I was just wondering what everyone thinks about using some Flitz and a Dremel to polish the rails. I polish the trigger bar, feed path, and magwell already, but I know the tolerances are really tight on the rails so I'm not 100% confident in polishing them up. I'd appreciate the feedback from anyone whom has done it.
Polishing Rails??
- Thread starter dave_dark
- Start date
It doesn't really matter for the "what". Using a Dremel and felt wheel with compound on any handgun rail is just a really, really bad idea.
The problem is that "polishing" to most folks is quite different from what "polishing" means to a gunsmith or other metal worker that deals with precision fits. When you polish with a Dremel and wheel points or felts and compound you're doing it for appearance. When a gun smith "polishes" the rails or other critical fit locations the VERY LAST THING they would ever consider is to use a Dremel. Instead the "polishing" in their case is done with super fine stones or possibly a lapping compound if there's a trace of binding at some point. And if using stones they will often use a jig to hold the part to the stone or stone to the part under finer control than any human can manage.
And finally you would only even want to "stone" polish if there is some hint of binding at some point. If things are moving well then you won't do any good and will quite likely do some harm if you take a Dremel to your gun. Contrary to what the TV ads suggest a Dremel is often more a tool of destruction than a tool of choice. I dearly love my own Dremel. But it's a tool like any other which has a limited range of uses. Using a Dremel to "polish" the rails on a handgun would be somewhat like using a screwdriver instead of a plunger to unplug a toilet.
The problem is that "polishing" to most folks is quite different from what "polishing" means to a gunsmith or other metal worker that deals with precision fits. When you polish with a Dremel and wheel points or felts and compound you're doing it for appearance. When a gun smith "polishes" the rails or other critical fit locations the VERY LAST THING they would ever consider is to use a Dremel. Instead the "polishing" in their case is done with super fine stones or possibly a lapping compound if there's a trace of binding at some point. And if using stones they will often use a jig to hold the part to the stone or stone to the part under finer control than any human can manage.
And finally you would only even want to "stone" polish if there is some hint of binding at some point. If things are moving well then you won't do any good and will quite likely do some harm if you take a Dremel to your gun. Contrary to what the TV ads suggest a Dremel is often more a tool of destruction than a tool of choice. I dearly love my own Dremel. But it's a tool like any other which has a limited range of uses. Using a Dremel to "polish" the rails on a handgun would be somewhat like using a screwdriver instead of a plunger to unplug a toilet.
