View Single Post
Unread 09-01-2013, 12:48 PM   #22
ithacaartist
Twice a Lifer
Lifetime Forum
Patron
 
ithacaartist's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Atop the highest hill in Schuyler County NY
Posts: 3,374
Thanks: 7,447
Thanked 2,613 Times in 1,380 Posts
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by rhuff View Post
If you plan to refinish your Luger, then I would beadblast it with a very fine(less than 60 grit) abrasive. that will remove everything off of the steel.
I'd recommend doing this only if you don't mind seeing evidence that it has been done, afterward. The tiny peen marks left by the blasting will be evident under moderate magnification. The little dents will cover everything, even down into the stampings. One might consider a chemical removal of all rust and former finish, which would leave no marks.

I have two pistols that were, at the very least, bead blasted before they were refinished. In hand, with the naked eye, they look pretty good. Blasting evens out the appearance of the surfaces, smooths out small scratches and pits for the observer's eye...but if examined closely, a pistol so treated will show evidence of it.

I don't know of an easy way to get down into the recesses of the stampings to remove these marks, but the reachable surfaces should be able to be sanded, carefully, reasonably smooth. IIRC, 400 grit sandpaper would be acceptable for this. Don't forget to use a sanding block to help assure that the sanding is straight and flat--don't want to round off any corners, or create wavy-looking surfaces that are supposed to be dead flat.
__________________
"... Liberty is the seed and soil, the air and light, the dew and rain of progress, love and joy."-- Robert Greene Ingersoll 1894
ithacaartist is offline   Reply With Quote