Polishing stones - Discussion.

[Tok36]

Hay all i am looking to gain some perspective on polishing stones. Up to this point i have been using a range of high grit sand paper along with a Dremel and polishing compound for all of my CZ action polishing. For certain jobs i intend to acquiring a few polishing stones but i have never used one.

What polishing stones in what grade and size are you guys using? I was thinking about a larger one for flat surface work like the P-09 trigger bar and a few smaller ones for experimenting with sear angles or hard to reach areas. How many grades of stone are needed for good polish work?

Are there any other supplys needed to use with polishing stones?

Thank you for any input!

[ThompsonCustom]

Hmmm I'm sure stones would be handy for some things but I've always had wonderful luck with sand paper. I have paper up to 5k grit than I switch to buffing wheels on a bench grinder for 8k and finally 15k grit polish.

[mkd]

I have used some of the stones that come with my lansky sharpening system. Especially the white ceramic one. I also have a small Arkansas fine stone that works too. Mostly done the action on my p-01 with a dremel and buffing wheel and some 5 micron green rubbing  rouge.

[twowheels]

I incorporate stones in my polishing regime.  I have wableepa, soft and hard arkansas stones for working on knives.  They also work well on gun parts.

[eastman]

I incorporate stones in my polishing regime.  I have wa!@##a, soft and hard arkansas stones for working on knives.  They also work well on gun parts.

Is that an autocorrect effect? I've never heard of a wa!@##a stone. What about wa$#!+a or wa!@##a?   


OK - my response also got scrambled by the forum software. So how do we spell the name of the Arkansas stones? Wash!ta, washita?

[M1A4ME]

Don't forget some oil on the stone if you're going to polish parts.  Just like sharpening knives (I've used my Lansky stones, too), you don't want the pores of the stone to load up with metal particles.

One other thing to consider.  I don't know that this is true, but I read it somewhere years ago and ignored it - to no ill effect on my knives/parts.

I read that you should not (that's NOT) use the same stones for stainless steel and carbon steel polishing.  The reason given in that article was that the small pieces of carbon steel that might remain on/in the polishing stone and then be deposited onto the stainless blades/parts and then rust.  This would discolor or damage the stainless steel by promoting corrosion at a higher rate than would be normal for stainless steels.

I can say that I've used the same Lansky kit for years on carbon steel and stainless knife blades and never seen rust on my stainless Schrade knife blades.  As they say, your mileage may vary.

Even though I oil my stones prior to polishing and depending on the length of the job I may add more oil, I still, every so often, used a toothbrush, more oil and paper towels to try to clean some leftover residue off the polishing stones.  That may not be necessary (?), but I feel better about the stones for having done it.

[mkd]

I use dish soap and hot water to clean the pores of all my stones. it also removes some of the oil so it must be reapplied. SquirT some soap on the stone with a small amount of water and lather the stone up real good rubbing it with your thumbs, when i'm satisfied it's clean I rinse under the faucet till the soap is all rinsed out.

[painter]

I incorporate stones in my polishing regime.  I have wa!@##a, soft and hard arkansas stones for working on knives.  They also work well on gun parts.

Is that an autocorrect effect? I've never heard of a wa!@##a stone. What about wa$#!+a or wa!@##a?   


OK - my response also got scrambled by the forum software. So how do we spell the name of the Arkansas stones? Wash!ta, washita?

Go into your profile/look and layout/leave words uncensored and posts will look as you type them unless the Admins have a word in the censored list.

[Bossgobbler]

I think over time you will find that this is a bad idea.  "experimenting with sear angles" a lot of sears are only case harden & you will cut through it vary fast.  I have seen guns that had the sear and hammer hooks polished & soon after they go in to auto mode, as the sear edge rounds over very quickly.  In CZ's it is safer to just get a comp hammer & sear from CGW, the angle has already been matched & are very durable.   

[eastman]

Go into your profile/look and layout/leave words uncensored and posts will look as you type them unless the Admins have a word in the censored list.

Thanks for the tip. I went and changed it. I'll see if that helps.

[Tok36]

Thank you for the tips and warnings. It seams ill start with some Arkansas stones in a few grades. Is WD-40 acceptable for use with stones like it is with sand paper? I was unaware that stones used for sharpening knifes could be used for polishing but it makes sense.

[Bossgobbler]

If your are going to proceed with polishing your sear & or the hammer hooks. by all means keep us informed as how it works out for you.  Just be prepared with the Credit Card to take care of the inevitable, Whoops that did not work  

[Tok36]

If your are going to proceed with polishing your sear & or the hammer hooks. by all means keep us informed as how it works out for you.  Just be prepared with the Credit Card to take care of the inevitable, Whoops that did not work

If i do end up changing any hammer hooks i intend on looking into having them heat treated again. I have access to a metal stamping machine shop that may be able to assist with the heat treating.

Regardless, you can expect a full report on the outcome.

[M1A4ME]

You're removing metal. 

I'm not an expert.  Done some of my own 1911's, some of my S&W & Ruger revolvers and a little work on my P09.

To me, polishing is using a fine grit stone to remove some of the "bumps" in the surface of the metal.  The stone will only contact the tops of the high spots/bumps.  Yeah, some of the removed metal and stone material will make it into the "valleys" between the high spots/bumps but won't have as much of an effect at the stone contacting the tops of the bumps.

The "finer" the grit on the stone (higher the number - a 600 grit stone is finer than a 280 grit stone and removes less metal for the same amount of effort and will leave a smoother surface) is the smoother the surface will be.  I have a Lansky knife sharpening kit with stones from 180 to 1000 grit.  I don't even use the 1000 grit stone.  After the 600 grit stone the knife will "wipe" the hair off my arm each pass of the blade (used to be funny looking prior to hunting season in college when I was sharpening knives for my buddies - all the bare patches surrounded by hair on my arms.

Remember, you can't put metal back on a piece if you remove too much.  Go slow, slower is better, stop often, clean up the part, reinstall it and check function.

Good luck, report back, learn from what you do.

FYI, maybe I did it wrong but I didn't mess with the hammer.  I stoned my P09 sear.  The amount of what I call "creep", trigger movement after the firing pin safety has been lifted but before the hammer falls, was much more on my P09 than on my P07.  I removed the sear and stoned a little bit of metal off the top of the sear.  Not the front (no angles changed, no contact surface touched), just "a little off the top".  That resulted in the trigger having to move less distance to release the hammer.  Also, if I screwed up, the sear is much cheaper to buy and easier to install than a new hammer.

So far, it's been great.  Really nice trigger (just like my P07 came from the factory with.)

[Tok36]

Thank you for the input M1A4ME. Interesting point about shorting the SA trigger travel on your P-09.