Guide to sanding slides etc...?

[L4Isoside]

Any one know a good way to sanding slides? People suggest 100 grit sand papers ect but all i know of is course, medium and fine?? Then i hear alot about wet and dry, but again im getting confused as to what to get etc...? (although i have heard of it)

 

So anyone got a guide or at least a good technique? I've searched but if anyone does find anything (thats was easy) you can flame me...lol

 

I saw someone with a glock 19 and suggested something but i can't remember/ find it now.

 

I have no decent tools like air blasters or what ever, so what ever i can buy in the U.k shops cheap will have to do, lol.

 

Thanks, Chris

[Stealthbomber]

I'd suggest you don't use sandpaper at all.

 

Use wire wool or a brillo pad instead.

[L4Isoside]

I'd suggest you don't use sandpaper at all.

 

Use wire wool or a brillo pad instead.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Really? Okay, wire wool would be okay, do i just rub untill i get the finish i want?

[Stealthbomber]

Pretty much.

 

You won't scratch the metal so much with wire wool. Just rub however ou want until the paint is off then rub deliberately in one direction (backward and forward for example) to remove any swirls and marks.

 

Finally, you need a metal polish (Brasso, for example) and a clean rag to polish the metal to a shine

[L4Isoside]

Okay thanks loads mate, i ant even got a metal slide yet but whatever, lol.

 

EDIT:Also i have finer and courser wire wool, which is better??

[Tom Andrews]

The idea is to use finer and finer abrasives to achieve a shine.

 

So (assuming you have a smooth surface already) flat surfaces can be relieved of the origional paint with paint remover, thinners or fine wet and dry.

 

Paint stripper however is very aggresive and can get in the pores of the metal and reappear later as corrosion.

 

Thinners needs to be the one that reacts with paint finish.

 

Wet and dry is carborundum paper available in different grades, for your use something like 1800 (about as rough as a damp lettuce leaf) used wet with a splash of washing up liquid.

If you glue the paper to a flat surface you will get a better result.

 

For curved and rounded surfaces use wire wool about 0000 is the finest or Scotchbrite pads. This material is also available from car repairers in finer grades, red or grey, grey is the finest.

 

To polish, use T Cut, Brasso and finally Silvo. Change the polishing cloth frequently and you should achieve a mirror finish. However it will depend on your base material, the old saying applies 'Can't make a silk purse out of a cows ear.'

[Stealthbomber]

The finer the better really.

 

Start of with a coarse one but, as SOON as you start to see metal peeking through, switch to a fine wool.

 

That way you'll avoid creating deep scratches.

[L4Isoside]

Thanks everyone...

 

Chris.

 

Fake edit:

 

So reomve paint with course wet & dry, then go to fine wire wool, then use T Cut, Brasso and finally Silvo?

 

Were can i get T Cut? Never heard of it...?

[Tom Andrews]

T Cut is car paintwork renovator paste/liquid.

 

Its the coarsest of the three, T Cut, Brasso, Silvo. After that is jewellers rouge, but I doubt you need that.

 

Don't go for coarse wet and dry, its far better to use a fine grade and spend twice as long, as to use a coarse grade and then a finer and then an even finer.

[L4Isoside]

Okay, reomve paint with fine wet & dry, then go to fine wire wool, then use T Cut, Brasso and Silvo...

 

Were would i get T cut though? Could i get ina DIY shop like homebase?

 

Or a garage?

 

Chris.

[the cleaner]

before you dig straight into your metal slide with steel wool, etc. . ask yourself this FIRST.

 

1) Is your metal slide die cast or CNC machined?

 

This makes a HUGE difference on how you finish your slide. People don't seem to understand this. You cannot make generalizations w/o being specific.

 

It's very rare that die cast slide's surfaces are true/flat. Almost 100% of die cast slides/barrel have "low & high" spots, pitting, etc due to the casting process and strinkage due to cooling or warpage due to thin walls.

 

If you use steel wool on a die cast slide. . and the surface is NOT flat, you'll do more damage to it than help it. First of all, steel wool has no shape so it will conform to any shape/surface you put it on. . this means. .if the slide surface is slightly concave. .you're going to be sanding in a concave fashion.

 

And when you've put all the work into polishing the slide to a mirror shine. .you'll notice all the high and low spots from the reflection and lighting. .and come to the conclusion that you're slide was polished in a half-a$$ fashion.

 

the cure is using sandpaper with a sanding block (depending on how cruddy your die cast slide is, use grits 100, 220, 320, 400 ,etc) This will get all your flat surfaces true and flush. This is the key to a well-polished slide.

 

To do rounded edges/surfaces (like on a Glock slide or outer barrels). . you cut a strip about 1-3 inch wide of sandpaper. . "break" the sandpaper by running the "paper side" of the sandpaper on sharp table edge. This will reduce your sandpaper from "breaking up, cracking, tearing". . this is IMPORTANT because of you're sanding your slide and your sandpaper is cracking. .you can potentiallyl cause gouging or more problems into your surface.

