Polishing the body

[FutureMagOwner]

yeah i was thinking about polishing the gray body so it gets a nice shine to it. i knew you had to use different grains(something like that) and start from a lower #(like 220 i believe was mentioned) and slowly work your way up

my questions are: 1. which sandpapers would i get?
2. do i need any polish stuff
3. any basic tips on things to save time or make it easier?

i dont have a dremel or anything like that and i cant go out and spend 100+ for one just to sand my gun(i might use it for an idea on my tippmann if i did but i dont wanna spend that much)

[manike]

This is a set of pictures from Doc Nickels site www.docsmachine.com and shows you the processes to use.

<img src="http://www.docsmachine.com/galleries/polishsteps.jpg"

He says it was about an hour and half's work to get a chrome like shiney body.

manike

[FutureMagOwner]

thanks

[FutureMagOwner]

one thing i had a problem is is looking for the article. because it said goto the how to section under technical and that didnt have a link to anything on the how to description

[Doc Nickel]

The actual polishing article isn't anywhere near done yet. It started out as a couple of quick how-toos and now it's up to about forty photos and six or seven pages...

The photo thast Manike posted was one I slapped together from when I fiddled with my new L10 kit on Friday. The article's in the Guild Forum (http://www.network54.com/Hide/Forum/goto?forumid=9013) section under "Dude, where's my 'Mag?"

Anyway, real quick like:
Hit a store that carries automotive paint-and-body matrials, and buy "wet & dry" sandpaper- good 3M stuff if you can buy it, though others will work... make sure it's the "black" stuff, not brown grit. Get three or four sheets (each) of 320 grit, 600 grit and 1000 grit. If you have the patience and really want a deep, lustrous shine, add 1,200 or even 1,500 grit.

Tear the sandpaper into strips (don't cut it, tear it on the edge of a table or countertop, grit-up) then tear the strips into sections so you have a bunch of pieces about 1.5 to 2" wide by about 3" wide. Precision isn't important.

Get a bucket of warm water, a stool and a spot where you can make a mess.

Keeping both the body and the paper wet, sand every surface of the body in one direction. Keep in mind each bit of paper might only last a dozen or fifteen strokes before it goes dull. Keep turning the paper to a fresh "sharp" spot, and ditch it as soon as it wears.

Once it's sanded in one direction (keep it wet and rinse) now with the same grit, sand it "crossways" to the direction you just sanded it. IE, if you were running lengthwise, now sand perpendicular. Get every nook and cranny, especially around the feed neck or PF tube. Don't worry so much about the slots at the bottom, they'll be covered by the rail.

Once you have it well and truly sanded, and you can't see many little tiny spots in the surface, (for the above body, that was two full sheets of 320 grit) rinse and switch to the 600 grit and repeat. Keep switching direction so you sand at an angle to the direction before. This helps make a uniform surface.

Sand and repeat, getting finer and finer 'til you've used up the sheet of 1000.

Load up the buffing wheel with black emory and nail the body hard. Pay close attention to around the PF neck, and gergodsake don't let the wheel grab it.

Wipe it down, then switch to rouge on a different wheel.

Wipe it down, buff lightly with a soft cloth, rinse out the buffing dusts from the inside, reassemble.

That's GREATLY simplified- the Cliffs notes version of a Reader's Digest edition. But it should get you started.

Doc.

[FutureMagOwner]

a little late but no problem! i got the sand paper(320 600 1000) and i shined it an love it! it matches the shin of the valve perfectly. one problem is that the feed as a bunch of little scratches in it that looks like dings sorta that i couldnt get rid of. but from about a half a foot a way you cant tell though and ill post pics later

[Doc Nickel]

Wet-sanding does a couple of things. First, it helps keep the paper from "loading up" with dust, so it lasts a few strokes longer, and second, it keeps the stainless steel dust down. SS dust is a persistent lung contaminant- the body can't break it down, so it can build up like coal dust or asbestos.

No, you don't have to keep it underwater, just keep the part and the paper wet, and rinse every few minutes.

As far as "messing something up", trust me, if you're sanding by hand, your elbow will explode before you've removed enough metal from the body to "mess up" anything. The stainless steel is tough- you would have to go out of your way or use power tools to cause any problems.

