I took the plunge - and stripped my barrel

[ViperGTS19801]

Woo! I love the look of it, although I want to touch it up. I did a quick search and didn't find much, but again, t'was a quick search.



And assembled...


It was actually very simple. I did some research and came to the conclusion that, rather than using sandpaper, I'd give it a shot by submerging the barrel in vinegar to loosen and strip the coloring without damaging the protectant that's worked into the metal, 0.003" deep. After about three hours of sitting in the vinegar, I washed it with soap and water thoroughly, inside and out. I took some metal polish (Brasso, in case you're curious) and a finishing pad that painters use and gave it a thorough rubdown. It only took about thirty minutes of actual effort from start to finish, including the process of cleaning the rest of the gun and re-oiling it.

I'm going to redo it again in the near future to do some finer detail work on the creases and get it perfect. It's not super shiny or chromed, and it's a nice flat metal look that I adore.

Has anyone else done this with their XDs or Glocks?

[comsubin61]

Oh yes!! I just completed a G27 where I polished the barrel, pins and the releases. It looks great. I went a couple of extra steps and took a 1500 grit automotive sand paper and cleaned it really good, then took automotive compound and a couple of polishing wheel and went to town. In about 1 hour I had a very nice polished barrel and accessories. Here is what it looks like:

Pictures dont do it justice. I am not very good at taking pictures. Now I am thinking about getting the slide to a body shop, like some else suggested and get it polished also.

[ddefazio]

Love the look of it. I have a G27 that I would not mind trying that out on.

[harold63]

the protectant that's worked into the metal, 0.003" deep.

The thickness of this protectant (tennifer) is closer to 2/100", roughly the same thinkness as two sheets of typing paper. It is hard to remove unless you have a machine to do it. Hand sanding would take you hours to get it all down to bare carbon steel. The way you have it looks nice. I want to do it to mine, but I am too darn lazy.

[Svickstc]

I recently did this to my new pick up G26, spent a few hours (~9hrs) did not do the soaking in vinegar, just straight sanding and polishing to a mirror...

Viper i suggest you follow through with your project and do it right Almost there

[ViperGTS19801]

I have the barrel resoaking right now, in a couple of hours I will hit it againa dn try to get all of the black stripped off of all the little nooks and creases. Might offer it as a service if people want their done!

[Svickstc]

I have the barrel resoaking right now, in a couple of hours I will hit it againa dn try to get all of the black stripped off of all the little nooks and creases. Might offer it as a service if people want their done!

Just soaking the barrel will not offer that mirror finish...

you need to sand, polish, and buff

[spblademaker]

Looks nice. I did that to my Sig 220 many years ago. I even took down the machine marks on the barrel.

[ViperGTS19801]

Just soaking the barrel will not offer that mirror finish...

you need to sand, polish, and buff

Ah, but I don't want the mirror finish. I touched it up and it looks great.

[sprrdhawk44]

I'm a fan. That turned out really nice.