Posted: 8/19/2008 4:10:35 PM EDT
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I have scrolled the forums looking for a home polish job; have any of you all tried this, and how did your home polishing come out? Pics would be nice. Thanks, D |
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Sorry about the vague post, I was talking about the entire exterior of a Stainless Steel 1911. I am looking to get feedback on people’s experience on polishing their 1911s to a near mirror/nickel finish. I know it would be high maintenance once it is done, especially if is a shooter, but I think it would look neat, I can’t say I have seen one, unless it is a Colt nickel plating from the factory. Thanks, D |
| There is a reason why the blued Colts are beyond compare: those who polished the surfaces were the most skilled. I don't have experience polishing the exterior, but I am quite certain that it is easy to screw up. If you are a real DIY guy and want to do it for the experience (mistakes and all) then have at it. If you just want that finish OTOH, I would suggest you look into refinishing services for a polished hardchrome. |
Hi D. Have'nt done this myself, but thought I'd give you an idea of how it looks. This is a Colt Gov, Mk IV, Ultimate Bright Stainless Steel. I had it for some 8 years and it still looks very bright. No extreme maintenance, just the usual gun care. (Of course looks a lot better in real life, than on this crappy pic!) http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l117/ajaxajax2000/Weapons/ColtGvtMkIV_41.jpg Peter |
lol it's a good thing you're joking about the dremel or I'd have to  A dremel can be used to polish some small things and only if you're very careful....personally though I prefer the old fassioned way, sandpaper, emry cloths, polishing compound, and a cup of water (not for drinking) the only problem with mirrored polished SS is fingerprints and scratches show up easily (from holster wear or anything else for that matter) |
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I have a Springy in SS; I too wanted the "high gloss" mirror look for a while. I used 1000 then 1500 then 2000 grit sand paper in that order to bring out the shine. Mine had the sandblaster look in some areas like the top of the slide which just looked funny to me so I started out with the 1000 grit paper to knock down the dull finish and when I was happy with that moved to the 1500 with some water, then I heard a trick from one of my friends that polishes car parts a lot. "take a little warm water and dish washing soap in a dish using your 1500, then move to your 2000 grit and polish her up real nice" after that I also read that guys use mothers SS or chrome polish as a final go, I had good result with that but I think next time I also use some rubbing compound first then polishing compound for a final shine. It turned out good but the polishing stuff will start to get duller as you handle the gun so it does not keep the shine for long like hard chrome will ....try it there’s not much you can screw up just sanding a SS gun anyway it’s not like you'll rub it off. The pix I have aren't good enough to show the finish I'll take some before and after tonight and polish in up for you so you can see the diff. |
The sanblaster finish on top of the slide is to prevent blinding you when using it in strong light conditions. I've got that too on my original "Ultimate Bright" from factory. |
I don't have any Colts, but you've inspired me to get to work on my 686... |
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While this isnt the whole gun it does show how this guy shines up his parts to put onto the gun. 1911 Buildup And no this is NOT me, it was just a video I stumbled onto.  Merc. |