Nice day to polish

[Gi14]

I did a Beretta last summer, full slide and barrel. Toyed around the other day and did my xdm barrel, and today I did a half polish on my Glock slide. Vertical gradiant, chrome at the very bottom to completely unaltered at the top. I like the way it turned out. I'll do an entire Glock slide someday. When I get my next wish-list gun (26/27), or when my Trijicon's go dark and I pull them off this 23.

Here are a few shots, don't mind the odd backgrounds, tried a few different placements to get the contrasting finish to show up.











Yeah, that carpet really is that red! I'm running out of stuff to mess with, going to have to work on that wish list.

[sleeper78]

That's cool! I like it.

[rovert97]

that is a great look.

[1blindref]

That looks good, but you will probably have a bitch of a time keeping the slide from rusting. Make sure you wipe it down with a silicone or oil cloth before you put it away.

[Lucas]

I was expecting pics of a tantal, imagine my surprise to see a glock with shiny parts.


It does look very nice.

[thelemite]

Can you give a tutorial on how you did that?

[Nic]

Very nice. Unique.

[Gi14]

Thanks guys, it's already drawn some odd looks at the range, hehe. I really would like to do a full Glock slide, preferrably a sub-compact, but I don't have one to play with yet. Anyone have a beat up G26/27 taking up space they want to unload cheap?

Can you give a tutorial on how you did that?

Sure, but I just sort of winged it, so my methods could be incorrect for this sort of thing. I try not to let my ignorance cripple me...if I only did what I was properly trained to do, nothing would get done or I'd be broke.

1. I'm not a gunsmith
2. I'm not a metal finisher
3. I've never stayed at a Holiday Inn


This project wasn't anywhere near as ambitious as the Beretta I did last Summer. Here is a picture of that beauty.

BEFORE:


AFTER:


I've put at least 500 rounds through the Berreta since then and it still looks great. It's lost some of its luster, but only to a critical eye. I'm waiting on some replacement springs and a new rear sight (hopefully be here this week), once they arrive, I'll probably strip it down and give it a fresh buffing.


Tools:

1/3hp buffing motor turning @ 3450rpm
8" spiral sewn wheel
--stainless buffing compound
8" loose cotton wheel
--white rouge
Stout mechanics gloves (metal gets HOT)

For the Glock:
-Stripped and cleaned the slide.
-Applied compound to the buffing wheels. (stainless to spiral, rouge to loose)
-Held slide parallel to the ground, with the slide bottom down, sights up.
-Applied light pressure to the spiral sewn wheel, denting the wheel but not so much that it strained the motor.
-I watched down into the point of contact and made sure the buffing wheel didn't make contact with the slide any higher than the halfway point.
-I moved the slide from side-to-side, like a typewriter, trying to stay as even and parallel as possible.
-Every so often, I hit the buffing wheels with a rake (wood saw blade, board with nails, short bristled wire brush, etc.), and applied fresh compound.
-Lather, rinse, repeat...a lot.
-For the gradient, I just always made sure I gave the bottom 1/3 an extra pass every time I applied more compound to the buffing wheel. Likewise, I used very light pressure above the imaginary 1/3 line.
-When I was happy with the color, I moved to the loose cotton wheel with white rouge for final buff.
-Then the nasty part. Cleaning all the packed compound out of the slide before reassembling it. Toothpicks, Q-tips, and patience.

In all, it really wasn't that difficult. But it's the sort of thing that going into it, I pretty much had to accept the fact that I could completely destroy my firearm, or just make it irreversibly ugly. But I like doing things like this and having fun with my toys. Now I'm counting the days until I can get my hands on a cheap Glock SC...that baby will glow when I'm done with it!

I guess I could just buy guns that are shiny to begin with, but where's the fun in that?
-Giovanni

[he11zna]

Not quite my cup of tea, but looks good. Especially the Beretta.

Now I don't know a while lot about metals, but is there any protection, or have you essentially stripped it all off to achieve the high luster?

Seeing how some of my guns have rusted by everyday carry (first P3AT had a chip which rust gathered around), I'd be hesitant if the gun no longer had any protection from corrosion or such.

Definitely shiny ass hell though :-)
Keep up the good work

[PaGunNut]

Well if you get lost in the woods I guess you don't need a signaling mirror!

That's good work right there!