Fixing Blemished Bead Blasting

[frontlander]

Say that 3 times really fast. Seriously, I have a Smith and Wesson 629-2 Mountain Gun with bead blasted finish. The gun has a 1/8" scratch on the left side of the frame. On a brushed finished gun I would probably just polish it out with a little 600 grit sandpaper. Is there a fix that I can do without re-beadblasting? George, What is the going rate on beadblasting? Would you have to do the entire gun or can you spot treat it? Also, Is it just me or does the stainless steel on the late 80's Smith and Wessons seem softer than the stainless steel used on the more current models?

 

[George Stringer]

Frontlander, you need to polish the scratch out with 240 grit polish or paper, follow with 320 grit, then bead blast the area to match the rest of the gun. In most cases you wouldn't need to blast the complete pistol. Depending on the amount of polishing involved I'd say $30 for touch-up to maybe $75 for the complete pistol in most shops. George

 

[DeBee]

You may have heard this before but...

I have pretty good luck with ScotchBrite pads.

They come in maroon (coarse), green (medium), and grey (fine).

They can't really remove gouges-- you'll need files and paper for that but it's the clean up after the paper-- I hand buff in one direction only using a striking type swipe. Blends the finish well on most stainless.