas, hardcase60
Polishing Stainless Steel Gun to Mirror Finish
Disclaimer: I am in no way affiliated with this vendor nor has this vendor done any work for me. Merry Christmas, hardcase60
