Newbish Polishing Question

[Azuki]

Hey guys,

I have no experience with working with metal and could use your help. I was looking at some pics of some other GBBs and noticed some had a polished/chrome plated looking finish.

Example is the midframe of this:


I was wondering if there was a way of polishing my frame/parts to have the same finish. The metal parts of my GBB seem to have a powdercoat finish or something, giving them a matte look. Also I believe that they are cast parts and still have a few mold imperfections I'd like to buff out. I'm not sure what metal they used.

Pics:




Cutting to the chase:
- How do I know if I can polish the metal?
- What do I use to polish the parts?
- Is it possible to polish small parts (mag catch, trigger, etc.)?
- How do I polish in the small nooks and crannies?
- What kind of file should I use for buffing out mold lines?
- And will polishing off the coating affect the tolarances, durability or cause rust?

Thanks for the help guys.

[m102404]

Don't do it. Check out the mess I've made with my race gun and it'll be all you'll need to see to convince you that it's not worth it (also...boredom is a bad thing and will get you into trouble every time...).

If you absolutely must do it. Dremel tool and a buffing wheel is all you need. Fine sandpaper (800-1600 grit) maybe.

But...Don't do it.

[Azuki]

Originally Posted by m102404

the mess I've made with my race gun and it'll be all you'll need to see to convince you that it's not worth it

Is that the one you normally shoot at CAPS with the compensator? Got pics??

[ILLusion]

If it's die-casted it's most likely zinc-aluminum alloy.

It's soft and easy to work with and easy to buff... but the huge problem with it is that it oxidizes very easily. It doesn't "rust" in the same way iron oxidizes in to a reddish-brown rust.

High grade aluminum alloy can pick up a powdery white oxidation that makes the part look dull shortly after polishing it.
Zinc-Aluminum picks up a dark grey/black oxidation.

I've been doing a lot of research in to the fine details lately, because all the parts I've polished in the past haven't stayed polished for more than a month. If you re-buff the part every month, you're going to end up with a huge mess in a year due to the amount of material removed.

If you really want to maintain the polished finish, you'll need to either anodize the part after polishing (that's the best method) or find a clearcoat sealant. There are some aluminum-specific sealants that will maintain a finish.



All metals can be polished. Depending on the material, that will affect which tools you use, but the process is almost always the same - using an abrasive to remove material a layer at a time. Starting with harder grits to remove the most material and moving to finer grits to smooth it out. The "polished" look comes from a very smooth surface.

Wet-dry sanding is the most common method but can be uneven because you're doing it by hand. This method is suitable for most applications. You aren't removing much material anyways. However, on a very square and true object, you will notice imperfect flat sanding at edges and corners when doing it by hand.

To polish, you can either use some liquid polishing compound that you can find at Canadian Tire (such as Brasso or something more material specific) or I prefer using a Dremel tool, polishing wheel, buffing wheel and Dremel No. 421 Polishing Compound.

As for getting in to the small nooks and crannies, you just have to do it by hand. And yes, it's possible to polish the small parts, but be careful about the amount of material removed. Polishing parts will make it smaller and thus, looser and more wobbly once fitted.

[m102404]

No pics...I'll have it with me Tuesday and then at the Tourney.

Don't do it.

My parts looked great...then faded grey-ish. I reblacked with gun-bluing solution, results were so-so.

Stock TM parts (i.e. black controls) are coated in a black powder coat/dusting. Easily buffed off...but don't do it in bed or your wife gets really mad.

Polished chrome parts typically have a copper coating underneath...if you leave any traces of that...you'll end up with a shiny piece with hints/tones of copper in it...which will then darken to grey with hints/tones of copper in it. Which after you re-blue it...you end up with a dark black piece with hints/tones of copper in it. What a f*cking eyesore.

I'm just shy of spray painting the controls and letting them wear normally...

Did I mention....Don't do it!

[Azuki]

Yea... I'm starting to think it won't be worth it. Thanks for the advice. Remind me to take a good look at your set up :P.

[Shirley]

It won't be worth it. Done it to my stock frame and controls. The controls quickly turned grey/bronze burnt look.

My frame, I'm surprised it didn't turned out quickly as my controls, the frame is a bit dull chromey look, but it shows a bit of yellowish, and in order to get it maximum shine, you'd have to polish it very often.
So for me, it's better to purchase a new frame.

For you, you should leave it and upgrade that plastic slide and get yourself some mags. lol

[RacingManiac]

That first pic of the WA you posted is likely a electro-plated finish, which means it'll be hard to duplicate yourself anyway. As said most pot-metal used in stock GBB can indeed be polished, but they won't stay shiny for any prolong period of time, while aftermarket aluminum accessory can also be polished if you want, but they will also eventually go dull. Aluminum is also quite soft and polished bare alumninum surface picks up scratches very easily. Which is why anodizing is generally preferred as they are much tougher.....

[AznDrgn]

I've recently bought a kjw glock 23 from the classifieds, pre-polished, but the slide still has some residual dark streaks on it. Any way to get rid of this?

Thanks.

[ILLusion]

Wet/dry sandpaper

[LUTNIT]

Chrome spray paint!