THE CONQUEROR

Hello to all;

Since I appreciate all the good information in these forums, I would like to share with you an easy way to polish you barrel. Some of you may already know this, but maybe some newer members like me will find this information very useful.

I wanted to polish the barrel because I replaced the guide rod for an aluminum one and the gun lost the color symmetry.

I will include sample picture of this procedure at a later date since I am planning in doing this for my P226. However, the pictures below are the final product on my SP2022.







Money spent doing this: $0.00

Things you will need:
- Plastic Cup, or container, to dip the barrel
- Distilled Vinegar
- 3M Blue dish washing sponge. Note: Pink or blue, these sponges are for delicate dishes and will not scratch the surface 3M US: Product Catalog:*Delicate Care Scrub Sponge
- Liquid dishwashing soap
- Rubber gloves
- Dremel with polishing wheel
- Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish - Mothers® Mag & Aluminum Polish

Estimated time for completion: 3 ½ hours

1- Place the barrel into the plastic cup or container of your choice and fill it up with vinegar, the vinegar helps remove the black finishing paint from the barrel. Let it soak for at least 2 hours.

2- After 2 hours, you will see what looks like rust but is not. Take the barrel and wash it with hot water from the faucet, liquid soap and a 3M blue dish washing sponge. Please wear gloves while using the hot water from the faucet. The barrel will look gray, but not shiny yet.

3- Dry the barrel with soft cloth or paper towel.

4- Once dry, apply Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish with a cloth directly to the surface of the barrel. By doing this you will avoid putting the Dremel’s polishing wheel into the clean Mothers compound. Note: Do not attempt to “scoop” the Mothers compound with the Dremel’s polishing wheel while the Dremel is on, very messy.

5- Use the Dremel with the polishing wheel along the surface where the paste was applied. Clean regularly with a soft cloth and apply more “mothers” as necessary. You will see immediately that beautiful shine. Keep doing this until you’re satisfied with the result.

6- When you’re done with the polishing, use the standard procedure to clean the barrel before installation into the slide.

7- Enjoy and show it to your friends.

*PLEASE NOTE*
There is no use of sandpaper.
There is no use of abrasive chemicals (like the orange polishing paste from the Dremel)

The Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish is very soft and is so good that I was able to do this with a battery powered Dremel. And believe me, the battery in this type of Dremel is not the best.

This process took me 3 and a half hour to complete.

*Do at your own risk!!!

Kenny D

Good info. Thanks.
Not to be a smarty pants or anything here but I doubt your barrel is aluminum.

THE CONQUEROR

Huh... I think you're correct. I think is stainless steel...

Edited: removed "aluminum"

drshame

Won't you still get "smileys" from shooting?
Would you also polish the slide where the barrel protrudes?

bearone2

sounds like you had fun doing this & thanks for posting but i like that black coating to get an idea of how much it's been fired.

Kenny D

You would still get smileys, but they would be less noticable. More of a change in the surface finish.

Sgt Ed

I notice you do not plug the bore. A 2 hour soak in vinegar ought to be good for that and in particular a change in the molecular make up of the bore.Heat is not the only thing that will change metal properties. I WOULD SUGGEST PLUGGING THE BORES AND KEEPING AWAY FROM THE RAMP.

bearone2

very true, it's hard to see on my 220 sport n, no pic with the slide back to see on the non black barrel.

Attached Images

My 220 Sport Stock2.jpg (89.2 KB, 42 views)

THE CONQUEROR

I chose to do it because the gun lost the color symmetry after replacing the guide rod.

Please don’t take me wrong as I do not intend to engage into an argument or to sound disrespectful to any SigTalk member.

But, many manufacturers recommend vinegar as the first choice for stainless steel cleaning.
–Just do a quick search in Google.

SigSauer barrels are made from hammer forged billet materials. A bath in distilled vinegar is not likely to bend, deform or compromise the integrity of the barrel.

When I polished the barrel with my battery powered dremel, I used the slowest speed and you would not believe how easy it was to get it to shine.

This was a breeze to do, although I must admit that I was a little concerned about being able to make it shine. But the Mothers Polishing was highly effective.

Very important, I did not use sand paper or any other abrasive dremel attachments. I did this and there are no scratches or marks.

silversport

That's one fine looking pistol...bearone

Bill

jcraven

I just finished doing this to my 250sc so the barrel would match the factory guide rod I didn't use a dremel, just good old elbow grease and that blue scotch brute. It has the same look of the guide rod. I did plug the barrel with some ear plugs, wasn't sure if it was or wasn't good for the inside. It looks nice, I'm happy.

IMAG0050.jpg

IMAG0051.jpg


Thanks

THE CONQUEROR

Good

Don't you feel that the gun looks sexier? LoL

Good job.

jcraven

Yes I think it improves the look. I think I will also do the take down pin and the slide stop, maybe the mag release too, if I feel ambitious.

Palmer

I've taken the black off several barrels using vinegar but I heard to only let it soak for no longer than 20 mins due to vinegar being an acid. They all came clean after with a light scrubbing with an old toothbrush.

Just my experience, your mileage may vary.

bearone2

thank you

Sgt Ed

Palmer,you hit the nail on the head about the vinegar being an acid and that is the point I tried to make with my first post. Think I'll give it a try uning a non grit metal polish with ammonia in it . I have some Lucas polish to try.

Dozer

It looks nice but, this can be done in about 10 or 15 minutes and no vinegar is used.
I have a buff jack and buff and polish all types of metals and plastics. This makes very quick work of making things shiney.

slingshot

I agree, white vinegar works well removing rust and will etch ferrous metals, I'm not sure about its effect on AL or SS, and leave a textured surface. You would not want this on the inside of your bore. As sarge suggests, plugging the bore on both ends before doing any dipping makes good preventive care.

BlueSilver03

What stops the now bare metal barrel from rusting after the process and "THE CONQUEROR" thanks for sharing your hard work.

majorhavoc

Don't get me wrong: To each their own.

Call me old fashioned, but my Sig wears the proud patina of honest use.

You can tell my Sig's been shot early and often. And that's the way I like it.