is there a chemical dip to clean off years of crud

H

handgunfan101

New member
I came across a 1911 .45 that was built by a local gunsmith from a frame and slide kit. It was bought by a guy about 8 years ago but its filthy. I checked it all out and fired it a few times and it went bang every time. so i talked him into a trade for a bodyguard S&W (which was my wifes but we upgraded to a sig 1911 .380) so we dont need it.

Anyway is there a chemical dip that is safe its a Stainless Steel slide and frame.
 
I imagine a gallon bucket of carb cleaner should work well enough. I picked some up at NAPA when I was rebuilding an engine. It certainly cleaned all those parts very well.
 
funny you should say auto parts i was at an auto value and there was this stuff cald chem dip. it is a gollon pail of stuff they use to dip auto pars in. it has a basket in it to hold parts. was going to grab that but not certain if it would screw up the finish.
 
If it's bare stainless steel there shouldn't be a finish to screw up. I know the stuff I used didn't damage the various steel and aluminum parts I dipped in it.

If it has some sort of clear coat then you may want to proceed cautiously.
 
Simple Green or Mean Green with water will clean right down to the metal surface with no damage to anything. Blow it dry and re-oil, no problem. Goatwhiskers
 
Just to be clear, I'm not talking about the carb cleaner that comes in spray cans. Though that would probably work too. I'm talking about a bucket of carb cleaner, similar to a bucket of house paint, that comes with a metal tray like the Chem Dip you mentioned (it may be the same thing with a different label). Just dip the parts in and let them soak overnight.
 
i actually swung into the lgs this morning and i talked to a smith and he said that berrymans chem dip is what a lot of smiths use. But yeah it looks like a one gallon bucket of paint(the container) but he said they strip everything down and stick everything in jys give it a swish every once in a whil.

I tore the 1911 down to the frame and took out all the guts plus took apart the slide. I after looking at the parts i went online and purchased a rebuild kit (all the springs) from brownells (wolf springs).

so i will let everything soak over night and do a further assessment I am considering about replacing the extractor (probably will) as it looks pretty worn.
 
ok everythings in the basket and i can see already a lot of the gunk is oozing out ans falling to the bottom. this has been in there about 1 hour at this point. I lifted the basket up a few minutes ago and seen a huge difference already. i am going to flip the pieces in the basket one more time and then let it set over night.
 
wow, just got home and took everything out of the basket of chem dip and the frame and slide look brand new :) you wouldnt believe how much gunk came off of the gun. its amazing it looks like a new gun minus a few scratches on there. I just need to figure out how to get the scratches off of the slide (any idea) and i expect all the replacement parts i ordered from brownells to be here by monday.
 
I just need to figure out how to get the scratches off of the slide (any idea)
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You said it's stainless right?

If so, I have always had excellent results using flitz paste when removing scratches from stainless parts.
 
It's called Flitz. Comes in a tube similar to and of a consistancy of toothpaste. I normally used a large bore cleaning patch, put a little dab of Flitz on it and start rubbing little circles on the affected area. I check my work often and don't hurry about it. I have had great results with removing the notorious idiot mark from 1911's and various other scratches/rubs from stainless guns. Good Luck!
 
The finish has to be the same grit as the original. If you use Flitz (a very fine abrasive) on a satin finished slide, all you will get is a shiny spot with a scratch. If it's mirror polished the Flitz might help.
Get a piece of scrap metal and some wet/dry sandpaper in 400, 600, & 800 grits. Sand the scrap metal with each grade of paper and see which one matches.
 
bought flitz and uses it it seemed to take the scratch off but i was told to use a 1200 wet sandpaper and put some gun oil on it. I tried it and it was amazing it took the scratch off so i sid the other side then went to a friends house who has a polishing machine BIG SOFT WHEEL ON A MOTOR i got the flitz on it and and now both sides have a mirrored finish it looks like glass. The frame is next we are going to do that tomorrow?

thanks for all the help it paid off in spades
 
all the parts from brownells came in today i will post some pics after i get it all together this weekend... should be a great deal of fun or a nightmare :)
 
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