Rob1109
Bearcat
Is there such a thing? I saw a photo online of one that had been chromed and it was outstanding! I'm not prepared to go that far but a little touch up might be appropriate. Suggestions? thanks in advance.....
Polishing SP101
- Thread starter Rob1109
- Start date
Help Support Ruger Forum:
maxpress
Buckeye
red rough and a buffing wheel (-: . its pie and cake. takes a long time though
AcridSaint
Bearcat
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 14
Hi - I don't know so much about polishing Rugers, but I know a little bit about working metal. First, I'd suggest not buffing for touch-up unless you're prepared to do the whole gun, the finish just won't match up. Second, I think that if your gun has the same finish mine does, red rouge will take quite a long time, as mentioned above.
The steel seems soft enough, but red rouge is really for very soft, non-ferrous metals like brass, gold, silver maybe pewter, etc. A white rouge or a green chrome rouge would work faster, in my opinion, but you might find them more aggressive than you like. Black rouge is even coarser and is consider a "satin" rouge, but I would be hesitant to take something that coarse to a gun I liked.
Most of my experience buffing is on a buffing machine, although I do use the dremel from time to time. It might not apply at all to these guns, I only mirror polish knives and knife hardware, so take what I say with as many grains of salt as you like
Especially don't take any of this to mean polishing contact surfaces or action parts. For those I might not be inclined to use anything considered "aggressive"
The steel seems soft enough, but red rouge is really for very soft, non-ferrous metals like brass, gold, silver maybe pewter, etc. A white rouge or a green chrome rouge would work faster, in my opinion, but you might find them more aggressive than you like. Black rouge is even coarser and is consider a "satin" rouge, but I would be hesitant to take something that coarse to a gun I liked.
Most of my experience buffing is on a buffing machine, although I do use the dremel from time to time. It might not apply at all to these guns, I only mirror polish knives and knife hardware, so take what I say with as many grains of salt as you like
Especially don't take any of this to mean polishing contact surfaces or action parts. For those I might not be inclined to use anything considered "aggressive" TreeDoc
Bearcat
Mothers Mag polish, it'll put all the bling you want.
maxpress
Buckeye
you can also "work through the rouges" from course to fine but i would start with white. i was just thinking if you started light you wouldnt mess up as bad
w5lx
Single-Sixer
Less than 15 minutes with a soft cloth and some Mother's Mag Polish works great on stainless. If you want to spend a few more minutes on it, you can get a mirror finish. I polished this Security Six in under 15 minutes to take out some minor scratches and brighten up the dull finish.
AcridSaint
Bearcat
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 14
Nice looking wheel gun you have there. I will have to take a look at Mother's Mag. There are also gritted polishing cloths available that might work for very minor touchup.
Maxpress - I didn't mean to imply that a fine rouge is in any way not appropriate for the job, for what it's worth. I haven't tried it at all on my gun, so the red might work much quicker than it does with harder steels. Just thought I would mention the other options in the case that the red was too slow. Any polish will do the job given enough time and there is definitely something to be said for not taking off too much at a time.
Maxpress - I didn't mean to imply that a fine rouge is in any way not appropriate for the job, for what it's worth. I haven't tried it at all on my gun, so the red might work much quicker than it does with harder steels. Just thought I would mention the other options in the case that the red was too slow. Any polish will do the job given enough time and there is definitely something to be said for not taking off too much at a time.
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
mine was pretty dirty when I purchased it. used mothers mag polish and also metal polish called fitz. Lots and lots of rubbing also used dremel in the nooks
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
sorry about the extra posts with no pictures, still learning how to post pictures here
azrugershooter
Single-Sixer
- Joined
- Feb 10, 2009
- Messages
- 147
Not to hi jack the thread but any recomendations on what rouge to use on a blued steel? I'm polishing a gun to be reblued and need to get rid of some fine marks.
AcridSaint
Bearcat
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2009
- Messages
- 14
I think that just getting an even finish will be fine for re-bluing. My understanding is that it will usually be blasted before bluing, that's how I've done the little cold bluing work I'm familiar with and that's how I was shown to hot blue (again, not in any way related to guns, but the same products/equipment). Get as even and fine a finish as possible though, any deep or wide scratches will definitely show through. If you do decide to buff it, make sure that all of the rouge is gone, it will affect how the blue takes.
Rob1109
Bearcat
jpb in me":qyfyecur said:
That's really a fine job.....now i "have" to get started on mine! I wish I could remember where I saw what I think was a chromed SP101...it was outstanding! thanks again....
