ChrisStock Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Ok.. I decided to clean up the rails on my SA MilSpec last week and had a little slippage... a few times. I have come to the conclusion that the combination of a dremel at a few K RPM plus polishing compound will wear through your parkerizing in a split second making your once pretty slide look like hell. This was a near new pistol, but now looks awful where the wheel slipped. Do I need to have the entire slide parkerized again for a uniform appearance? Or is there a way to do this with just a touch up? Pics can be posted if needed for ya'll to have a nice giggle at, or if you feel the need to roll your eyes, shake your head, and sigh. Yes, I know, late night+amateur+gun repair/maintenance+Dremel (usually)= gunsmith repair bill. Oh, and the rails are now as smooth as can be for what it's worth Thanks, Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
revchuck Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 Chris - No eye rolls from me. BTDT, got the T-shirt, wore it out and cut it up for rags. Society is in far more danger from me with a Dremel tool in my hands than from a gun - at least with the gun, I know how to stop when I'm ahead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 I have tried to repark slight mess ups. You normally can still see it. most likely repark the whole thing is easier.f Order the reparkerizing stuff from Duracoat, easy to use and works well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted December 26, 2007 Share Posted December 26, 2007 I would just learn the tricks of parkerizing and re-park the whole thing; the park will only take on the (very well-degreased) areas that you exposed with the dremel. Off topic: there seems to be an idea floating around among long time 1911 folks that you should take a brand new 1911 and "sand down the slide rails" or something. Didn't a be.com member who ran into trouble taking his 1911 through NYC do the same thing? Where is this slide rail sanding idea coming from? Is it some dark myth from long ago? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisStock Posted December 26, 2007 Author Share Posted December 26, 2007 Thanks for the help guys...learning is sometimes painful, but the assistance here makes it slightly more bearable. I'll see if I can run down some Duracoat tonight while I hunt for another grip safety and sear spring that I trashed. I would just learn the tricks of parkerizing and re-park the whole thing; the park will only take on the (very well-degreased) areas that you exposed with the dremel.Off topic: there seems to be an idea floating around among long time 1911 folks that you should take a brand new 1911 and "sand down the slide rails" or something. Didn't a be.com member who ran into trouble taking his 1911 through NYC do the same thing? Where is this slide rail sanding idea coming from? Is it some dark myth from long ago? I did mine because it was very roughly cast...it is still pretty rough at the front of the rails. It hand cycles MUCH smoother now...there's that big of a difference in feel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike cyrwus Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I did mine because it was very roughly cast...it is still pretty rough at the front of the rails. It hand cycles MUCH smoother now...there's that big of a difference in feel. Its because you made it looser by grinding on it. Cold blue on nicked parkerizing does a decent job, short of reparking the whole frame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SiG Lady Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Let's see the photo...... No, seriously... I want to see what happened. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek45 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Let's see the photo...... No, seriously... I want to see what happened. +1 Now you know why the Dremel is the gunsmith's best friend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisStock Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 Let's see the photo...... No, seriously... I want to see what happened. LOL, I was waiting...here 'tis: Here's what I was busy smoothing out I got the bottom pretty smooth, but as you can see the top is still pretty damn ugly. I also polished the insides of the rails top and bottom which I couldn't get to display properly. Mirror-like, and with a little SG, insanely slick and smooth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nemo Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Practice your draw out of a kydex holster a couple of thousand times and those buff marks will disappear in no time! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Run n Gun Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I learned (painfully) a long time ago that when my Dremel comes out so does the roll of blue masking tape. The tape has saved countless small, and some not so small, "oops" along the way. As my Daddy used to say "nobody was born knowing how", and he was certainly right about me and Dremels. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Canuck-IL Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I just don't see choosing a rotary tool to do a flat ... you're bound to get subtle undulations in the surface, independent of the slips. Why not use a stone or, more aggresively, a fine file for those areas? It's a serious question - not a put down. I know I can't maintain a dead flat surface with a rotary let alone create a flat surface from one that began rough. /Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Rotary with a felt polishing wheel can do lots of nice things. It really won't cut the steel enough to gouge for the most part. It will take off rough finish from bead blasting etc. When they blast some guns for finishing the blast the rails and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisStock Posted December 27, 2007 Author Share Posted December 27, 2007 I just don't see choosing a rotary tool to do a flat ... you're bound to get subtle undulations in the surface, independent of the slips. Why not use a stone or, more aggresively, a fine file for those areas?It's a serious question - not a put down. I know I can't maintain a dead flat surface with a rotary let alone create a flat surface from one that began rough. /Bryan Bryan, No offense taken... I was trying to be gentle with the felt wheel instead of getting aggressive with a file or stone. If you look at the 2nd picture, the bottom (left) rail is worlds apart from the top (right) rail. Those are actually ripples in the steel on top. Nasty. Had I been a tad more alert/careful, I wouldn't be in this boat, but I'm chalking it up as a learning experience so far. It isn't like the gun won't run, it's just not as aesthetically pleasing as it could be, is all. The top photo shows the booboo on the outside of the slide. I'm going to wait on the duracoat until I'm done polishing the rails smooth to my satisfaction, eliminating the uneven contact surfaces on the slide. The more I screw around with it, the more I learn, and as long as it works when I'm finished, I was successful in either resolving a perceived issue or learning what not to do the next time around. You've been a lot of help guys, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ledge Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 Can I ask a stupid question? Would you just be best suited to slather the rails with Flitz and hand cycle the thing through a weeks worth of TV watching? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wide45 Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I would not use a dremel for this. A fine stone will clean the high spots without removing too much. Removing all machining marks down to smooth metal will result in the slide being way more loose than it should be. Only if it was way too tight to cycle, then try lapping with polishing compound. Stop before you think you are done. When you clean off the abrasive, it will be much more loose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 duracoat sells parkerizing chemicals as well btw. Don't know if you caught that. They recomend parkerizing before coating actually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phudd Posted December 28, 2007 Share Posted December 28, 2007 Kitchen stove parkerizing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisStock Posted December 28, 2007 Author Share Posted December 28, 2007 Kitchen stove parkerizing Sounds like fun, and I can do it outdoors under cover, as I have no desire to be single again by performing this on the wife's new stove. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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