Happiness is a new gun 2

[dao]

Thanks Colonel. I was trying to err on the side of caution. I saw some vids on youtube where they used 800gr. which I don't have any of. I just didn't want to make a mess of things, and my hope was to keep it looking like it came from the factory. I think I did that, and since I didn't have anything better to do the time wasn't a waste.

[BirdsThaWord]

Thanks Colonel. I was trying to err on the side of caution. I saw some vids on youtube where they used 800gr. which I don't have any of. I just didn't want to make a mess of things, and my hope was to keep it looking like it came from the factory. I think I did that, and since I didn't have anything better to do the time wasn't a waste.

I wish you took before & after pics to post up. Of course I love to see that kind of stuff

[dao]

I'd don't know if my photography skills are good enough to capture very light scratches on shiny surfaces. To most they probably wouldn't have been worth troubling over. But with some things I am pretty particular, and this is one of them. But I'm happy to say it turned out well, and it now looks like it did when I brought it home and unwrapped it for the first time. Sometimes I think that brushed stainless scratches just by breathing on it. Mayhaps I should buy some white gloves

[BirdsThaWord]

I'd don't know if my photography skills are good enough to capture very light scratches on shiny surfaces. To most they probably wouldn't have been worth troubling over. But with some things I am pretty particular, and this is one of them. But I'm happy to say it turned out well, and it now looks like it did when I brought it home and unwrapped it for the first time. Sometimes I think that brushed stainless scratches just by breathing on it. Mayhaps I should buy some white gloves

I know what you mean. After working so hard on them, I just want to pull ‘em out and oggle them, other than range trips. Glad you got it looking new again. It’s a good feeling to be able to do such a thing.

[dustnchips]

Steel wool on stainless can lead to problems. The steal rubs off into the pores of the stainless and later rusts causing a yellowing or even rust color. A steel brush will do the same. Sandpaper that has been used on steel can also cause the same thing.

[dao]

Good to know, thank you

[BirdsThaWord]

Steel wool on stainless can lead to problems. The steal rubs off into the pores of the stainless and later rusts causing a yellowing or even rust color. A steel brush will do the same. Sandpaper that has been used on steel can also cause the same thing.

Interesting. I never knew that! Makes perfect sense though.

[Bawanna]

It's more prone to bad on a brushed finish. I've always just cleaned thoroughly with a nylon brush and solvent. On a polished finish I don't think much of the steel wool is going to embed in the metal but it certainly can and again thorough cleaning has to help.

[BirdsThaWord]

It's more prone to bad on a brushed finish. I've always just cleaned thoroughly with a nylon brush and solvent. On a polished finish I don't think much of the steel wool is going to embed in the metal but it certainly can and again thorough cleaning has to help.

I know whatchya mean. At least when I get done with one, I don’t think there’s a pore left on it! (wish there were better emoji’s to choose from, so I am posting a ridiculously large one below).
45CBD4F7-5C84-4E50-B1ED-D2FBCEE51DC5.jpg

[dao]

I wasn't entirely happy with my work on my Classic. I have not touched the two flats behind the cocking serrations. And before today I had used 8000/2000/1500 grit on the flats in front of the serrations. I have not touched the frame.
The areas on the slide that I did try to take the light scratches out turned out too shiny, and no longer matched the rear of the slide or the frame. So today I went down to my local hardware store and tried to buy some 1200, 1000, and 800 grip paper. All they had was 800, which I did buy. I tried some of out on a spoon and decided it just might work.
To backtrack just a bit, since 1981, until 2012 when I bought a Kahr P380 with a stainless slide, and then in 2015 when I bought my CM9 I had never owned anything other than black guns. Both of those were long gone in 2020 when I bought my Classic. And before this week I've never tried to do anything to the finish on a stainless gun.
But Colonel and the Bird (or the Colonel and Bird ) inspired me and so I kept at it until today when I finally got my Classic looking like it did when it came from the factory. The scratches weren't deep at all, and you had to turn the gun a certain way to even see them, but after using the three ultra fine grits on them it became immediately apparent that the flats on the front of the slide no longer matched the rear, or the frame. I've now fixed that. My pictures aren't the best, but the scratches are gone and I cannot see a difference in the grain of the areas I fixed and the rest of the gun. These are not before and after, but rather all are after with one of each side with and without flash. There's a smudged area of oil in the last picture right below the ejection port.
If you're curious about the grips they came from the Colonel.