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
rob try this link, go about halfway down the first page and you will see probably the nicest sp101 around
http://rugerforum.net/gun-gallery/5965- ... p101s.html
http://rugerforum.net/gun-gallery/5965- ... p101s.html
Rob1109
Bearcat
jpb in me said:
Jimbo357mag
Hawkeye
Here is a really nice polish job by Flash.
...and I found this about polishing Ruger stainless revolvers after doing a search. I'm sure the process would also work for re-blue prep.
Polishing Stainless Steel
You'll need a well lit area to work. A work bench would be a good area. You'll want a comfortable chair because the process takes quite a while. You'll need to set aside some time and be patient. It's not an easy process, but the rewards are worth it.
A couple warnings before you get started. It's probably NOT a good idea to sand or polish the front of the cylinder or the rear of the barrel by the forcing cone. The width of the gap between the cylinder and the barrel is critical to the proper operation of the revolver. Sanding or polishing these areas will increase the gap and may adversely affect the operation of your revolver. Be gentle with the cylinder when it's flipped out. Applying too much pressure could loosen the cylinder (I didn't have this problem). I recommend removing the grips before you get started.
Where to start… First you need to judge the depth of the existing scratches in the steel. This will help you decide what grit sand paper to start with. Deeper scratches will require a lower grit sand paper. Unfortunately this requires some experience. If you don't have any experience, then you'll have to make an educated guess. On my new Ruger GP-100 revolver I started with 800 grit sandpaper. Some of the scratches were pretty stubborn and I probably should have started with 400 or 600 grit.
You'll want to start wit the lowest grit sandpaper and work up to 1500 or 2000 grit. I've heard that generally you should double the grit every time you switch sandpaper, but investing a little extra time and sandpaper with intermediate grit papers will probably produce a better final surface. I used 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper.
Find the areas with the deepest scratches and begin to sand them out. Tear off a small piece of sandpaper. Smaller pieces will make it easier to get in the smaller areas. Larger pieces are better for the larger, flat areas. Use a circular motion with light pressure. Periodically switch to a back and forth motion with quick, light strokes. This will clean up the area so you can check your progress.
The sandpaper will periodically load up (small particles made of metal powder will build up on the sandpaper). When the paper gets loaded up its ability to cut the metal is greatly reduced. This can be used to our advantage. When the paper begins to load up, switch to quick, light strokes in a back and forth motion. This will polish the area much nicer than a new piece of paper because the paper won't be cutting nearly as deep. After the paper is loaded up, it's best to get a new piece.
After a few minutes the original scratches should begin to disappear. When the scratches are gone, finish the area with quick, light strokes in a back and forth motion. This should leave the area without any scratches and a dull shine.
If the original scratches aren't coming out after sanding for a while you may need to start over with a lower grit sandpaper. Alternatively you can just continue to sand, eventually the scratches will come out.
Moving on… When those deeper scratches are all sanded out, your surface should be left with a dull shine. Now switch to the next higher grit paper and repeat the same procedure until you reach 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper. Before switching sandpaper check and make sure there are no scratches left in the surface (other than the ones made by the sandpaper of course). Don't rely on the next grit sandpaper to take out the smaller scratches. Don't move onto the next grit until all the scratches are completely out. Those little scratches will become more and more visible as you move to smaller grits. Don't rely on the polishing paste to magically remove scratches. The polishing paste is not made to remove scratches, just to remove the haze and produce that mirror shine. When you start a higher grit, your basically sanding down the scratches you made with the pervious grit sandpaper. Sanding perpendicular to the previous grit will help you see when all the previous scratches are gone.
By the time you reach the 1500 or 2000 grit paper, the surface should almost have a mirror finish. Remember the polishing cream is just meant to take the haze out.
After you finish your highest grit sandpaper it's time to switch to the polishing paste or liquid. Get your electric drill, attach the buffing wheel, apply a little polishing paste to the surface of your steel and begin to buff. It only takes a little bit of polish, especially after the first time using the buffing wheel. Use light pressure and moderate speeds. It's best to use an assortment of buffing wheels that will help you get into all the smaller spaces. Start with the tighter woven wheels and buff the entire surface a few times. Next switch to the looser wheels and repeat the process.
After buffing you should have a mirror shine. If you find a scratch or a dull spot then you'll need to go back to the sandpaper and sand them out. For scratches start with lower grit papers and work back up to higher grits and then buff. For dull spots try the 1500 or 2000 grit paper with light pressure, then buff again.
...Jimbo
...and I found this about polishing Ruger stainless revolvers after doing a search. I'm sure the process would also work for re-blue prep.
Polishing Stainless Steel
You'll need a well lit area to work. A work bench would be a good area. You'll want a comfortable chair because the process takes quite a while. You'll need to set aside some time and be patient. It's not an easy process, but the rewards are worth it.
