Polishing up the trigger?

[ww2golfer]

Ok, first off, hi everyone. Was recommended here by a handful of local guys and been browsing it for a while. Well I just got a Gen 4 17 and worked up enough courage to detail strip it, and I was to do the ol ".25 cent trigger job." Well I got everything apart, and I know what to polish BUT I am still unclear as to what to use to polish. I am a college student with no dremel and what not. I found "polishing liquid" from home depot called Blitz, and I found like various polishing cloths. I would prefer to find something in store, the Blitz is online only. In the instructions online the guy has a tube of something and I'm not sure what it is. ANY help on the whole process is appreciated too, been around guns for a while but new to glocks. Heres a pic. Thanks guys!

[Duane Thomas]

You really do need a Dremel tool with felt wheel, and a good metal polishing compound like Flitz or Simichrome. Of the two, I prefer Flitz. Never heard of Blitz; not saying it might not be great but I know that Flitz works well. A hard and soft Arkansas stone to smooth out the big flaws in the stamped parts to start is, I feel, also a necessity. I'm not convinced this is really a job that can be done without the right tools.

[G34 CORDY]

i agree that you should get a dremel, it makes the whole process very easy. as polish goes i have used mothers mag polish you can get it at walmart, autozone or any other automotive store. my buddy used it to polish his 1911 barrel and feed ramp. turned out nice and shiney.

[ww2golfer]

i agree that you should get a dremel, it makes the whole process very easy. as polish goes i have used mothers mag polish you can get it at walmart, autozone or any other automotive store. my buddy used it to polish his 1911 barrel and feed ramp. turned out nice and shiney.

Just wondering, for like a quick cheap job for the time being, if I get this Mothers Mag Polish, I just use a lil elbow grease and start shining? It's like a cloth?

[Bob DuBois]

Simicrome Polish is the best out there, get it at Brownells or Motorcycle shops. That and a few Q-Tips are all you need to slick up the Glock trigger. May take a little longer than a Dremel and a wheel but works great. I use the edge of a terry cloth shop towel to polish small parts also. Place the towel on a table and hold it down with one hand while working the part across the edge of the towel.

A small piece of 600 or finer sandpaper with a drop of light oil placed on a flat surface, piece of glass, edge of a table or desk will polish flat surfaces. Then finish with Simicrome.

Fine sandpaper and oil can also be used to put a good edge on your pocket knife.

Dremel tools and stones are great but if your money's tight you can do just as good a job in this case with out them, it just takes a little longer.

[Dodgethis!]

I used Mothers Mag/Chrome polish. Since you don't have a dremel tool, just be ready to put some elbow grease.

[BradGannaway]

You can do it via "elbow greese" but it's really not going to be as good as doing it with a dremel.

Also, using a stone to start off with will make the job so much easier and the results so much better. If you don't, it's kind of like polishing a turd.

[Rico567]

Simicrome Polish is the best out there, get it at Brownells or Motorcycle shops. That and a few Q-Tips are all you need to slick up the Glock trigger. May take a little longer than a Dremel and a wheel but works great. I use the edge of a terry cloth shop towel to polish small parts also. Place the towel on a table and hold it down with one hand while working the part across the edge of the towel.

A small piece of 600 or finer sandpaper with a drop of light oil placed on a flat surface, piece of glass, edge of a table or desk will polish flat surfaces. Then finish with Simicrome.

Fine sandpaper and oil can also be used to put a good edge on your pocket knife.

Dremel tools and stones are great but if your money's tight you can do just as good a job in this case with out them, it just takes a little longer.

I agree with this. I used nothing but the Mother's wheel polish & Q-tips on my Glocks, and am pleased with the result. Any power device is fine, as long as you have a LIGHT touch. Don't kid yourself: 1) any polish is abrasive, 2) any abrasive is removing material 3) a power tool will remove material faster than by hand, much faster. Easy to take off too much.

[Duane Thomas]

Simicrome Polish is the best out there

I prefer Flitz because, in my experience, it lasts a lot longer on the buffing wheel. With Simichrome, a few seconds of polishing and it's all gone. I can polish for much longer between reapplications of polish with Flitz.

[Duane Thomas]

Don't kid yourself: 1) any polish is abrasive, 2) any abrasive is removing material 3) a power tool will remove material faster than by hand, much faster. Easy to take off too much.

Not really, at least not in my experience. I periodically touch up the trigger work on my guns and haven't cut through the chrome yet. That seems to be a pretty thick coating.