And yes, it'll work fine on a DYE or other stainless barrel. Though these are usually FAR smoother to start with, so you can skip the 320 and usually go straight to 600 grit, or even the 1,000. (Unless, say, somebody sandblasted the barrel or something.)

Doc.

[fiendkuja]

is it 100% needed to wet-sand it? and if so, by wetting it, should sand underwater or just wet the body and the paper every minute or so.

heh, i really want to do this to my grey body but i dont wanna mess anything up. also. this method should technically work on a DYE stainless steel barrel too correct?

thanks!

[The Frymarker]

Great job Doc and Manike thanks for posting.

I use my hand futuremagowner no need really to get tools to do the work unless time is an issue.

Yes I have gone to the legnths of using the 1500 grit, I also use something called Nicsand 10,000 grit sanding gel.

You can use it inplace of buffer materials.

Doc, thank you also for your input with the hazards of dust.

Usually I use a resperator, but every so often I catch myself not putting it on. I really didn't realize the danger in it.

:eek:

[fiendkuja]

where do you get that 10k grit polish? and how did you get yours mirror finish? i worked for a good 2 1/2 almost 3 hours and only got to a dull shine. i started at 600 because i didnt have any lower grit available so that hampered me at the beginning but i got all the grey polished out and went to 800 and then 1200. but i still dont have a real impressive shine... here is what i got (semi-bad pic)

[The Frymarker]

I called the company Nicsand they are in Cleveland ohio.

I think I got their number from their website.


That's no too bad. You have to use the lower grit a lot first that gradually move up.

[fiendkuja]

Well, I got it to a reasonably high polish with some 3M ultra-fine sanding sponges. but now im looking for that sanding polish.

[fiendkuja]

actually, this one shows it better

[BajaBoy]

u need to use a corcer paper bc u didnt get threw the metal that was disscolored when they powdercaoted it.. then u can start using the fine stuf.. and u also ned to use a good buffer

[FrAuStY]

fiendkuja

To get a nice shine.. you need a machine's help.. preferably a benchgrinder with a buffing wheel, some jewlers rouge, and a pair of safety googles (rouge in the eyes is not a good thing) Let the buffing wheel spin up on the grinder once its up and running gently press the rouge stick onto the buffing wheel until you see it absorbing the powder, once you've got a nice layer of rouge on the wheel (it will have a rusty tinge to it) gently press the body of the gun on to the wheel, you don't want to press too hard as (What Doc mentioned) the buffing wheel will take off some steel, and you'll get wavy lines in the finished product. Once the rouge starts to get black, you'll want to re-apply some more rouge to the wheel. Repeat this process over the entire body and you'll end up with a nciely polished mag. Hope that helps.

[fiendkuja]

hmm, any way to polish it up at home? hehe

[FrAuStY]

Yeah...I have a benchgrinder/buffing wheel combo.. and the different grits of rouge. One's 4000 grit, ones 8000, and the other's like 16000 (Jewler's rouge same stuff they polish diamond facets etc with :cool: ) Otherwise, lots and lots of elbow grease. You may want to check out http://www.micro-surface.com/ They make some of the finest grit abrasives known. Kinda pricey..but a lot cheaper than a benchgrinder and buffing wheel.

[fiendkuja]

hmm, should i go back to a rough grit sandpaper and work back up?

[fiendkuja]

i think ill start back around 600 and work up. i have 600, 800, and 1200 grit sandpaper and some more 3M sanding sponges. ill use those and i believe i know where i can get some stainless steel polish to finish the job.

one more question, will this process work on the stock black body rail too? it's aluminum correct?

[rpm07]

I did mine the easy way sent it to a crome shop paid $40.00 and had it cromed:)

[fiendkuja]

finished it off by lightly sanding it again with two more sanding sponges and polished it with "MAAS" creme.

this is her finally

[Dubstar112]

http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?postid=257238

http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=332840

http://www.automags.org/forums/attachment.php?s=&postid=332843[/url]

Polished my old mag. Theres some finger prints on it. Sweet though :((Shot excellent, Im kicking my self for selling it :()

[The Frymarker]

looks great fiend

Yours looks good too dubstar

[fiendkuja]

thanks. took a total of 5 hours work but it is well well worth it


(i did the barrel a matching shine)

[Rancid Milk]

Originally posted by fiendkuja
one more question, will this process work on the stock black body rail too? it's aluminum correct?
I'd like to know this too, I think it would work, but I'm not quite sure.

