Help- Advice needed on basic polishing of metal parts.

[mannyrock]

 
Dear Guys,
 
   I am very sorry to ask such an elementary set of questions.  But, you have to start somewhere.
 
   I am very adept with taking things apart and putting them back together, and have a pretty nice shop.  If a gun part breaks, I usually buy a replacement part from Brownell's and install it myself.
 
   My problem is, that I have no idea whatsoever how to "polish" gun parts, or reblued barrels etc.  The only thing I ever learned about polishing was in 7th grade shop class, where there was an eight-inch polishing machine, with two wheels.  On one, we were suppose to put the white chalky stuff and use this for initial polishing, and on the other, we were suppose to put the red chalky stuff (rouge?) and use this for final polishing.
 
  I have a dremel kit, and know how to buy the little felt polishing attachments.  Besides that, all I have is a little bit of the white chalk, a little bit of the red chalk, and a tube of Fitz metal polish.  I also have 600, 800, 1,000, and 1,200 grit emery paper, plus 0000 steel wool, plus a small rectangular soft (white) Arkansas stone.  I would be glad to buy anything else I need.
 
  Gunsmithing books never tell you how to actually polish anything. They just say, "Polish the metal where the receiver meets the forestock hinge," or "polish the sides of the hammer and trigger sears to remove all burs."
 
   I would really appreciate it if someone would give me some basic advice., particularly on polishing parts, and secondarily on how to polish a reblued barrel.   I guess if necessary, I could buy a small, 4 inch polishing wheel machine at Harbor Freight.
 
  Thanks for all advice.
 
Mannyrock

[parkergunshop]

Mannyrock,
I have used  the same felt polishing wheels you used in your shop class on an arbor turned by a 3/4 HP electric motor from a well pump, but seldom use them since I found a better way.
For rough polishing I use a sanding flap wheel  on  an arbor turned by a 1/2 HP electric motor from a well pump, on the other end of the arbor is a medium blending wheel for finish polishing.   You can purchase the blending wheels in course, medium or fine grits from Brownells.     This is several time faster than uing the felt wheels with polishing compound.
I also have a flex-shaft attached to another 1/2 HP electric motor from a well pump.  This is used in small areas were you can't get to with the 8 inch wheels.   I also have an assortment of grindstones for the flex shaft for heavy duty grinding that a Dremel tool is not up to.
The recycling of electric motors greatly reduced the cost of my equipment over buying ready made buffers.
I don't normally blue, but Parkerize guns so the finish left by the blending wheel is fine enough for my use.  Most folks want all weather finishes so blueing is for the most part obsolete in this area.

[gunnut69]

You've asked a very involved question. PGS's answer is spot on and at the same time wrong. Polishing procedure depends greatly on the desired outcome and the starting point. If starting with a pitted mauser a carborundum stone is used. They work with water and can be ground to shape to fit specific contours.. Sometimes even surface grinders are used to rid the action of pits.. then polishing becomes simply reducing the size of the scratch lines in the finish until the desired luster is reached. Polishing wheels on power motors work great but like most labor saving devices they take great care and skill. Reckless use of wheels can produce dished lettering and round edges and straight lines that aren't straight anymore... Hand polishing is the easiest for the ametuer, it just is slower.. The very best guns in the world are hand polished.. Sanding papers of decreasing grit are used and the direction of the scratch pattern should be changed at each change of grade. Thus any scratches remaining will stand out vividly.  Barrels can be polished with a shoe shining motion of a strip of abrasive cloth.. Water or mineral oil can speed the process..and extend paper life. If polishing for a finish which roughens the surface anyway such as parkerizing 150-220 grit is more than fine enough and in fact 100 grit polish level would be fine.. Rust blue which is actually a series of layers of very fine pits will produce a matt like or satin finish so 220 grit levels are fine. For a high gloss finish a finer level of scratch pattern is needed  but seldom do we go beyond 600.. A complete and job can be done with just abrasive papers of the correct grits.. On really badly pitted guns I often just wire wheel the surface with a fine wheel and blue over the pits. Many times removing all the pits would also seriously damage the surface levels of the weapon and this must be taken into account. At times even files will be used to remove pitting. Still take care to not remove the all the pitting is valueable stampings such as the serial number would be obliterated. Once had an 1100 in the shop that was heavily pitted on one side from a single nights contact with a damp carpet. I draw filed the left side of the receiver to level the surface and was down to a single tiny remnant piut when the serial number got faint and I was forced to stop. I stopped at that point and used a bit of OxphoBlue to kill the rust in the bottom of the tiny pit that remained and blued the rest with the oxpho blue.. When you are done the job can be judged on the flatness of the flat areas, the straightness of the straight edges and the evenness of the curved areas.. The stones I spoke of earlier (also called india stones?) in coarser grits remove metal fairly rapidly but the same can be accomplished with wet-or-dry paper, used wet, and blocks or forms to back the paper to maintain the shape of the piece.. These forms are handy as all get out anbd are readily available from wood sorker supply houses. Those I prefer are made from a firm black rubber and work really great. To polish a metal surface such as a hammer side the clasic tool is the hard Arkansas stone but I've nearly completely swithed to ceramics as they last longer and stay flatter in use. Also they cut faster but still leave a gougeless surface. Even sears and such fines surfaces are finished with a set of Brownells ceramic files.  Hope this helps at least some..

[mannyrock]

 
Dear Guys,
 
   Thanks for all of the great information.
 
   99% of my polishing would be on internal receiver parts, just to remove all tool marks and burrs and make the action work smoother and slicker.   I am glad to do it all by hand, as I have time to kill.  But, I also have a dremel as well.
 
  Frank DeHaas, in his book on gunsmithing Single Shots, specifically recommends a triangular shaped soft  Arkansas stone for some of this work.
 
  I have worked a few parts in the past, starting with 400 emery, then going progressively upward through 1,000 grit.  The result is a mirror finish, that you can see your face in.
 
  Problem is, it is really hard to use paper on small parts that have lots of angles and odd nooks and curves. 
 
  I will look thru the Brownell's book, and see if they have a basic, starter, polishing kit, with some ceramic stones and files.
 
  Best Regards,
 
 Mannyrock
 
 
   

[gunnut69]

I have a set of arkansas stones too but the ceramic stones cut faster and leave just as good a surface finish,,and they work with water! A lot less messy! Remember to not remove more metal than is absolutely necessary and remove all the burrs first.. Luck!