Bead Blasting in DFW

[carlson1]

I have a S&W M65 3” barrel that needs some cosmetic work. I was thinking a little bead blast would cover it all up. Any suggestions or doesn’t anyone know of someone in DFW that might do that kind of work?

[Keith B]

See if someone does soda blasting with baking soda. Less abrasive, but strips surface rust well.

[carlson1]

Thanks Keith.

[Excaliber]

From the photos it looks like there's pitting in addition to rust. Bead blasting will remove the rust but not the pitting which will need to be polished out.

If that's the case I'd send that to a gunsmith to be sure it comes out right.

[texas yankee]

"it looks like there's pitting in addition to rust. Bead blasting will remove the rust but not the pitting" - I was never able to find anyone that did bead blasting locally, besides car repair shops that usually did sand blasting - don't do sand blasting on your gun. I like tinkering with guns and I've taken a number of gunsmithing courses, but I'm certainly not a gunsmith - that being said, my friend has a bead blasting setup that he's allowed me to use from time to time to bead blast some older, relatively inexpensive guns where the finish was cosmetically challenged - a couple had rust \ pitting (under the grip panels) as shown in your gun. I found that bead blasting resulted in a surface that effectively "disguised" the pitting - bead blasting doesn't remove any material, it just "re-configures" the surface - the resulting finish \ texture I ended up with was rougher than a brushed or matte stainless finish, but not quite as complex as a stippled Glock looks like. I'm not sure what the pressure setting is on my friend's setup, not am I sure about the specifics of the media he has in the blasting cabinet (some form of well-used glass beads) - and I've read that different pressure settings and blasting media can result in very different finishes - but mine turned out fine, for me. Obviously it's VERY important to completely disassemble and clean any part that goes into the blasting cabinet - the dust \ particles go everywhere and get into every nook and cranny - I use brake parts cleaner followed by an ultrasonic cleaner (less than $60 at Harbor Freight).

[carlson1]

It is now fixed and back in my holster. What do you think? The best thing is it was free.

[AndyC1911]

That turned out real nice

[carlson1]

That turned out real nice

Thank you. He even crowned the barrel. I can’t wait to shoot it.

[texas yankee]

Looks great !!! I've read that there are a lot of different effects ya can get in the resulting finish with different types of media and pressure settings - can ya share any details on how the gun was blasted?

[Excaliber]

That came out real purdy!

What did you use for the final finish?

[Jim Beaux]

It's been many years since I was in the industry, but a few pointers for those who are interested.

Most blast media has abrasive qualities, though some like glass will peen more than abrade. Precision machine parts are sometimes bead blasted to peen the micro burr and bring the part into specs. (like forging)

For paint prep use an abrasive such as sand to give the item an anchor so the paint will adhere.

Sieve size, pressure and volume will give different results with the same media. Nozzle orifice must be sized for the air volume. High speed air volume is important. Be careful of the distance between the item and the nozzle.

For treasured items -I suggest testing a scrap piece of similar metal before blasting. (Dont ask how I know)

If I wanted to just clean the OP's pistol I would have first tried walnut shell, and if not satisfactory, soda.

In blasting media, less is more. Adjust the air/media ratio to the point where it looks like it's just air blowing from the nozzle & it you need more barely increase the media feed. Start with low pressure, maybe 60 pounds and increase if need be.

I like the OP's gun. Nice.

https://www.finishingsystems.com/blog/a ... dia-guide/

BTW I have etched several things, guns, glass, shower doors, mirrors, etc. Make a stencil from adhesive backed soft plastic or rubber. I have used decals, shelf paper and pipe line/electrical tape.

[carlson1]

Looks great !!! I've read that there are a lot of different effects ya can get in the resulting finish with different types of media and pressure settings - can ya share any details on how the gun was blasted?

That came out real purdy!

What did you use for the final finish?

Sorry folks I didn’t mean to leafy to think I did it. All my part was to mail it back to the Nan I bought it from. He did all the works and wouldn’t charge me. I have zero knowledge on what he used.