I have an old Star BM model (9mm) automatic that looks like a smaller 1911. It hasn't been shot much but handled a lot and the bluing on the frame is only about 75%. I tried to make it look better with some cold blueing and it's so-so. Since this is not an expensive pistol I thought about using some of that spray-can Gun-Kote from Brownell's. My only problem is that the manufacturer recommends that the metal be sand-blasted and I'm not sure I can do that correctly -- is there any alternative to the sand-blasting?

Edit to add;
Well, I went ahead and sanded the frame by hand with 120 grit alum-oxide sandpaper to remove all the original finish. It took over 3 hours to do the job because of all the curves. I heated the frame as in the instructions and applied the Gun Kote. I let it dry for 30 minutes and then hung the frame in a pre-heated oven set at 300 degrees for 1 hour and 10 minutes. The cure time starts when the part reaches 300 degrees so I figured an extra 10 minutes would do it.  It came out super nice!