How to refinish ( regrind ) a stainless steel slide

[CALIFORNIA]

I own a Para 16-40 LTD. It has that distinctive " unidirectional " fine-brushed satin finish.

The problem with these finishes is that the smallest scratches, nicks, or rub marks mar the finish.

What type of grinding wheels can we use to "refinish" the slides to a factory original finish?

Thanks

Gene

 

[Janeau]

Gene,

Finishing a slide is definitely not done with ANY grinding wheel. You will ruin it. The Stainless Para Ltd I have seen were all with polished slide side. This can be acheived with 600 wet paper used on a glass surface.

I might be wrong, but I doupt you can homebrew a factory finish at home.

Good luck with this.

 

[sunray]

"...grinding wheels..." None. Use a cloth wheel with jeweller's rouge. Either in a bench grinder or with a rotary tool.

 

[agit-prop]

A clloth wheel and rouge will give you a gloss mirror finish. To get the finish he's describing, he needs to do what Janeau suggested - use a fine grit sandpaper on a flat, hard surface. Glass works well, a granite flat would work even better.

Rotary tools aren't the right tool for a finishing job on a surface as large as a slide, by the way. You are much better off with a reasonably large cloth wheel, preferably one that's as wide as the slide or a bit wider. If you try to use a rotary tool to get a mirror finish on a slide you will probably end up with an uneven finish.

 

[CALIFORNIA]

Thanks for the responses

I called George Wedge over at Para ( he is a very good customer rep/service person, BTW )

He said to tape of piece of 420 or higher grit sheet to a perfectly flat surface such as glass and run the slide repetitively and carefully IN ONE DIRECTION only. As in push down and forward on the slide, lift the slide at the end of the sheet, and start over.

Gene