I notice a lot of people open up their guns and polish up all the contact points in order to get a smoother and lighter trigger pull. I've never done it, but I'm sure it's not beyond my mechanical abilities. I'm just curious if it's worth it and if there's any tricks I should know, or things to avoid, during this proceedure (eg: rounding edges). It'll either be an NP22 or an NP29, leaning to the NP22 a bit more. Please share your experinces.
Polishing up the insides...
- Thread starter Kwattro
- Start date
I've done a fair bit of this on 1911's, S&W revolvers, Ruger Single Actions and marlin and winchester leverguns with good results and never had an oops. I must warn you to be extremely careful though changing any engagement angles or engagement depths can have serious consequences (safetys failing to work and hammers falling when they are not supposed to). Definitely don't round or change and any angles. My advise is get a trigger pull gauge and start by upgrading the springs with quality reduced power springs (i.e. Wolf Springs). My process has always been do a little stoning, clean away grit, re-assemble and assess result with the trigger pull scale. This can be a long drawn out process but it is safer and it is far easier to remove more material than to have to put it back (i.e. replacement hammers, sears or triggers). BE CAREFULL OR GO TO A PROFESSIONAL 
Ripstop said:
Be careful when polishing the inside of the reciever or sides of the trigger, hammer,sear. While you want to ensure that there are no burrs to create drag, you most definately don't want to increase the slop around these parts. Increasing the potential side to side movement can create as mony problems as the burrs themself may cause. If one or two firm passes with a fine ceramic stone don't remove the burrs, leave it as is or replace the part with one of higher quality.
On some guns like the S&W revolvers, you can get shims to take up any extra slop around the hammer and trigger pins.
As far as changing sear angles and polishing hammer hooks, if you are doing it free hand, you are likely creating a make work project for your gunsmith. To polish these surfaces, you really need a proper jig.
For polishing the sides of a trigger group, I prefer the crocus cloth on a sheet of glass or ground block with a couple of drops of lightweight oil. Do a couple of swirls and look to see what is coming off. Stone off any edge burrs. I'm just a bit wary of stoning since polishing is the goal, not removing metal. Side to side play in your trigger group will affect accuracy.
You can use a single layer of crocus cloth on a rigid 6" scale to polish the receiver. Use both hands. Once again, do a couple of swirls/passes and see what is coming off.
If you really want to 'just' polish, try the white scotch brite pad. I use this to get rid of stone marks. I prefer to polish using either varsol or a lightweight oil. Both tend to keep your cloth/stone from getting clogged.
I haven't tried to polish the hammer/sear contact points but I have polished the sides of trigger groups and am pleased to see what a difference that makes in some firearms.
Maybe I should have posted this rather than just 'polish the sides of your trigger group'?
Ripstop
You can use a single layer of crocus cloth on a rigid 6" scale to polish the receiver. Use both hands. Once again, do a couple of swirls/passes and see what is coming off.
If you really want to 'just' polish, try the white scotch brite pad. I use this to get rid of stone marks. I prefer to polish using either varsol or a lightweight oil. Both tend to keep your cloth/stone from getting clogged.
I haven't tried to polish the hammer/sear contact points but I have polished the sides of trigger groups and am pleased to see what a difference that makes in some firearms.
Maybe I should have posted this rather than just 'polish the sides of your trigger group'?
Ripstop
- Location
- WMU247 near Edmonton
I see this is mostly pistol related but I have done a few Enfields using a super fine stone and oil, some of those wartime parts are rough and a good polishing makes a difference.
Key is go slow, keep the parts square to the stone, if its not round don't make it round, and keep in mind its hard to put metal back if you remove it :roll:
Key is go slow, keep the parts square to the stone, if its not round don't make it round, and keep in mind its hard to put metal back if you remove it :roll:
