Stock 2 polishing

[Nathanb]

As I sit down and get ready to tackle the polishing of internals I realized that here was a ton of info on this but scattered. I wanted to try to get it all in one place. Here is what I'm looking at polishing as I go down my list. Any surfaces or parts that need attention that I'm missing?

 

Sear sides of sear where it meets the cage. Pin holes
Sear housing sides of housing where sear meets and where it sits in frame
Hammer sides and pin holes within the frame 
Hammer strut polish the whole thing
Hammer pin polish
Trigger bar polish shiny
Trigger bar plunger polish to remove zipper feel. Polish plunger head
Trigger polish pin areas and where trigger sits in the trigger bar
Firing pin shine it up
Bolo sides and pin holes 
Guide rod shine it 
Firing pin safety block does it need it?

barrel? Feed ramp 

slide rails full rails

[ryridesmotox]

My guide rod still has a ton of machining marks in it. I need to get off my ass and get the Henning rod. Don't waste time on the tanfo original guide rod IMHO. I'm going to hit my internals with a stone soon. Just gotta get off my ass and do it. That will really smooth everything out. 

[Nathanb]

I've got the extreme guide rod. As well as 8 9 and 10 lb springs

then the extreme sear

extreme sear housing

titan hammer

bolo

extreme extended firing pin block

then the tanfoglio optimized firing pin spring, reduced power sear and trigger return springs and the 12, 13, and 14 lb hammer springs

Basically if patriot defense sells it I have it. Just want to make sure I don't screw it up. 

[ryridesmotox]

You won't... Just use a good polish like blue magic and a nice soft felt wheel. Don't use sand paper. If something needs to be smoothed out via mechanical means, go to the gun store and grab some Arkansas stones or polishing stones. Most gun shops should have something. Make sure they are the natural stones. It's very simple. You very lightly run the stone on the workpiece... As soon as you feel it smooth out... Stop. Sandpaper cuts quick. The stoning method won't. It takes longer. But it's worth it in the end

Edited November 27, 2016 by ryridesmotox

[johnbu]

Yes, firing pin block needs it and the hole.

Speaking of holes.... the hole for the firing pin, firing pin keeper (back plate), hammer spring hole, plunger hole, mag release hole and mag release. I also do the inside of the frame where the trigger bar slides and the inside gap where the hammer swings. I also put polishing compound in the frame and slide rails then rack the stripped slide a minimum of 100 times.  also remove the extractor before polishing the firing pin hole. While it's out, polish it especially the curve where the pin goes. Also the hook as a burr there will cause feed issues.  while that's out, polish the breech face and chamfer the leading edge of the rib and polish the rib.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MemphisMechanic]

I'm going back in to polish some items again. Spend the most time on the hammer strut, spring hole, and pins for BOLO and hammer. That's where reliable ignition from light springs happens.

Polish every surface of the Bolo. Assemble things until you see where the BOLO will hit the trigger bar then pull it down and get those mating areas slick.

You shouldn't have spent $80ish on the Xtreme sear housing. It's the same as your original one.

[MemphisMechanic]

Also... everything Johnbu listed.

I love the idea of polishing compound on the rails and hand cycling. Obvious. Didn't occur to me.

Stealing that.

[Nathanb]

I know I didn't need it but I was buying and like the idea of being able to return to stock if need be so I did that as well. Figured it's better to have spares if I can help it. Just how I do things. It looks like my list got a lot longer. 

[johnbu]

17 hours ago, MemphisMechanic said:

Also... everything Johnbu listed.

I love the idea of polishing compound on the rails and hand cycling. Obvious. Didn't occur to me.

Stealing that.

I get a royalty if you use it! You have to swap 2 of your A hits for one of my Mikes!

I figure if 40 or 50 guys use it, i can finally move up a class!

Edited November 28, 2016 by johnbu

[Fmantee]

Here is a great link and in depth explanation of what to do. It is done with a CZ but Tango is pretty close.

 

[Nathanb]

Started on this tonight really not as hard as I expected. Realized that on most pieces you can do them by feel once cleaned off. 

[Nathanb]

 

definitely can do this by feel. I'm working on the bolo and I can tell the areas that are slicked up and those that need work 

[johnbu]

^^^ absolutely agree!  it's harder to explain than to do.  And it gets easier the more often you do it.

The "trick" that works best for me is to do it in stages. The first time I just get it "pretty good", then shoot it. Come back and look for signs of friction and fix those spots. After several repeats of that cycle, new areas of importance will be obvious and other areas that were shined up may be of less importance. Doing that has led me to really concentrate on pins and holes. Plus the plunger....getting rid of that dang zipper feel from machining marks.
Have fun and update us on how it turns out.