A couple warnings before you get started. It's probably NOT a good idea to sand or polish the front of the cylinder or the rear of the barrel by the forcing cone. The width of the gap between the cylinder and the barrel is critical to the proper operation of the revolver. Sanding or polishing these areas will increase the gap and may adversely affect the operation of your revolver. Be gentle with the cylinder when it's flipped out. Applying too much pressure could loosen the cylinder (I didn't have this problem). I recommend removing the grips before you get started.
Where to start… First you need to judge the depth of the existing scratches in the steel. This will help you decide what grit sand paper to start with. Deeper scratches will require a lower grit sand paper. Unfortunately this requires some experience. If you don't have any experience, then you'll have to make an educated guess. On my new Ruger GP-100 revolver I started with 800 grit sandpaper. Some of the scratches were pretty stubborn and I probably should have started with 400 or 600 grit.
You'll want to start wit the lowest grit sandpaper and work up to 1500 or 2000 grit. I've heard that generally you should double the grit every time you switch sandpaper, but investing a little extra time and sandpaper with intermediate grit papers will probably produce a better final surface. I used 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit paper.
Find the areas with the deepest scratches and begin to sand them out. Tear off a small piece of sandpaper. Smaller pieces will make it easier to get in the smaller areas. Larger pieces are better for the larger, flat areas. Use a circular motion with light pressure. Periodically switch to a back and forth motion with quick, light strokes. This will clean up the area so you can check your progress.
The sandpaper will periodically load up (small particles made of metal powder will build up on the sandpaper). When the paper gets loaded up its ability to cut the metal is greatly reduced. This can be used to our advantage. When the paper begins to load up, switch to quick, light strokes in a back and forth motion. This will polish the area much nicer than a new piece of paper because the paper won't be cutting nearly as deep. After the paper is loaded up, it's best to get a new piece.
After a few minutes the original scratches should begin to disappear. When the scratches are gone, finish the area with quick, light strokes in a back and forth motion. This should leave the area without any scratches and a dull shine.
If the original scratches aren't coming out after sanding for a while you may need to start over with a lower grit sandpaper. Alternatively you can just continue to sand, eventually the scratches will come out.
Moving on… When those deeper scratches are all sanded out, your surface should be left with a dull shine. Now switch to the next higher grit paper and repeat the same procedure until you reach 1500 or 2000 grit sandpaper. Before switching sandpaper check and make sure there are no scratches left in the surface (other than the ones made by the sandpaper of course). Don't rely on the next grit sandpaper to take out the smaller scratches. Don't move onto the next grit until all the scratches are completely out. Those little scratches will become more and more visible as you move to smaller grits. Don't rely on the polishing paste to magically remove scratches. The polishing paste is not made to remove scratches, just to remove the haze and produce that mirror shine. When you start a higher grit, your basically sanding down the scratches you made with the pervious grit sandpaper. Sanding perpendicular to the previous grit will help you see when all the previous scratches are gone.
By the time you reach the 1500 or 2000 grit paper, the surface should almost have a mirror finish. Remember the polishing cream is just meant to take the haze out.
After you finish your highest grit sandpaper it's time to switch to the polishing paste or liquid. Get your electric drill, attach the buffing wheel, apply a little polishing paste to the surface of your steel and begin to buff. It only takes a little bit of polish, especially after the first time using the buffing wheel. Use light pressure and moderate speeds. It's best to use an assortment of buffing wheels that will help you get into all the smaller spaces. Start with the tighter woven wheels and buff the entire surface a few times. Next switch to the looser wheels and repeat the process.
After buffing you should have a mirror shine. If you find a scratch or a dull spot then you'll need to go back to the sandpaper and sand them out. For scratches start with lower grit papers and work back up to higher grits and then buff. For dull spots try the 1500 or 2000 grit paper with light pressure, then buff again.
...Jimbo
Rob1109
Bearcat
Rob1109":7fob0i3z said:jpb in me":7fob0i3z said:
That's really a fine job.....now i "have" to get started on mine! I wish I could remember where I saw what I think was a chromed SP101...it was outstanding! thanks again....
P.S I'm going to have to stick the Mother's polish. I don't have the talent/knowledge/patience to attempt "REB" level.
jpb in me
Single-Sixer
actually my picture above is about when I was halfway through my polishing. I will have to post some updated ones soon. Yes the one done by reb is about the nicest I've seen, along with the other one at the bottom of that same page. Really want to bob my hammer next. Happy polishing!
Rob1109
Bearcat
jpb in me":p2420927 said:
As I posted somewhere else: can't we just buy a bobbed hammer? drop in for CCW and replace with thumbed for the range. The hammer just drops out upon disassembly....can't really require a gunsmith. Best.....
