'Melting' a pistol slide

[Broomhandle]

I want to start a project this winter to 'melt' an extra slide I have for a small 9mm pistol, an Astra A75. I won't touch the frame but I will take down the edges and corners and the slide release. Just a cosmetic project but that is all I am willing to try. I would also try to get some paint or small inserts for the sights to improve contrast and then get a nice finish on the slide.
Anyone ever done this? What tools should I use, I figure a file, sandpaper and a buffing wheel are all I need. What makes for a nice smooth finish?
Just an idea. Any thoughts.....

Broomhandle

[aubie515]

I am not following what you are trying to accomplish...are you trying to "shave" some of the metal from the slide? I would caution you not to do this because you are going to weaken the metal.

[Frenchy]

Are you "melting" or refinishing a pistol slide? Melting meaning you are adding a groove to place a different sight. Sort of a dove tail area in the back where you would create an area to add a sight. If this is the case, unless you have access to a milling machine, I would consult a machinist. Or are you wanting to finish and remove any burrs and sharp edges to the slide. This you can do your self, mind you, you will need to have the blue re-done after.

Smoothing edges that can often be very sharp to the hand is fairly simple to do with a good bastard file. Not a joke here that is the name of these files.
The trick to filing a smooth edge is to push the file away from you in a T manner meaning the angle is 90 degrees to the part you are filing. Practice this on a scrap piece of steel first you will see how smooth it will become. Use long even strokes, this will remove any dings you might have on corners as well.

Long areas like the slide top, sides, I would probably get a sheet of glass and some water sand paper. Use the glass as a table, glass is very straight and the paper will stick to it once wet.
For the ejection port area and any small grooved area, I would go with a jewelers file in the same manner, or possibly a dremmel if you have a steady hand. Be certain if you open the ejection port to leave enough for structural strenght.

When finished, depending on the finish you have or want to have, you will probably want to remove the rest of the blue or surface with 00 steel wool, If the area you removed is smoother then the area around it and you want to give it that beaded look, use a hammer and some 100 or less grit sand paper,depending on how big you Want the pattern to be by lightly tapping the hammer on the sand paper over the steel, you will cause the sand bits to indent the part very much like sand blasting. Again practice this on an other piece of metal first to test your skill at this. Do not whack like your driving a 6 inch nail, very light baby taps are what is needed here. The grit will go in fairly fast and by coving and moving around and tapping you will see the sand blast like look.

Unless you know how to Blue a gun, you will probably want to get the part to a gun smith by now, if you are plating it, I would consider a professional again, possibly a jeweler. You might even look in to anodizing, some thing often done with golf clubs. this place gives one free trial if you want to see what the finish would look like http://www.accentmetal.com/ a much less expensive way would be to get parkerizing paint, this would be available at most good gun stores.

What ever you do, unless you have a big ding in the bottom of the slide, do not touch the inside or underside of the slide. If you do that, you will find your self in an adjusting situation and thats not as easily repaired.

[Broomhandle]

Melting, as defined by all the gunsmiths I have met (and a Google search), involves removing sharp edges and corners. It may involve a new rear sight, but doesn't require it in this case. Since the pistol slide is blued now, any cleanup or polishing will require a re-finish. This is a common practice on 1911's, but Sig and Glock are starting to offer it standard as well.
As far as weakening the slide, I don't plan to remove that much. My model to follow what I have seen offered by Wilson Combat. This slide has about the same dimensions as an Officer's model.

Broomhandle

[JayBell]

this is very easily done with a light abrasive wheel on a buffer.
Hit Mao-Mart or Sears, get the $20 grinder, and get the scotchbrite type abrasive buffing wheels for it.

I suggest some SERIOUS practice before trying this, use old barstock with sharp corners first, and make sure you line the grinder material rest with electrical tape to protect the part.
also, it is recommended that you PAD THE FLOOR around your work area with something soft to catch the slide when it is inevitably RIPPED from your hand while you do it.

concrete dings are hard to get out of metal....dont ask:-)

[Frenchy]

Originally Posted by JayBell

concrete dings are hard to get out of metal....dont ask:-)

ok But !
How well did the fingers resist the grinder... o soud i sa ho di da finers resis da grnder. Could get hard to type with a few missing fingers !

[Bib]

You can get rolls of emery cloth in various grits....probably at an auto parts store or hardware store. I think that would help in rounding off your edges.....use a fairly long strip and hold it at the ends. When you go to re-blue you might try Dichropan T-4 from Brownells. I recently re-did one side of my .45 slide that had some minor pitting....I used emery cloth, then a buffing wheel, which left me with clean, smooth white metal. I used the Dichropan and it turned out really well.

[Broomhandle]

Thanks for all the good suggestions, and the warnings about not dropping stuff! I too have had a buffing wheel rip stuff out of my hand and send it flying. I have a buffing wheel and the emory cloth sounds like a good idea. I think I may also clean up the lower portion as well, which is aluminum.
I am not sure what type of finish I want to go for, but I have time to decide that. I want a finish that can be applied both to steel and aluminum. I also want something that is "thick" for extra protection since I only want to do this once. Keep those suggestions on finished coming.
I will post some "before" pictures later this month.

Cheers!

[Joe Demko]

I'd avoid use of a Dremel until you have spent many hours using one on scrap metal and other things you don't care about. Dremels in unskilled hands are bad news when used on firearms. They can remove a lot of metal very quickly, and while you probably won't render the gun unsafe, it'll look terrible and there may not be a practical way to restore it.

[Dave Wells]

Melting may or may not look good on some guns,(slide only) But if your dyeing to do it,


The edges are belt sanded to blend it to shape and the right way to do it is the thing LOOKS melted from all angles top-side-bottom-end.

I was the gunsmith over at Kimber of Yonkers this is the way all 1911's are melted and all Kimbers are hand polished/sanded, that's also why they have such a high degree of finnish,

Hope this helps,
Dave