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polishing a bead blasted revolver
dsmc1
Member Posts: 112 ✭✭
Hi
a while back I asked about refinishing a S&W No. 3 American revolver, which appears to have been bead blasted.
Someone suggested cold rust blue which sounds like a great look for the revolver, but my MAIN question was: what is the best way to get it polished smooth before applying the finish?
Scotchbright wheel, filing, sandpaper, emerycloth, a polishing wheel with rouge? what is the best method to do this?
Would I be better off sending it out to a company that does this?
Or is Cold Rust Blue intended to be applied to a beadblasted surface?
Markings on top of the barrel are already faint; don't want to lose them. Was thinking a VERY fine file in that area?
Appreciate any suggestions from those of you more knowledgeable than I am.
Thanks,
Dave
a while back I asked about refinishing a S&W No. 3 American revolver, which appears to have been bead blasted.
Someone suggested cold rust blue which sounds like a great look for the revolver, but my MAIN question was: what is the best way to get it polished smooth before applying the finish?
Scotchbright wheel, filing, sandpaper, emerycloth, a polishing wheel with rouge? what is the best method to do this?
Would I be better off sending it out to a company that does this?
Or is Cold Rust Blue intended to be applied to a beadblasted surface?
Markings on top of the barrel are already faint; don't want to lose them. Was thinking a VERY fine file in that area?
Appreciate any suggestions from those of you more knowledgeable than I am.
Thanks,
Dave
Comments
You want a cold *RUST* blue?
Yeah, you could do it at home, but its kind of labor intensive, and if I remember right, requires some nasty acids to make the gun rust evenly and quickly. This reference is probably what you want:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/0811703266/?tag=finishingcominc
If you've never done this before, you might want to consider starting with something simple like a gun barrel, before you try it on something complicated with lots of nooks and crannies like a whole revolver.
In terms of polish, you don't really need a mirror-like polish here to get good results, since the rusting is going to etch the metal anyway, and I guess that's why you are looking at this.
Still, I'd imagine you would still get better results with some kind of underlying polish though, rather than the bead blasting.
In terms of whether or not its worth it, you're probably not going to increase the value of the gun by doing this (or not by much), but it could still be a fun project anyway.
It is very labor intensive, but well worth the results. There are also several good articles if you google the same subject.
some good options here to pursue.
Dave
For what it's worth!