Well I didnt do it all at once, I polished it, then decided I didnt want the Made in China logo, polished it, then decided I didnt want the Norinco logos and polished it, worked on it whenever I kind of felt like it. I would say you could do it in an evening or weekend if you have the right tools.
I used about 100 grit which was pretty coarse to remove the logos. Thats because I'm impatient though and would advise against that as it can put in deep scratchs which will take more work to get out. Then just work your way up maybe to 600 grit, then buff. Alot of people say you shouldn't buff and should do 2000 grit wet sanding instead, I have no idea how that would turn out though.
As for the buffing I used an old table saw motor and got some $8.00 6" wheels and green compound at Princess Auto. I used vinegar to remove the blueing. The acid in the vinegar eats away at it and turns it into a rust after about 20 minutes then you can use a toothbrush and towel to remove it. Dont sand blast it, I did that and its alot more work after trying to buff it.
And as for the gold plating, I was going to do that but the guys at a shop wanted $800, twice the price as the gun lol. Nickel is about $200. So for now I just left it, I've thought about buying a $500 kit off the internet and doing it myself but thats alot of money for something that I'm not sure would work. Grips I got off of ebay for $40 or so, I think brownells sells them too but they didnt have any in stock last time I checked.
