Is the gunsmith full of it???

I have a S&W Sigma .40 . i am fairly new to handguns and i was wondering since the slide on my sigma is stainless steel , even though it is a matte finish , could it be sanded and polished out to a nice shine. So i called 2 local gun stores and fords custom gun refinishing in FL got a few different answers. The first place i called the gunsmith wasnt in but the guy i talked to said he has never seen one done but he wouldnt see why you couldnt. The second guy talked to said that it could be done he told me to call back and talk to the gunsmith a little later to see if it was something they could do there or not. So abouth an hour later i called back and he basically told me he couldnt understand why i would want to do that and he said that it cant be done. He went on to say that if anyone said that they could do it they would be full of it and if i did have it done it would mess up the gun. So i then asked him if having it plated would be a better option . He again said it would " change the dynamics of the gun and mess it up". He even went as far as to say the he could understand me want to do it if i was a " different color " . After making that remark I said thank you for your time and goodbye. I then called fords custom gun refinishing and talked to them and they said they could do it and it would run about $100. So my question is the gunsmith i talked to full of it? When I talked to him he kind of seem like a jacka** but who knows. I just wanted to ask what you guys thought and if anyones knows 100% if it can be done or not. Thanks

Either he was full of it, misunderstood what you were asking about, or didn't want to invest his time in your project. Either way, you got a reasonable quote from one of the most respected gun finish shops in the country, so why bother with Bubba the gun smith?

yeah thats what i thought when i called fords and the told me that. I guess the main thing i was looking for was if it could be done then i wanted to see if a gun shop in my area could do it or refer me to someone who could locally before i sent it to another state for a month.

Some people's idea that, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" can go a little too far. Sounds like he just couldn't understand why you would want to do something that he wouldn't do to his own gun.

THe finish on a stainless Sigma is just bead blasted. Just like the finish on the top of the chamber. You can work that finish off but I don't think you will get the high polish you might be looking for.I've seen them done that looked almost lik a hard chrome job. Shiny but not mirror shiny.

I know several people that own one that they have dura-coated to look any way they want it.

So I'll have to say that the gunsmith rather didn't understand what you wanted or just didn't want to work on such a cheap gun. There are many that look at the price as a direct reflection of the weapon. This is not always the case and especially is not with the Sigma line. While inexpensive they are pretty good weapons. The triggers are not the best but there are ways to deal with it but that's another thread that has been answered many times.

thanks for the feedback guys. do you guys think that the price from fords was reasonable? are there any other places to check out. they are the only ones i have talked to

My thinking is that local "bubba" (and not all locals are bubba's) didn't want to do it for some reason or wasn't sure how it would turn out - so he didn't want to try it.

I've never hard Ford's work on my own gun, but they have a good reputation and $100 sounds about right to me.

Let us know how it turns out if you do it.

:smt1099

It can be done. Even by an amateur....... http://handgunforum.net/showthread.php?t=21545

Look at post #12 for pics.

Good luck!

thanks for the pics man. it looked pretty good! how would one go about sanding around the sights?

Carefully. Remove them if you can. Don't sand on the sights either, they are most likely not stainless.

Keep everything flat while you sand. Don't just use your finger, you need some type of "block" behind the paper. If you get a chance, read the entire post I linked earlier.

In the end it was TOO shiny IMO.

Thanks! I read up until the pics I will read the rest of the post when I get home this afternoon. What finish did you end up putting on it web you sent it off? And did you ever sand the top off the slide or did you just sticks to the side of it.

I sent it to CCR for Cera-Hide (www.ccrrefinishing.com)

I only did the sides because the top is rounded. I didn't have a way to sand it flat.

BTW, since you don't have any finish to remove you could start with 600 grit or finer.

Thanks for the tip! The only thing that is keeping me from jumping into it is the fact that the slide on the sigma has rounded edges. I'm just wondering since there is not really a sharp breaking point would it look funny if I did only the sides of the slide

You never know until you try.:mrgreen:

I know I am repeating myself here, but KEEP IT FLAT when you sand it.

If you screw up just have it bead blasted.

well guys i dove in to it tonight.. it actually was alot harder that i thought it would be . i worked on one side of the slide for a 2-3 hours. i still need to goo over it with something really fine to get all the fine scratches out . but here are some pics

When it started ...

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255584783.jpg


2-3 hrs later

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255584755.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255584725.jpg
http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255584698.jpg


let me know what you guys thnk. i was also wondering if it would be a good idea to use a dremel tool with a buffing end and some jewler rogue ? what do you guys think?

Looks nice:smt1099

After you get over the initial shock it's not so bad huh? Looks good!

How do your fingers feel today?? :yawinkle:

The fingers actually don't feel all that bad today. The only thing I'm to really happy with is the stainless is just a tad uneven when it was stamped so there is a slight dimple but it not anything that really makes me want to change it. I'm gonna go pick up some jewlers rogue tody and see what that does

Looks like you've done a good job.

I like it. :smt023

:smt1099

well i finished it up tonight. i gt about 5-6 hrs in samding and polishing. Started off with 800 grit then went to 1000 grit and finished it of with 1500. then i used my dremel and some rogue and polished it up. its not perfect but i am still very happy with the way it came out. Also does anyone know if ther is any polish that will help keep the scratches off the polished stainless? let me know what you guys think

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255660480.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255660511.jpg

http://i117.photobucket.com/albums/o...1255660547.jpg

Nice job man! I gotta hand it too ya, I'd never try that myself. But I have a short attention span, and I think I would get sick of it really quick, therefore end up doing a lot of work with the final result taking it over to Todd at CustomCreations. LOL

I did that same thing to my Sigma a few years ago. The pictures may still be lingering around here somewhere. I also did some grip stippling and mag well cut outs as well, then later finished the slide with a mat black Dura-Coat finish. That gun has been through a lot over the past 5 years but in all that time and all of the projects it has been through in remains 100% reliable and plenty accurate.

Thanks for the comments guys. I took the gun to my dads house today and buffed it with his buffing wheel. i took all the pics with my iphone so they dont do the gun justice. i will try and take some pics tonight with my digital camera and post them up.