Yet another Colt 1911, in relief

[GTJC460]

I did this one to a little higher standard of shading and in relief. Stainless, high polish.

 

[dlilazteca]

did you polish it?

 

[Dulltool]

Carlos..... It's Stainless steel.

 

[JJ Roberts]

Bert,Looking real nice,keep up the good work. J.J.

 

[GTJC460]

Thanks you JJ

 

[Lonestarr]

I see a lot of stainless in satin finish .......... I would say it has a custom finish to get that high gloss .....Maybe Bert will tell us????

Bob

 

[dlilazteca]

Carlos..... It's Stainless steel.

Not all stainless is high polish. heres an example, this started as matte as the top a stainless colt slide the top part, and now look at it. Customer loved it, polishing is an art, still learning but getting better.

Saludos,
Carlos

 

[Donny]

Not all stainless is high polish. heres an example, this started as matte as the top a stainless colt slide the top part, and now look at it. Customer loved it, polishing is an art, still learning but getting better.

Saludos,
Carlos

Did you polish this? If yes how did go about it? Grit levels? and why no video yet? Did you need to use a polishing wheel?

Donny

 

[Donny]

I did this one to a little higher standard of shading and in relief. Stainless, high polish.

Did you polish this? If yes how did go about it? Grit levels? Did you need to use a polishing wheel?

Donny

 

[dlilazteca]

Donny, yes I did this under the direct supervision of a 4th generation gunsmith, that guy has more tricks up his sleeve than Hudini himself. A 30 min video is not enough. Its not only the grits that are important but how you do it, each metal will speak to you, do you go grits number by grit number do you skip a few, angles it really should be a class grs should offer.

Always keeping in mind that your edges always remain true and crisp.

Saludos,
Carlos

 

[Sam]

The art in polishing is as much (or more if you ask me) in maintaining crisp edges and corners as it is a smooth and shiny (or satin) finish. True exhibition grade engraved guns have many hours of tedious hand finishing to bring them up to standards for high grade engraving.

 

[Brian Marshall]

Shiny, sparkly guns make you a good target by indicating your position (day or night)... and show scratches better.

They can also spook game from a distance if it is a rifle.

I would never own one. JMO


Brian

 

[Donny]

Shiny, sparkly guns make you a good target by indicating your position (day or night)... and show scratches better.

They can also spook game from a distance if it is a rifle.

I would never own one. JMO


Brian

I cannot dispute anything you have stated here. But I do feel as an engraver I should know "how" to do a great job of polishing a weapon prior to the engraving. One of the avenues I would like to pursue is taking "less than well cared for" weapons and bringing them back to life. So this skill set is kinda something I'm very interested in. And I hate outsourcing things I can learn to do.

Donny

 

[Lonestarr]

Hi Carlos It sounds like your polishing after you cut the line....I am a guessing that Bert did the hi polish before he did his cutting and then used a jewelers rouge to final polish it....What say Mr Carlos?????

Bob

 

[Brian Marshall]

Yes Donny, absolutely right - polishing is a skill that can be very valuable... for things that work well all shiny and sparkly - like jewelry... and even some gun parts.

I just stated that I personally wouldn't own a shiny firearm. I was born and raised in California, but there's not a drop of Hollywood blood in me!

I have polished a few gun parts over the years as part of a job, but usually only when I can't talk 'em out of it.

Knives & swords are another matter entirely. If you are close enough to draw a shiny blade it isn't gonna matter as much...


Polishing skills are quite different for silver, platinum and all the different kinds of steel and stainless steel.

There is no one method that'll work well for all of 'em.

Different steps, different compounds and sometimes different phases of the moon seem to work better.

Platinum, depending on the alloy - can be a real PITA...


Brian

 

[Haraga.com]

Yes Donny and Bob polishing is probably the most important step of any project. Even on this forum I have seen several nicely engraved pieces totally ruined because poor polishing. More so on the jewelry than the guns. It seems like some people get it and some don't. Bottom line, pay attention to detail. Remember that people would rather not see a dress on a pig.

 

[dlilazteca]

Hi Carlos It sounds like your polishing after you cut the line....I am a guessing that Bert did the hi polish before he did his cutting and then used a jewelers rouge to final polish it....What say Mr Carlos?????

Bob

No, dont polish after, always before. Ok to touch up, but main polish is done before.

Saludos,
Carlos

 

[GTJC460]

Whether one likes it or not, is irrelevant. There's a large audience of buyers of this type of look out there. The polish can make or break an engraving job, just as much as good design and execution. There's a variety of tricks out there to use to get the firearm looking this way. Most of them just need to be figured out.

Polishing Stainless is different than a carbon steel gun as is polishing jewelry metals. However, with experience, one can take bits and pieces from one to another and get a method that works well for you.

Having engraved quite a few of the Colt custom 38 supers in bright stainless steel, I can tell you that colt puts an incredible finish on those guns, AND ITS NOT DONE BY HAND.

For what it worth, this gun came to me in this bright condition.

 

[Beathard]

I've done about 70 of the Colt Bright Stainless finished guns. I am scared to death on every single one. One slip and you have alot of work on your hands. One hint: Mothers Chrome Polish.

 

[Haraga.com]

Does anybody use Matchless Green on stainless?