Scratch removal from gun slides
 

Hey, i have a SD OPS MRP silver slide... When i got it, there were several scratches on it. Anyone have any conservative measures in removing the scratches beside sanding? I dont want to sand it unless if i have to.

Don't look at it and just use the gun for it's intended gaming purpose?

Yeah i know.. I get that alot... Im sure ppl here know that im more of a collector than gamer :( Everytime when i look at my gun, i just see the scratches... it drives me up the wall..

you could try fine airbrushing, automotive scratch fillers, some handy brushing, but that truly depends on the depth of the scratch. To get the best possible finish, it would be a good idea to sandblast all the paint and refinish it. Especially if you're into collecting more than gaming.

from personal experience my airbrush has dine me very well, I use a badger Crescendo 175, with the fine flow control filling scratches, scuffs and bumps its like they never happened.

If its a deep scratch and you still don't want to sand it, use bondo, cover the scratch, level it out and sand just the bondo then continue painting

edit: I missed the fact it was silver, could try automotive polish if its chromed, if its brushed.. well, thats just difficult

same here.... :S

Ahh thanks for all your suggestions!

1. Where do you get automative scratch filler / polish from? Wouldn't it be difficult to get the same color as my slide?

2. I have an Iwata airbrush where it has a dual contrl for the intensity of the spray. My scratches are not very deep (very superficial in my opinion, check our pics below). How do you spray in only the scratches? Do you just spray it in, and they rub off the excess? Which silver color would u recommend?

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3260.jpg
http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3262.jpg

Ooo, yeah, scratches really annoy me too. That's going to be tough to repair completely because of the brush finish on the metal. :(

SD Polish.... :(

But is there any "protector" we could use to protect the Polishing from scratches?

I think since its brushed, the only way is to sand it gradually..

GOoD NEWS! I finally grew the balls to sand my slide.. Look at the pic above, u see all those tiny scratches? Well i removed them all :) I used 2000 grid sandpaper and soaked it.. i gently and carefully sanded in 1 direction....based on my experiences, i would NOT use anything less than 2000 grid unless if your scratch is very deep.

EDIT: it looks even shinier now too :)

by one direction...can i go for exemple "back and forth" or is that considered in 2 directions?

You can, but by going back and forth, its harder to make a straight stroke when sanding. I usually go one direction and do it slowly so that its more straight.. the slower i do it, the straight it is. I usually position my hands so i get the best results... remmeber, sand it SLOWLY, dont sand it furious, and dont forget to add water.... all my scratches are not even covered up, they are GONE. forever

nice! thx for the tips!

ull be amazed at the results.. tell me how it goes!!

but what is the water for?

The water helps to prevent the sandpaper from being too abrasive. It gives a nice wet scrub as oppose to a dry scrub which can cause more scratches..The water almost acts as a lubricant

okay here's an idea, take some steel wool, or a rough green scratch pad and re-finish the brushed finish. Only problem is you'll have to refinish all of it if you want it to look the same, and getting it to look good would be rather difficult

i think the steel wool or the rough green scratch is too rough

well, it depends on the finish. But the 2000 grit with water seems a great idea. Too bad my M14 is the ugliest rifle you've ever set eyes on

Actually, using WD40 works much better than water. Also, I find that it works much better only going in one direction. It's easier if you staple your sandpaper to a block of wood and use it to sand down the metal. When it comes to sanding like this, I swear, I think I have OCD or something, but I get absolutely pissed if there are any slanted brush marks. It's easier for this slide since it's pretty small. But when you're trying to give a large plate of metal a brush finish by hand, it gets ANNOYING.

Oh, also the liquid (water or WD40) helps keep the dust and crap down. Sanding will get VERY dusty. Personally, I don't want to inhale all that crap! :P

meh...just aluminium particules....thats nothing....NOT...lol


BTW: @Turok.....It works!!!! managed to get all those scratches off my SD slide! wooooooot!!!! thx again! :)

Actually, yeah I was thinking about stabilizing a piece of sandpaper on a piece of wood. I found it helpful when i just slide my finger along with the sandpaper parallel to the slide. It helps me to sand straight I guess. I was polishing my slide over and over until the strokes were all even and parallel. I have OCD too when it comes to aesthetics :)

+1 .....same here....

Here are some pics that I took when i resanded my slide, and here are the results. I used 2000 grit sandpaper mounted on a small block and i gently sanded the slide until it was perfect

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3378.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3377.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3375.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3376.jpg

Beautiful, Turok!!!

Want to get more bling? Buy polishing compound, a old t shirt, and start rubbing the slide. You'll see some bling results.

what polishing compound did u use

This one is amazing, got it at CT

http://www.drillspot.com/pimages/2943/294306_300.jpg

I think my dad has some polishing stuff for his car.. Can i use that too?

Good idea. No such thing as too much bling! :D

http://www.lifelounge.com/resources/...tail_image.jpg

Depends what it's made for, if it's that kinda turtlewax sorta thing for polishing the car itself it mght not work as well as something designed for polishing shiny metals such as chrome.

Check this out boys. This is the stock TM slide catch which was originally black. I used 320 grit, 1000 grit followed by 2000 grit with water and sanded every crevice of this thing.. I then used some liquid wax as a finish and scrubbed like in small circles like crazy. The whole process took me around 2 hours. Check out how it looks:

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3903.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3902.jpg

Too bad it's going to turn grey very soon if you don't seal it with a clear coat. Not even sure if it would last. lol

Put it all back together and take some pics! I want to see how the entire thing looks.

Your wish is my command.. I also used liquid wax for my slide and its practically a mirror now

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3920.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3916.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3915.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3912.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3909.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3908.jpg

http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h1...t/IMG_3907.jpg

Ive got some oxidation remover

Wow...nerdgasm..

That looks AMAZING. I'm jealous. :(

But I see some slightly slanted brush marks. Maybe it's the angle though. Still bugs me but got to admit, it looks amazing!

Oh, also, just a suggestion. Sometimes it's not good to use too high of a grid of sandpaper if you really want a good brush finish look. When you use one really high like 2000, it becomes more mirror-y, like you said. But it all depends on what you want.

Not sure if that will work, but are you willing to do that every time it oxidizes? (Which will be pretty often?). It would be easier to just coat the pieces.

OMG. This reminds me of this story of when my brother was working at Sports Wheels in N.S. and some kid came in with wheels for his skateboard that were scratched and asked if he could get decals to replace the scratched logo on the wheel. I laughed.. kind of like complaining you're going to scratch your trucks. "I don;t wan't to scratch my trucks"


Some of the parts on my rifles i've full finished. Meaning i made it look used and abused. As an example i got a mount that was green then i painted it black then let it dry and then sanded the rough edges.. Looks dope.. Maybe try roughing up your gun giving it a full finish look..

There you go!!! gangster

I was just about to say something regarding how polishing your hammer, grip safety and safety levers looked retarded... but there you go. Bling and then some! Nice work. Now... just install all the internals and you're done!

Am I right on that one? It looks like your trigger isn't connected to the stirrup, lol.

Actually it is.. i sanded the inside where the trigger comes out too much so now u can see a tiny gap.....

i clear coated my slide catch.. im debating whether i should clear coat the slide too..

All in all it looks pretty badass bro.. Cool shit!!