I fear I've ruined my new smith and wesson

1

11mm

New member
After watching a you tube video on cleaning a revolvers cylinder to remove rings I scrubbed my Model 69 with scotch brite and hoppes #9. It worked fine on the front but marked up the sides pretty badly. Its a bead blasted finish and though the scratches aren't deep they're all I see when I look at it now. Can I fix this and if not can I take it somewhere to have it refinished?
 
Stainless can be polished but don't use real abrasive material (like you just did). Many have used Flitz with good results in removing minor scratching and bringing a dull finish back to life. I've also heard of guys using mag wheel polish.
 
You could send it to me and after a year it will all look scratched equally. Guns are tools and tools get used.
 
Go back to YouTube and tell that guy he's an idiot.

Then quit using YouTube for most everything...or be very selective about the advice you get on YouTube.

Or anywhere on the 'net, for that matter.

If someone tells you to use ScotchBrite intead of toilet paper, are you going to follow that advice?
 
Thank you Saxon pig I'll try the flitz, and Mobuck if it was holster wear or something it'd be one thing but the fact that I did it makes me want to kick my self every time I see it.
 
Yep - it is a tool. Why are you worried about a cylinder turn ring? If you want it to look like it was never fired just don't shoot it.
 
For a beaded finish if you hit it hard with scotchbrite then you can either do the whole cylinder in scotchbrite or rebead it. No other options. Staimless is hard to finish match, beaded esp so
 
They were very stubborn burn rings on the face, that spilled back onto the sides of the cylinder and stood up to everything else, not a turn ring. And he had a polished finies colt or something I imagined the bead blast would be more rugged than that.and where could I have the cylinder 're blasted if it comes down to it? is that something a gunsmith could do?
 
The model 69 is bead blasted - any attack of scotch brite or mother's mag polish or flitz is NOT GOING TO WORK OUT.

Notice the frosted appearance?

13320038505_d77d22792a_b.jpg


Notice the turn line and the edges - they wear right away. The finish is the only thing I don't like about my Model 69.

It's not like the old stainless steel guns...

7488212858_a78109300e_b.jpg


It's like the slide on the S&W gen 3 automatics.

The old style polishes up pretty nice...

4368280361_a5ac9eea7b_o.jpg
 
I am assuming the "rings" were either carbon rings on the front of the cylinder or rings in the chambers from firing short ammo (.38 in a .357 for example). The former is rarely a problem; the latter easily removed with a bronze brush or something like a lead remover tool. But turn rings are a result of the design of the gun. While they lead to much ranting and some poor advice, they are perfectly normal on an S&W and no real problem in other makes. They are best ignored.

Jim
 
Your gun certainly isn't ruined, even if it's not as pretty as it once was.

If you want, you can pay to have it bead blasted or refinished. There's likely not a place where you can take it, but there are places where you can send it that can do the work.

You could also use the abrasive pad and try to put a "brushed finish" on the cylinder. You would have to get all the scratches going in one direction and keep them of even depth and distribution. That will take some time but shouldn't be terribly difficult.
 
Only way you're going to match a bead blasted finish is by bead blasting it again.

Then it'll just show wear again as soon as you use it.

If it bothers you, best thing you could do is spend $100 on a cheap bead blaster and 25 pounds of glass beads and touch it up whenever it aggravates you too much!

http://www.harborfreight.com/portable-abrasive-blaster-kit-37025.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-glass-bead-80-grit-abrasive-media-61875.html

I often use a blast cabinet with either glass beads or grit to match the finish on replacement parts.
 
Last edited:
Put it in a holster and you won't see the scratches. Over time the holster will wear it and they won't really matter.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top