[FutureMagOwner]

well i did some sanding on the back block of my autococker to flatten it out so it wouldnt hit the body all weird and it does work sorta but it feels alot more grainy and would probably be much harder to get it to shine good without tools and or polish

[rikkter]

you can do it with the blavck body because on my back up mag where the macronline is it was resting against the top of the breech, and from playing, turning tank on and off, shooting, the hose would move of course (a little) and it wore of the black on that one area so.. and its chrome pretty much. so. yeah you can

[fiendkuja]

the black body and the black body rail are two different stories tho. the black body is stainless steel with a black coat, the rail is aluminum with a black coat. hmm, i think ill just order a chrome rail then

[rikkter]

well.. if you want to save your pennies, buy the original rail and polish that.. lol.. i did that to mine and damn.. you get a mirror finish VERY easily. i only used 320 grit and 600 then buffed it and its already a good finish, but i need to get some higher grit for my body, and then i'll do my **** benchy frame and rail again. and it'll look nice

[fiendkuja]

the stock black one? oh, and can you polish the black vert adapter?

[Mr.Minus]

hmm, i decided wanted to do polish my body so i took it and some brown stuff, it says 150 grit, put a little piece around the body and turned it a little in all directions so its uniform, it took my about 1 minute, im not kidding!, and it already looks a little shiny...
then i read this thread and doc said its better not to use the brown stuff....so....whats wrong with it?
also i had a few pieces or sanding paper....does anyone know if the measurments of grit are reveresed in europe, i think the paper is from when i still lived in holland, and the corser it got the lower it went, the 80 was definatley coarser than the 150

so should i got through all the steps with the black sandpaper at different grits, or is it not that important?
can i use the brown stuff???
i have some really strong chroming polsih my dad uses for his harley, that he says is pretty expensive, and he just said use that directly on the body...so ? if he wrong? should i go through all those steps or is it not that important???

also...can i just grab a piece of sandpaper and twist and turn it around body? or should i really cut the little strips and sand it down stroek by stroke?

thanks anwyays

Daniel

[Mossman]

Dude, the harley polish wont do anything until you have it at like 800 grit minimum. I dont know if there's a real problem with the regular paper but wet dry works better, lasts longer, and if you wet it theres less gross dust.

No, the grit goes the same way. High grits are getting towards paper, you're not working down from paper to the real gritty stuff, then you'd just have a horribly scratched body.

You need a lower grit to get the original gray/black coat off and get the finish sorta shiny. Then you work up like doc said until it's smooth enough to use some hand polish or a buffing wheel and buffing compound.

The end

[IcantBelieveit]

yea use wet/dry and use it wet b/c the dust will will turn in to a paste like and actually polish the body while you sand. and also do't stop at 800 grit go all the way up to 2000 grit, the higher the grit the less swirls you will have and the higher luster you will have, and use each grade of paper about 5-10 minutes before switching. believe me you stuff will be looking tough if you do this. and when you are done get some good quality polish and a polish wheel and polish the crap out of it. and sit back and enjoy the ::bling::

[FutureMagOwner]

dayung this is a thread from the grave!!!

[Mr.Minus]

yea :( ?
thats what searches do...

[ScatterPlot]

Here I go, pulling it out of the hole again but I wanted some info on something. First off I went to Home Depot today (cause all I read the first time was polish with something low to 1000 grit) and got some of each that they had, like 60 100 150 220 or around there. Well I did a little polishing today, maybe 20-30 mins or so and I got it to look pretty good, still not near done yet though. What I was wondering was if you could use a dremel to buff it with instead of a wheel. I got some little buffing discs that said they were about 300 something, and I was wondering if I could do the rouge thing to with them, or if there was another dremel head I could get without having to use a bench grinder and all. Thanks!

[minnimag]

I dunno the answers to the last post but this is a great thread, figured i'de save it considering im about to pollish my body :) Thanks Doc!