Thread: Removing the roll marks from a 1911 slide

I would like to remove the roll marks on a Rock Island slide i have and was wondering what is the best way to go about doing this.

The obvious choice is to have a gunsmith machine them off but of course that is expensive and I am at heart very cheap.

Has anyone tried this and what method did you use?

Thanks,

Andy

How deep are they? Pics?

best guess would be in the 5 to 8 thousands range. Very hard to measure exactly. I will post a picture shortly.

I would try emery cloth on a hard, flat surface. It would take a while, but it could be done "squarely" and cheaply.

Originally Posted by orygun

I would try emery cloth on a hard, flat surface. It would take a while, but it could be done "squarely" and cheaply.

The challenge I would assume with this approach is trying to keep the slide square to the flat surface and finding a flat enough surface.

Would you need/want to remove material from both sides to keep things even?

400 Grit sand paper on a good piece of glass. Lots of hand sanding and cutting oil. Other than that some expensive equipment is involved.

Originally Posted by mikeli

400 Grit sand paper on a good piece of glass. Lots of hand sanding and cutting oil. Other than that some expensive equipment is involved.

Glass... That would have not crossed my mind!! but it would be flat. Would emery cloth hold up better than sand paper?

Use good quality automotive paper. More consistent thickness. Emery cloth could be uneven. Keep it well oiled. I've redone woodworking blades with this technique.

Originally Posted by AndyH

Glass... That would have not crossed my mind!! but it would be flat. Would emery cloth hold up better than sand paper?

Emory cloth has a better backing than most sand paper, but sand paper is easier to obtain in wider pieces and is probably much cheaper. With what I have on had I would probably start out with emory cloth for the bulk of the work and finish up with progressively finer wet/dry sandpaper.

Glass is a great surface for this, especially if you have a decent support for it. (flat bench, kitchen counter)

Keeping things even? I guess so. I just assumed you would be cleaning up both sides of the slide.

I think I will give that a try, worst thing that could happen is that I would have to have it machined.

Why not start with some 150 first though and then move to the 400 to finish up? Also would I sand in one direction or is a back and forth motion acceptable?

Thanks!!!!

Andy

I removed the roll mark from my Detonics before refinishing it. I just put the paper on a flat surface, oiled the paper and then rub, rub, rubbed.

Before


After

Originally Posted by AndyH

I think I will give that a try, worst thing that could happen is that I would have to have it machined.

Why not start with some 150 first though and then move to the 400 to finish up? Also would I sand in one direction or is a back and forth motion acceptable?


Thanks!!!!

Andy

I'd probably start with 80 grit! Back and forth? one direction? Hmmm. I've never done this before, but I've done other work similar. Since it's not a file we're using, I'd probably go back and forth, while trying my best to keep the slide square to the direction that I was moving. When I got to the finer, wet/dry sandpaper stage, I may just go the singe direction.

That looks great PBP. Can you elaborate on "line/edge restored"?

Originally Posted by AndyH

That looks great PBP. Can you elaborate on "line/edge restored"?

read this thread...
Detonics MC1 Refinishing Project

Originally Posted by PlayboyPenguin

read this thread...
Detonics MC1 Refinishing Project

Excellent write up, it is amazing what can be accomplished with a little hard work and alot of time.

Wow...There you go! PlayboyPenguins da man!

This was easier than I ever thouht it would be, came out great.

Thanks everyone

Pics?

Of course, With out Pics it never happened right....



I still need to melt the sharp edges a bit and do a little more polishing with the 600 grit.
But all signs of the roll marks are gone. Only had to remove .003 from each so it only took about 30 min per side.
I am goint to replace the sights and have the slide Cerakoted and it should be a sweet looking Rock Island compact.

Nice job!