 

with the sandpaper strip. . sand the outer barrel like you would if you were shining a shoe. . of course, you need to have your barrel in a vice or something.

 

If you use this method properly. . you will maintain concentricity on your barrel and even unidirectional sanding marks. ALSO, with alot of die casted barrels. .they are not even concentric like a lathe machined barrel would be. The die cast barrels will have a visible parting line casted in. .these are areas where the barrel is not concentric. . if you polish it up w/o fixing the problem, it will just make your polishing job look like cr@p!

 

patience and time is required. . .rush the job and it will show in your polishing.

[Stealthbomber]

I've seen more slides ruined by people rounding off sharp edges with sandpaper than I have ruined by wobbly surfaces.

 

It's correct that if you want a truly flat surface your best bet is to secure a sheet of emery cloth to a flat surface such as a sheet of glass and rub the slide across it.

 

That's all well and good but it doesn't do anything for the bits that aren't flat.

 

That's where wire wool is 100 times better than sandpaper. It's wayyy too easy to ruin the shape of a casting while trying to sandpaper paint from places such as the dust cover of an 1911 slide.

 

Also, frankly, I doubt many people genuinely have the patience to start off using 100 grit emery paper and then clean up all the scratches they make until they end up using 1600 grit paper.

9 times out of 10, people who use coarse sandpaper to remove paint end up with scratched slides. Period.

 

It's far easier to get an acceptable result, even if the surface isn't perfectly flat, with wire wool.

[L4Isoside]

Okay, thanks!

 

I haven't got the metal slide/ outer barrel yet, i've decided on one but now i may want a threaded outter barrel (to get a sliencer to cover a maybe extended inner barrel), so i will have to get a metal barrel sepratly. Do you know anywere that sells a v. good metal barrel for the KSC glock 18C? (and threaded outer barrel from HK?)

 

Thanks!

 

Oh, also if you've had any experiance with the glock 18c you'l know that the blow back chamber is metal, but the top isnt smooth, its weird, it had hair line indents all the way down it? i can't really explain it. Do you have any suggestions on that, should i smooth it down? and what with?

 

Thanks again

 

Chris.

[M1 Grand]

I used 800 grit and then went to 2000 grit and it looks nice but does not have a polished shinny look, more a flat silver look?? What shood I do??

 

 

The pic actually looks a little better:(

[L4Isoside]

Oh, okay...

 

i would rarther a decent finish with out too much fuss. But one doesnt have to complete the slide in one go, surely you can leave its, say try it on a weekend and leave it to the next weekend and have another go? (as weekends are the only time im at me grandads, were he don't mine guns in his house... 0_o) or will it tarnish... maybe i'll stick to wire wool..

 

*getting confused on what to do here*

 

thanks for the help,

 

Chris.

 

Note, BTW im not planning on sanding the whole slide, i want to **try** and sand 1/2mm off the bottom of the slide all the way round, the front, back and top around the rear sight...

 

if you get me? Ill post a pic and edit it on paint..lol. It may be to advanced for me though....

[L4Isoside]

lol i was looking for that post m1 grand when searching.....

 

Chris.

[M1 Grand]

It took me about 4 hours 1 day to do what I did there. I think you will have a hard time just getting 1 inch around the bottom. I left the grooves black but that was not hard because they are indented. Like I said I just used 800 grit to get it off and then 2000 for a finnish + polishing compound and wax.

[M1 Grand]

I had a fealing you were:)

[L4Isoside]

Kool, i think it will be very hard, but unique... (and hopefully look really cool)

 

EDIT: "I saw someone with a glock 19 and suggested something but i can't remember/ find it now."

 

Yep....

[M1 Grand]

I think it will be near impossible unless you have a way of cover up what you don't want sanded and use a dremel. you fingers are hard to use in small areas like that. I used my dremel around my sights because I did not know how to get them off:) You can always give it a go and then if you don't like it just finnish the slide all the way.

[L4Isoside]

I too, was thinking that.. dont have a dremel though, could use a drill and buy something to attach one the end (my grandadas got a carbon fibre thinggi so sand something down, if i got something like that for the slide maybe..)

 

Is their anywere that could professionally do it?

 

Chris.

[M1 Grand]

I just now took my dremel and the polishing wheel and used polishing compound and it looks nice and shinny:) I don't know how long it will stay that way but:)

[L4Isoside]

My idea:

 

 

 

 

 

Will be hard but i'll give it ago, any suggestions welcome

 

Chris.

[BeatdownT]

That actually looks really cool. I guess your best bet is the sandpaper like M1grand but IDK. That would look really sweet in the end.

 

For some reason I don't like totally silver/polished slides on G18c's I like the outer barrel silver and the slide black like yours without the outline of the slide.

 

But go ahead with it it should look awesome, and definitly unique.

 

EDIT: Btw what game is that on the bottom? Crackdown?

[Miker]

I worked from 240 grit and up...

 

240, 400, 600, 1500, 1500 wet, polish.

 

Metal finish pads will give you a FLAT look.