Stainless Steel Barrel Polishing?????
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I have a few SS fluted barrels. I spent hours using a white soft buffer wheel on my grinder with SS polishing powder. I polished before I installed the barrels. I also had lots of time. You could be done in an hour or take lots of time and give the barrel a mirror like finish.
M1A1ABRAMS
Well-Known Member
You can buy polishing wheels for a bench grinder at Harbor Freight or local LG. This could also be slow depending on the speed of your grinder. And be careful. It can rip it out of your hands if using a high speed bench polisher/grinder. It is a dirty process. Or go old school & do it by hand with polish & a rag. Which may take a while. Depending on the condition of the barrel you have. And the type of finish you're looking for. Or just take it to someone locally & let them polish it for you. I used to polish my motorcycle parts which were usually metal & aluminum (at work). But I found a local guy that could do it quicker. And cheaper in the end. As long as I didn't mind waiting a little bit. Those guys are getting harder to find.
M1A1ABRAMS
Well-Known Member
I used to weld for a company that made parts for Harley Davidson in York Pa at the time. And all their parts had to be polished before a chrome dip. I was personally sporting out a 1992 Yamaha VMAX,
M1A1ABRAMS
Well-Known Member
The pressure makes quicker work of it. But there are tricks to the trade. Just like any other.yes, it will rip it out of your hands!You have to learn to not use pressure and let the polishing compound work
OK, that's also the end results I'm looking for.
I don't have a media blaster at home, but i do have an assortment of wheels for my big 8 inch bench grinder. Like wire wheels made of stiff to light steel, bronze brushes, and clear down to the soft cotton polishing wheels.
I bought a variety of SS fluted barrels. Straight cut, diamond cut, and spiral cut. some of them were almost sharp edges on the flutes and you could see the machine lines. So mild steel wheel to the rescue. It removes the edges and with some time it kind of polishes SS. You can go to finer steel or bronze brushes and do a nice job, and the last step if you bother doing it is the soft polishing wheel to make a mirror finish.
Just using steel wire wheel can make a barrel look nice and you can fix it up if you get the accidental DING! I might have 3 rifle on the quad for a day of ground squirrels or PD's and riding around even is padded bags something always seems to happen
I bought a variety of SS fluted barrels. Straight cut, diamond cut, and spiral cut. some of them were almost sharp edges on the flutes and you could see the machine lines. So mild steel wheel to the rescue. It removes the edges and with some time it kind of polishes SS. You can go to finer steel or bronze brushes and do a nice job, and the last step if you bother doing it is the soft polishing wheel to make a mirror finish.
Just using steel wire wheel can make a barrel look nice and you can fix it up if you get the accidental DING!
I might have 3 rifle on the quad for a day of ground squirrels or PD's and riding around even is padded bags something always seems to happenHey, what kind of system do you have to achieve this. Is it something not To expensive to set up?
Dr. Vette
Well-Known Member
1. You want to use fine beads, like these available from Brownells:
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...rface-prep/glass-beads-prod1209.aspx?psize=96
Use the 270+ size, not the 60-100.
2. You need to completely clean your current blast cabinet and remove all the old media. Any old (rusty) steel left behind could be impregnated into the stainless, and will cause tiny rust spots.
3. Start with low pressure, and work up.
4. Tape anything you don't want to blast, and be careful where you aim the blaster. You're only trying to affect the finish, not remove metal.
I'm not sure where in MI you live, but I've had barreled actions blasted by Williams as well as by Precision Rifle in Dorr. They're both inexpensive enough it wasn't worth going through the hassle of setting up my system for one or two uses on rifles.
https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...rface-prep/glass-beads-prod1209.aspx?psize=96
Use the 270+ size, not the 60-100.
2. You need to completely clean your current blast cabinet and remove all the old media. Any old (rusty) steel left behind could be impregnated into the stainless, and will cause tiny rust spots.
3. Start with low pressure, and work up.
4. Tape anything you don't want to blast, and be careful where you aim the blaster. You're only trying to affect the finish, not remove metal.
I'm not sure where in MI you live, but I've had barreled actions blasted by Williams as well as by Precision Rifle in Dorr. They're both inexpensive enough it wasn't worth going through the hassle of setting up my system for one or two uses on rifles.
Great information, and thanks. Actuall I'm taking my barrel and action to Williams to have done in March, so I will ask Rob when I call him. Might as well have him do this.
