Cleaning Up SS Finish

[FPrice]

Will Flitz help restore the shine to a stainless steel finish? I have a couple of SS guns, some of which have areas of "dullness". Any suggestions on how to restore the shine?

Thanks.

 

[lycanthrope]

It depends on how smooth you want. I'd think Flitz would polish stainless to a high degree. Most of my guns are satin or brushed so I use steel wool, Skotch Brite pads or wet/dry sandpaper. I went up to 2000 grit wet/dry (found at your local Auto Parts store) to mirror the sides of my Kimber 1911.

 

[larryf1952]

I use Flitz and a soft T-shirt or toothbrush to get the powder fouling off the sides and face of my revolver cylinders...after I remove the cylinder from the yoke. I'm not sure if it adds any "extra" polishing effect to stainless, but it sure doesn't seem to hurt it. The guns come out looking like they've never been fired, except for some very slight flash rings at the chamber mouths. I'd say give it a try.

 

[R.H. Lee]

I use some stuff called Sheila Shine. It cleans up the stainless pretty good and leaves a protective coating.

 

[JNewell]

What kind of finish? High gloss needs something like Simichrome or Flitz. Brushed finishes need usually a red or gray Scotchbrite.

 

[FPrice]

JNewell...

What kind of finish?

It's the standard S&W bright finish. I tried some Flitz and that worked pretty well.

 

[Walt Sherrill]

The "Lead Away" (and similar chemically-treated) cloths clean up the powder and lead residue from the front of the cyclinder on stainless, nickel and chrome guns quickly and easily. Just buy one of the handkerchief-sized cloths, and cut off small pieces, as needed.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I've found it difficult to match so-called "brushed" finishes on stainless steel. I've had the best success with green 3M dish washing pads and practice on a revolver's grip frame beneath the stocks.

The best solution to the problem is to have the gun bead blasted: it's uniform if done well, and minor scratches never show. I've had excellent success with the velvet finish from http://magnaport.com although it's neither inexpensive nor fast.

 

[P95Carry]

A small point re a mention earlier of use of steel wool - that is not recommended by many - because of the possibility of miniscule fragments of the steel wool remaining ''micro-embedded'' in the SS ... these can then rust and act as corrosion foci.