[waynes_world_45]

I have a dremel kit with abbout 100 different wheel choices....any hint on which one works best?

[PBA2]

I just used the one that is the 1/2" small diameter and 1/4" thick, seemed to work just fine pretty close to the lowest speed. Also I don't think I have seen it mentioned here but I just used red rouge polishing compound that I use on my bench grinder to polish putter heads.

[kamikaze1a]

Nev'r Dull! It's a can of cotton wad impregnated with some polishing compound. Just tear off some of the wadding and rub it against whatever you need to polish. Looks/feels like cotton with solvent but cuts like a good polishing compound... Easy to use with less mess. You should be able to find it in just about any auto parts house.

And you should be able to find assorted sized buffing wheels for a hand power drill or bench grinder at just about any hardware store.

Edited August 10, 2010 by kamikaze1a

[Duane Thomas]

I use a felt wheel at the highest speed.

[the duck of death]

There is a problem w/JUST POLISHING, some of the stamped contact parts are really rough. If you polish them they wind up be shiny rough parts. As DT said a stone or in my case I use wet/dry sand paper to smooth these areas. Then go to Wally World and get a Dremel and some felt pads. EVERYONE needs a Dremel.

I use Flitz.

Edited August 10, 2010 by the duck of death

[JBP55]

There is a problem w/JUST POLISHING, some of the stamped contact parts are really rough. If you polish them they wind up be shiny rough parts. As DT said a stone or in my case I use wet/dry sand paper to smooth these areas. Then go to Wally World and get a Dremel and some felt pads. EVERYONE needs a Dremel.

I use Flitz.

What the Duck said.

[sbo76]

Take you lunch a couple day rather than eating out and pick up a dremel tool. They are so handy in so many applications.

[Lawdawg112]

A flat sided Arkansas stone is a must for doing the cruciform and the striker lug. It smooths out the metal and doesn't take too much off to quickly.

[GrumpyGrizz]

You guys that have done this: Worth the time? Or better spent dry firing?

[vluc]

Yes, it is worth it, if only to understand your pistol that much better.

As Cautery once told me:

"I have a rule in working on the Glock trigger system.... Polishing a turd, gives you a shiny turd. I ALWAYS true up angles, surfaces, etc. (lapping flat surfaces, sharpen edges, etc) first. Once I have the right surface plane, edge, line, angle, whatever.... THEN I polish."

Edited August 21, 2010 by vluc

[Duane Thomas]

Yes, it's worth it. With the home brewed 2.75 pound trigger pulls in my G19, on a close range target, say 3 yards, my splits tend to run in the .18 to .20 second range - if it gets up to .21 second I become violently depressed. A bit off the topic (apparently, to start) but I've heard the New York Trigger recommended as "speeding up shot-to-shot speed because it makes the trigger reset faster." Not saying it doesn't work that way for some people, but I am not one of them. All else being equal, the same gun, just a New York Trigger module in place of the stock trigger return spring, suddenly I really have trouble pushing my splits below .24.

Having said that, the primary advantage of a lightened, smoothed-out trigger action is not as a go-fast trigger, but that it allows you to shoot more accurately at the same speed. It's just a whole lot easier to hold a gun steady and on target while you swiftly apply 2.75 pounds of pressure to the trigger than to do the same thing while you apply twice (or more) the same poundage.

Another area in which a decent trigger gives a great advantage is any time you have to shoot at any real distance. Stage 3 on the IDPA classifier is an excellent example.

So, to answer the question: do a decent trigger job AND dry fire.

[GrumpyGrizz]

Thanks.

[Jadeslade]

These guys all know more than me-so I will be brief. Be careful with the striker and firing pin safety polishing. Test it frequently and only do enough to smooth it (the pull, not the metal). You might want to just cosmetically polish the striker. As DT said-it is definitely worth it. If your time is valuable to you, you may want to try a Vanek trigger instead of doing the work yourself. I once gave up a 1000 worth of work to keep working on my Glock-I mean I love my Glocks, but I have to feed people.

[Duane Thomas]

My polishing procedure is very conservative. I don't really take off any metal - except for the "flash" from the stamping procedure, and even that's more a matter of smoothing than cutting. I'm not there to change the shape of any parts for any perceived advantage that might give, I just want to slick up what's already there.

[thomjb]

i agree that you should get a dremel, it makes the whole process very easy. as polish goes i have used mothers mag polish you can get it at walmart, autozone or any other automotive store. my buddy used it to polish his 1911 barrel and feed ramp. turned out nice and shiney.

+1 with G34 CORDY