[cphilip]

Just a few minutes ago. Just can take flash inside pictures for now as its late at night but here it is. fresh 80 Grit Glass Beads. I also did the Leupold Scope mount as it was almost a Chrome finish even brighter than the gun.


The gun before... typical Ruger SS finish really.

Now, the same gun just after bead blasting and reassembly...

 

[Carry4MyFam]

That sure would look good on my 454 Super Redhawk Alaskan!!

 

[cphilip]

Its a great non-shiney finish for a hunter and easy enough to do but the taping off and cleaning and then more and more recleaning again is meticulous and tedious. Took me about 6 hours from start to finish but I also had never disassembled a Redhawk before either.

Now I want to do one in Norrell Molly resin... perhaps in a Semi Gloss Black even. It might be interesting.

 

[frankmako]

nice job. it is good to work with your hands. how well do you think it will hold up. let us know.

 

[Stevew]

I'll PM you address for shipping.

 

[cphilip]

Well there really is nothing to not hold up so I imagine it will be simple and permanen. It is simply the Stainless Steel that was there to begin with that is just faceted by the striking of the Glass Beads leaving a Pattern or dimpled roughness there. If you look real close you can see the texture it left. It is a fairly common finish applied to guns to clean them up and remove the shiney reflective surface.

I have used this finish as a base for Norrell before though and it makes a nice base to hold another finish as well.

 

[Harryball]

Very nice. I like the look of it. :smile:

 

[Blue Jacket]

I agree, the first thing I thought was what an excellent 'non-glare' finish for use in the woods and hunting. Very nicely done.

 

[cphilip]

Thats where I was going with it. This is a hunter set up.

 

[21bubba]

Curious to see what gun oil will do to it.

 

[cphilip]

Your basically seeing it that way.

When the pictures were taken it has been completely coated in oils (I use Ed's Red for cleaning and lubrication on everything) and also had been through the parts washer (a deodorized kero Aliphatic fluid) before you see it there. That step has to be done to clean any glass bead debris out of it and lubricate all the moving parts. Then the outer surfaces are wiped clean as can be done so again.

So at this point it has had a mixture of Aliphatic parts washer fliuds, Kerosene K1 or Bio Diesel, ATF, Acetone and in some strategic spots additional Gun oil all over and throught it then wiped clean with clean rags till dry.

 

[gilliland87]

That is a nice look

the gun really looks clean and utilitarian which is a good look. I think a lot of the people asking how it will hold up are not fully grasping that it is not a finish just bare stainless with the surface "scuffed" up to undo the factory polishing. I have a Winchester model70 that has the same type of treatment on the action and barrel. Over time high wear areas will smooth back out and get bright again but easy enough to touch up. Again nice work.

 

[cphilip]

the gun really looks clean and utilitarian which is a good look. I think a lot of the people asking how it will hold up are not fully grasping that it is not a finish just bare stainless with the surface "scuffed" up to undo the factory polishing. I have a Winchester model70 that has the same type of treatment on the action and barrel. Over time high wear areas will smooth back out and get bright again but easy enough to touch up. Again nice work.

That does appear to be a misconception.

And a Bead Blasted finish is available on some guns rather than polished. And was a often popular thing to do to a Shiny gun to remove its flash and reflection.

 

[Fishshavers]

very nice work

 

[TX-JB]

Great looking Redhawk... Great job...

 

[frank]

That looks good. I hate the shiny stainless look, I have been wanting to do my S&W 686.
What type of blasting equipment did you use?

 

[Bunny]

It's gorgeous! VERY nicely done!

 

[cphilip]

I am just using one of those cheaper Blasting cabinets like you can find at Tractor Supply (although mine came from some other vendor) with the Glass top and double glove front and a side opening.

And then I found that the Tractor Supply carries a Glass Bead media that they have marked as "80 Grit". Now... from what I can find out I don't think glass bead is rated in Grit so I think they may have meant Mesh or something. Whatever it is it is not very aggressive and leaves a nice pattern. . It would probably be about a #8 or #9 size or a Medium to Medium fine grit. And it looks like fine Sugar. Last fairly good. In this case I put fresh in because I did not want to risk embedding any foreign metal into the SS. But you really cannot screw up with this stuff, it is that gentle.

I first started using this Media on Aluminum motor cases and part and found it very gentle and more of a cleaning prepping sort of action. And very difficult to over do anything with. So from that I started using it on metals while building some AK kits I was building as prep for Norrell Molly resin and found it worked beautifully for that to. It would probably be about a #8 or #9 size or a Medium to Medium fine grit. And it looks like fine Sugar. Last fairly good. In this case I put fresh in because I did not want to risk embedding any foreign metal into the SS. But you really cannot screw up with this stuff, it is that gentle.

I am blasting at about 90 psi with it. I have my cabinet set up to ventilate to a HEPA Vacuum so the air does not get dusted and I put in an extra light into mine as my eyes are not what they used to be.