# [UPDATE!] # I bought a badly finished, but mechanically sound Kimber as a project # gun. My hopes were that I wouldnt cry too hard if I completely screwed # it up as my first gunsmithing project. So far I havent, but I do find # myself becoming more and more attached to it every day I work on it! # Because of the wear in the finish, and the fact I have never been # partial to blued or matte finishes, I wanted to take the slide to bare # metal and polish it out to a bright stainless. # You can prepare to cringe now... I took off the finish with a dremel # and a sanding drum attachment. Scarred the bare metal underneath some # but not beyond repair. At least as *I* saw it. # So now I have an ugly stainless slide with a surface that looks like # something out of a hall of mirrors. # Visited Lowes, Home Depot, and even a Couple of Auto Body Supply # places... all were stumped as to how I would get this monsters finish # under control! # Two visits to local gunsmiths later I gave up looking for help! # # Coincedentally, all were convinced I needed to send it to Kimber for # refinishing before I screwed it up any further! # Nope. # # I knew this could be done... how was the question. # I consulted the internet on 'lapping'. This was a technique I had only # heard of and filed away the knowledge for later use. # Turns out that the main reason my original attempts at 'polishing' out # the scars from finish removal were due to the small surface of the # dremel head and uneven presures from my hand. Thus resulting in a # 'wavy' or 'streaky' finish. # What I needed was the ability to work on one entire area of the slide # at a time. For instance the entire right side of the slide. To remove # minute amounts of metal from the highspots and make the overall metal # of that area more even in texture. # # Necessity being the mother of invention.... # I went back to Lowes and bought a 12' X 12' Marble floor tile for the # flattest surface I could think of, several grits of sandpaper (250, # 320, 600), some 3 in 1 oil, and a fresh roll of duct tape. # I started by taping an entire 8x11 sheet of 250 grit to the marble # floor tile, dropped on some 3in1 and began pulling the slide towards # me in a slow and even fashion. I mean... I couldnt hurt the thing # anymore now than I did with the dremel, right? # Slowly but surely the metal began to takedown to an even sheen all the # way across the slide surface. # # I completed both sides, moved up to the 320 grit and did it all over # again! # Several hours, dozens of sheets of sandpaper and a gajillion hand # cramps later... The slide now is at a 'brushed stainless' finish! I # know I can do the process once more with the 600 grit and have # something that will be manageable with a buffer wheel and some # compound to bring me a mirror-like bright stainless finish!
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeee-Oooooouuuuuch!!!! You are making my teeth ache.
First: STOP!!!!!!!!
Second: Go to the bookstore and buy 'Pistolsmithing' by George C. Nonte, Jr. This is (IMNSHO) the 'premiere' book on pistolsmithing.
Third: READ IT!!!!!! There is a section on using file(s) for refinishing in the book. (Chapter 3.) What you need to do to get your imperfections out of the slide is 'Draw-file' the sides. The place to buy the draw-file is BROWNELLS. (www.brownells.com) These fine people have EVERYTHING needed to work on a firearm. Brownells even carry 'slides' IF you want to replace what you have 'tinkered' with. 'Wilson's' (www.wilsoncombat.com) is another avenue you might take. They sell slides as well.
Fourth: What is beneath the finish of this Kimber is not 'Bright Stainless'. It is metal 'In-the-White.' If no finish (Bluing/Parkerizing/Electroless Nickel plating) is applied, this slide will pit and rust faster than you can say, 'Oh Mamma, what have I done.' And between work sessions on this slide, I would wipe it down with some sort of oil (like 'CLP'
; wrap the slide in a soft rag with some of the same lube on it and wrap the whole thing in plastic wrap to seal out the air. It will start to rust, THAT quickly.
Fifth: Lapping is the 'art' of mating two metal surfaces to each other, or polishing the INSIDE if a firearm's barrel. Lapping is most commonly used to mate the slide of a pistol to it's frame, by a trained gunsmith.
Lastly: NO, I am not a gunsmith. I only have 30+ years of experience of wearing/carrying/using/instructing others in the use of, and maintaining firearms. And yes, I have the book and the tools I have suggested that you purchase.
Good luck on your project!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
