polished barrel: home job

[Johnnybgood]

I had Todd do the barrel and Guide rod for my XD 40 SC and they came out great. I am soon to be sending the barrel and guide rod for my XD 45C. Excellent work and talking to Todd on the phone it seemed like I was talking to an old friend he is a real personable guy with a passion for his work, Thanks Todd. John in Milton, FL.

[jkw_XD]

Originally Posted by g29cc

Casewell.com I think it is. You can order alot from there. But for a quick polishing, Mothers aluminum mag white paste is good.

White is a very minimal material removing compound. Red is pretty close to it as well. Blue is a non removing compound ( in other words it wont remove material, but only color it, its is the very last step in any polishing ).

Buffs and compounds and the technique is where the awesome polish jobs come from. You can screw up a part using buffing wheels and too much heavy compounds, using a dremmel with a heavy compound is risky too. As its such a small turning radius that you might get waves with it if you dont move it fast enough.

But anyways, that all for another day.

To answer the question about rust. I have polished entire guns and havent had a problem. Your normal gun will rust just as bad as it would if you didnt take care of it. Coatings are great for what they are. But still leave a gun in salt water and not clean it and your running the risk. I know all the hype on this and that, I work with metal as a machinist and metal finisher everyday. I am not a master guru by any means. But I do know that anything if properly taken care of ( key element there ), will last a long time.

So here is another picture ( slide serrations in back were not polished so they have the rough grip but dont reflect well and look black when they arent in reality )......

Was it mentioned and I missed something.. What is the process for polishing? Use a dremel, polishing wheel, etc??? Anyone got specifics? Any tips would be great. Thanks.

[cadconversions]

Originally Posted by g29cc

Thanks everyone. I am going to give him an email later today or tomorrow and see how he is doing.

I thought I would share a Glock slide with you guys, that I just finished.

Someone needs to send a XD slide to me Hmmm..... maybe its time for a Karma give away.........

You did an awesome job. Been thinking about trying my hand at polishing my XD40SC and had a few concerns. They've been discussed but I don't know if I completely understand it.

1. If I screw it up - would it be easy to send to someone like yourself to have you do it right for me?

2. Would I have to take my factory night sights off the gun first?

3. What kind of protection will the gun have from rust after doing this? I've been told and have read that the polishing seals the metal and except for keeping a light coat of oil on the surface everything would be fine.

4. I've got the solid black model and will it polish up the same as a bi-tone?

[g29cc]

Originally Posted by cadconversions

You did an awesome job. Thanks Been thinking about trying my hand at polishing my XD40SC and had a few concerns. They've been discussed but I don't know if I completely understand it.

1. If I screw it up - would it be easy to send to someone like yourself to have you do it right for me?

Yes unless you royally screw up and damage something, I can fix almost everything. I havent had a barrel or part come in yet that I wasnt able to fix and I ve had some pretty crappy pitted parts come in.

2. Would I have to take my factory night sights off the gun first?

Yes you should take them off.

3. What kind of protection will the gun have from rust after doing this? I've been told and have read that the polishing seals the metal and except for keeping a light coat of oil on the surface everything would be fine.

Like most maintenance things, its just proper care. Make sure you clean it like normal ( it will be alot easier to clean ) and wipe it down once in awhile, twice a year I usually wipe them down with Mothers polish, takes about 10 minutes to do a complete gun.
4. I've got the solid black model and will it polish up the same as a bi-tone?

For most two tone guns, the polishing is alot brighter, shiner and more beautiful. If you really want a stock two tone look, then I can also do that so its not so shiney and bright, but still alot better then a stock job.

Here is a picture of a polished Sig Equinox style. As you can see its alot brighter and shiner then a real Sig Equinox, more show quality like then a flat stock look. I also did the Engraving on the slide.



The character from "The Saint " TV show from the late 60's-early 70's with Roger Moore. Just engraved this on a barrel for a customer.

[g29cc]

Originally Posted by Johnnybgood

I had Todd do the barrel and Guide rod for my XD 40 SC and they came out great. I am soon to be sending the barrel and guide rod for my XD 45C. Excellent work and talking to Todd on the phone it seemed like I was talking to an old friend he is a real personable guy with a passion for his work, Thanks Todd. John in Milton, FL.

Thanks John. Hope all is going well. I enjoyed being able to talk with you on the phone.

Originally Posted by jkw_XD

Was it mentioned and I missed something.. What is the process for polishing? Use a dremel, polishing wheel, etc??? Anyone got specifics? Any tips would be great. Thanks.

Everything I do is done on a professional grade buffing and polishing setup. There was another thread on here someplace with tips for the DIY person.

[Bill in San Jose]

I didn't get the identical results, but I found if I used my dremel and the emery (coarsest) polishing compound and kept working it, I could get the little 'lines' out of the barrel on the area with the serial number. The Blue Magic to finish it off.

I did not use a wire brush on the 2 levers on the gun, but instead used the emery polish. There is still a slight black hue to the metal, but they're unmistakably polished now, the picture is not a good at showing it off. I kinda like the slight black that remains on them. BTW, I polished the little portion of the rear lever that engages the slide and keeps it open, and now when I push it with my thumb to release it, it moves easier and smoother as the slide is released.

Next time I'm looking for a project, I'll pull the trigger and polish it, too.

[redhatchbox]

Where'd you get that camo grip tape? ^^^

[Bill in San Jose]

A skateboard store in the local shopping mall. It took contacting a few shops before I found it. Being old enough to have kids in college, the skateboard store was a cross-generational-cultural experience.

[1lowlife]

For those of you interested in polishing,
I tired the DIY approach and could never get the mirror finish I wanted.
I sent these parts to g29cc;

Todd did a great job, with a short turnaround.
I'll be able to keep the barrel touched up with the Flitz and dremel.



I'm very happy with the way it turned out....

[smotta]

Lowlife got to post pics first. Todd has my parts right now and is doing almost that exact job for my .40SC. It looks fantastic, can't wait to get mine back!

-Sean