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Thread: Can U Polish Al frames...

  1. #1

    Default Can U Polish Al frames...

    .. to make them look like SS?

    And before you start on me, it's for my wife. She just got her CCW and likes the S&W Ladysmith airweight but isn't thrilled about the brushed AL frame.

    Thanks.


  2. #2
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    The reason for the brushed finish is probably to hide the scratches of daily use. Once you shine that frame up it will show every mark and holster scuff of every grin of dust that comes in contact with it.

    You might check with local machine shops and see if anyone offers andonizing services. That is how the manufacturers put the coatings of various colors, even 'bluing", on aluminum frames.

    An aluminum frame can not be hot blued like regular steel, they are actually andonized black.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  3. #3

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    Thanks. I'm going to quote that first sentence to her.


    I know she isn't going to go for putting any money into it after she buys it. We have a good gunsmith down here though. The retail shops use him.


    I'll throw out the S&W 357 mag (again) for her consideration if she just can't get around brushed al.

  4. #4
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    Aluminum with no finish is a very soft alloy. That was a big worry back when they first came out in the '50s and '60.

    Even the S&W 39 with its hard andonized finish was subject to chips and scrapes. I traded my first one off for that reason. That and it was a 9mm and I wanted a real gun. I traded it for a satin nickel Combat Commander, which I owned for a decade.

    I think they coat the S&W with something and brush it and that is not just bare brushed aluminum. Polishing it might take off that protective coating.

    Tell your wife that I have been carrying one of the brushed aluminum S&W shorties, a 642, for nearly five years and it holds up well to daily use. Mine lives in a holster that can be removed from the belt and returned easily and it is one of my two principal daily carry guns and the one I favor for pocket carry. My only complaint with it is that it lacks an exposed hammer, and that was my bad decision and no fault of the gun.

    I would carry it all the time but occasionally when there is one of those "mass terror attacks" somewhere I get antsy about only 5 shots and change to my flatter, higher capacity auto. 7 shots instead of five. After a few days I get tired of toting that weight and think, "why am I doing this, I have not seen a terrorist in two or three days?" and change back to the lighter, more comfortable .38
    Last edited by kyratshooter; 02-28-2019 at 12:45 PM.
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

  5. #5

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    That what she's looking at, the 642. Found one today for $359.00 new. She's going to go look at it on her way home. Now I have to find some good looking wood grips jic.

  6. #6

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    most anodizing is just a dye, but it's possible to harden it somehow, cause some tank armor is hard-anodized aluminum. I believe that Ruger used to claim that their blackhawk revolver was made out of such stuff, dunno if it was so then or now?

  7. #7

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    She decided she could live with the al. frame (after a few weeks of carrying it she likes it now). She chose the S&W 642 Ladysmith with wood grips. After carrying my holsters with various guns, she found the paddle holster and my 1911 (!) to be the most comfortable despite the weight. I ordered a DeSantis paddle holster in leather. She loves it. So now she is just experimenting with clothing that will work.

    Thanks for all the comments.

  8. #8

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    when it's time to get really fast repeat hits on a man's chest at 10 ft and less, with full power ammo, she'll like a Sig P938 a lot better than any .38 snub, much less an alloy framed one. Add the Galloway Precision trigger with an overtravel stop and the lighter mainspring for ccw. I'd either use wussy reloads with it or install the full power mainspring for shooting normal 9mm ammo in it. and maybe both. None of the mini-9's is all that durable and the aluminum framed ones are the least so. Get the luminous sighted version. I dont care for the flat face of the Galloway, so I ground and serrated it to match a normal trigger's concave face.
    Last edited by highlo; 04-23-2019 at 09:14 AM.

  9. #9

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    There are commercial products out there that can be use to polish alum. My wife was looking for some just last week. Years ago, one could procure a product called "Never Dull" it was used in the aviation field to polish aircraft to a bright luster. Don't know if it's still on the market.
    Last edited by Boanerges; 04-23-2019 at 07:12 PM. Reason: grammer

  10. #10
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    Nev'r Dull is still around, try some of the larger Truck stops. Truckers still use it to polish wheels and fuel tanks. I use it on my Aluminum truck toolbox

  11. #11

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    Thanks. She went with the S&W Ladysmith in a DeSantis paddle holster. She's liking it.

  12. #12
    Senior Member kyratshooter's Avatar
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    I switch guns around so much that I generally use a paddle holster or inside the belt holster that snaps in place. I will also switch out depending on the conditions and destination.

    Then I also have the little P3At that I generally drop into a pocket with the lose change.

    Guns don't get mad at you if you love more than one at a time!
    If you didn't bring jerky what did I just eat?

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