Polish the Finish

[flyrod40]

Has anyone tried polishing the matte black finish on their surplus CZ83 to see if it could be brought up to more of a gloss finish?  Just a thought.

[Steve B]

Not on a stock 83 but on a refinished 82.

I had refinished a CZ 82 using Wheeler Cerama-Coat, which is a flat/matte black finish.
In order to make it look like the original glossier finish, I 'LIGHTLY' buffed it with 0000 steel wool.
The key words here being 'lightly' and '0000' (4 zeros) steel wool.

[flyrod40]

I wonder if a 1200 or more grit wet/dry sandpaper would be even finer than 4/0 steel wool and perhaps give a better polish without the risk of taking the finish off.

[skin]

 Matt finish is matt till it hits bare metal. To me, it seems that you would just be wearing the coating down. If you want shiney, try some wax .

[Steve B]

I wonder if a 1200 or more grit wet/dry sandpaper would be even finer than 4/0 steel wool and perhaps give a better polish without the risk of taking the finish off.

NO !!
1200 will leave a dull finish.
Even using 5000 grit it will need to be polished afterward.

Oiled 0000 steel wool, using a light touch can be used to polish bluing.
It is one of the procedures used when performing restorations.

As mentioned in my prior post, I have done this to a CZ-82 that I refinished and it is very comparable to the original 'military finish' but being Cerama-Coat it is far more durable than the paint that was normally used (except for very late military pistols).

[Steve B]

Matt finish is matt till it hits bare metal. To me, it seems that you would just be wearing the coating down. If you want shiney, try some wax .

No offense but you are incorrect regarding matte finish.
It can be brought to a luster by correctly polishing.
It most likely will not be completely smooth but it can be made shiny.

Wax might work but oftentimes it will end up leaving a whitish or grayish look due to the wax drying in the matte surface.

You are, however, absolutely correct that it will wear down the coating.
Performed properly and if the coating is thick enough this should not be an issue.
Done haphazardly or if the finish is thin, issues could occur.
The main problem is how does one determine in advance how thick the finish is unless they applied it themselves.

[skin]

 I have used 0000 steel wool, 3f,5f and even finer polishing compound to caustic blue and to repair blue on many guns since 1984. On a service pistol, the coating is more haphazardly applied. You will have thick and thin spots on the flats,thin spots along any cuts/ridges. You would have to block sand any flats to remove any high spots. To do it correctly would, imo, be extremely time consuming and you still would not have the same finish as a nicely done blueing job or a correctly done cerakote job. You  could put 100 hours  into making it shiny er, or put 10 hours into a glossy cerakote finish. Again this is just my opinion.

[bonj]

why not just apply some new blueing? Seemed to work on my CZ. I haven't attempted to polish or sand it for a luster, but it deffinetly covered up my holster wear.

[Steve B]

I have used 0000 steel wool, 3f,5f and even finer polishing compound to caustic blue and to repair blue on many guns since 1984. On a service pistol, the coating is more haphazardly applied. You will have thick and thin spots on the flats,thin spots along any cuts/ridges. You would have to block sand any flats to remove any high spots. To do it correctly would, imo, be extremely time consuming and you still would not have the same finish as a nicely done blueing job or a correctly done cerakote job. You  could put 100 hours  into making it shiny er, or put 10 hours into a glossy cerakote finish. Again this is just my opinion.

I think we are splitting hairs here in our replies.
The OP wanted "more gloss" and I take that to mean just a shinier finish than matte, not a highly polished, dead smooth, gloss finish.
This is where we likely differ in our opinions.
My original point being, a matte finish can be brought to a gloss, it is not matte all the way through.

Again, we do agree about the unknown thickness of the original finish and the potential to make things look worse.
Also agree on a proper refinish but that is not what the OP asked.