 

 

 

[Nathanb]

Yeah it's really not been so bad. I was really intimidated at first but figured screw it time to give it a shot. After I started on it it really became intuitive. I'm going to do much of the same thing. Shine up the pieces themselves and then see where my rubs are then go back and work those and then again in the holes and pins. I need a set of tweezers so I can polish pins and what not easier. 

[MemphisMechanic]

I intend to do a Stock II and Stock III guide sometime soon.

On teardown, parts replacement of sear and hammer and disconnector, spring upgrade, and how to polish and reinstall. Along with fitting the extended firing pin block correctly.

Patriot Defense better start paying me royalties at this rate!  ... a lot more people are going to be aware of how simple the trigger job is and how little need there is for a gunsmith.

These guns are surrisingly simple. Very easy to work on with a couple of pliers and a kit of roll-pin punches, a polishing kit for a dremel, and a clean place to work.

[MemphisMechanic]

Also...

I'm really fond of specialized dremel bits. This set works really well:

 

Link on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01DLYJC82/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_pJzpybCA5NQ7J

I tend to use felt attachments like that and some Flitz polishing compound after some 1500 then 2000 grit paper in frame holes and the like.

The bullet shaped ones get into tight places well. They small cylindrical ones work well on narrow areas like the channels in the frame for the hammer and trigger.

Johnbu uses a rag wheel in a 6" bench grinder for much of his work on trigger parts, which I would absolutely do if I had one.

A local 1911 Whisperer likes to use the rubber dremel attachments with grit impregnated into them. I intend to play with those someday. He's been doing this for 50 years and must like them for a reason.

 

Edited November 29, 2016 by MemphisMechanic

[IronArcher]

I was just going to ask what everyone was using to polish the holes.
The above looks like the hot ticket!
Anyone use anything different?

Just knocked out the sides of the gamer to test my polishing compound.
Takes a bit of an effort (larger dremel wheel, medium speed, more pressure than I would expect.)than I anticipated (big block for compound... looks like soft chalk).
Good results though!

[Deathray]

A jeweler friend showed me these little wonders: https://www.amazon.com/Radial-Disc-3in-Micron-Peach/dp/B00JNF69XA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1480469982&sr=8-3&keywords=3M+Radial+Bristle+Cleaning+and+Polishing+Discs

6 micron is a bit over 3000 grit.  Those work awesome for polishing prep but won't fit in the holes.

For general polishing one of those cheap harbor freight bench polishing setups work awesome when you load the wheel down with a good polishing compound or blue wonder.

Edited November 30, 2016 by Deathray

[MemphisMechanic]

1 hour ago, IronArcher said:

I was just going to ask what everyone was using to polish the holes.

I rolled 1500 grit up and twirled it through the holes, then 2,000 grit lubed with Flitz polishing compound.

For my next pass through the gun, those bits I bought above are going to be used to "wet chrome" the insides of the holes.

I also think polishing the hammer spring is probably worth the time and effort.

[johnbu]

For small holes I use qtips in a drill. Pluck off the tip until it is close to fitting and press / spin until it goes in. I use a red rouge paste and mothers.

[mjmagee67]

I used felt wheels on my Demel and Flitz polish. I polished everything even the rails on the frame and slide. 

In fact I have polished the rails on most of my guns. It sure made my 1911 run a whole lot better. 

[ryridesmotox]

50 minutes ago, MemphisMechanic said:

I rolled 1500 grit up and twirled it through the holes, then 2,000 grit lubed with Flitz polishing compound.

For my next pass through the gun, those bits I bought above are going to be used to "wet chrome" the insides of the holes.

I also think polishing the hammer spring is probably worth the time and effort.

ARy covered that awhile back, re: hammer spring. 

 

[IronArcher]

Now why didn't anyone tell me you can chuck up a Q tip in the Dremel, and polish pretty much all the holes that need it?!?!?

Inside of trigger plunger



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

[IronArcher]

So here is a question:
How much should I worry about the sides of the trigger bar being "flat".

I put a little blue magic on an Arkansas stone to at least hit the high spots.
Here is the result


And after polishing
Notice the perfect mirror on the high spots, and a little bit of texture on the low spots.
Am I done?

[MemphisMechanic]

Yes! 

Try to avoid changing the dimensions on such parts and just make them slick as can be. The high spots are the only ones that'll rub on the frame anyway.

(Don't forget to polish those surfaces on inside of the frame too!)