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.


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 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.

[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.