Metal Polishing

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XTGUN

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Say you have an old .22 bolt from a low value firearm you'd like to practice your metal polishing on..
Can anybody provide a step by step of what it takes to get a mirror (or near mirror) finish?
What do you use? Steel wool, fine grade sandpaper, a metal polish? If so what kind...etc.

I've found a lot of different things on the internet, but I'd like to see what CGNers say. I know some of you can make things real pretty!
Any info would be greatly appreicated, thanks! :)
 
Start with abrasive paper that matches or is slightly finer than the finish currently on the steel. Keep moving up to finer grits of paper (make sure all the scratches are gone from the previous grit) until you hit around 2000-2500 grit. From there, if you have access to a buffer, you can polish the steel with green polishing compound on the wheel. If you don't have access to a buffer, you can use a metal polish like "mothers mag polish" or "flitz".

Keep in mind, you don't want to remove a whole lot of material from a bolt. Happy polishing!
 
The kind of finish you end up with is going to depend on the work you are willing to put in to it.

I'd say that a bolt is the wrong place to start. Practice on outside surfaces that do not have to fit 'in' anything. Yu won't be able to see the material removed that way.

A selection of wet-or-dry paper up to 400 grit, if you are going to go on to a buffing wheel, or considerably higher grits (up to 2000 grit is pretty commonly available at auto body supply places), if you want a reflective finish without mechanical polishing.

Use water with a drop of soap in it when sanding. Make sure you have removed all the marks from the previous grit, before advancing to the next. Rinse often and work under good lighting. Use a backer behind the sandpaper, a form fitting one when you are working rounded surfaces, a flat one for flat surfaces.

A board across a laundry sink is a pretty handy place to work.

I have done a LOT of polishing of different materials from brass to stainless steels, up to mirror finishes on flat surfaces as well as curves. It's a lot of work, but when you see it beside work done by wallowing away at it too much effort on a buffer and not enough prep time sanding. More waves than the ocean!


Cheers
Trev
 
I haven't had to polish a gun yet the only thing I've done is aluminum wheels which is a lot softer. The principles still apply start at a lower grit paper and work your way up, how low you start depends on how much finish needed to be removed to flatten it out.

Just as a rough idea my wheels were heavily oxidized and crusty I went from here after washing

To here using 600-1000-2000grit

Then just some mothers mag polish on paper towels.


It could still be better if looking very closely with a magnifying glass but it was mirror already. By the time you get above 2000 you get a cloudy reflectiveness you can polish.
 
I'll add that I usually start with far too fine a grit, so I can reasonably assess the surface condition under the surface markings or cover.

This gives you the option of starting with the grit you need to, rather than the coarsest grit you have and working all the way through them. Start with, say a once over with a 220 or 320 grit, and see if the marks and scars are really deep or just superficial. Once you have cleaned up the surface pretty well, you should be able to see a lot better, and the finer grit moves less material, changing the overall dimensions less.

An outfit called MicroMesh, sells a boxed kit for polishing out damage in aircraft windows, that may be worth looking at. It contains a series of sheets of abrasive that run from fairly coarse right up to stupid fine (12 000 grit, IIRC)
The kits run around $50 or so, but contain all you need. The abrasives are on a cloth backing and last a long time if you do not use them dry.

One of these kits would be a great addition to a supply of Silicon Carbide grit paper (black, wet or dry sandpaper) from the hardware or autobody place.

Cheers
Trev
 
RobertMcC said:
Autosol....
Click to expand...

My favorite polish.

Not worth a pinch of poo for getting a scratch out, unless you have ten years of spare time to kill.

I had parts that I did with MicroMesh kits, that actually looked worse when the Autosol was applied with a clean cotton cloth. Once you get to that point, you need to kep your hands very clean, as well as keep from rubbing any dust in to the surface. Sure looks good, though.

Cheers
Trev
 
trevj said:
My favorite polish.

Not worth a pinch of poo for getting a scratch out, unless you have ten years of spare time to kill.

I had parts that I did with MicroMesh kits, that actually looked worse when the Autosol was applied with a clean cotton cloth. Once you get to that point, you need to kep your hands very clean, as well as keep from rubbing any dust in to the surface. Sure looks good, though.

Cheers
Trev
Click to expand...

yeah my slide and frame I polished I would have to go with it 1500 gritt to get the scratches out. But still does a good job polishing tho. Makes cleaning soo much easier when everything just wipes off.

But for bolts and stuff I love it. I polished my Mosin bolt and I heard ya have to wack it to open, Where mines quite easy.
 
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