Polishing the finish on a 1911?

[Wake27]

I have my own 1911 to upgrade. I don't if you guys aren't reading my posts or if I'm really not making any sense. Again, I wasn't trying to do anything drastic. I never said I was replacing parts or duracoating the thing. I just wanted to clean its appearance up a little.

[Shorts]

The thing is you can't 'polish' a blue or parkerized finish. I sense you might not understand what these finishes are. I understand what you want to do. But you don't understand you can't do it to that finish.

[Wake27]

The thing is you can't 'polish' a blue or parkerized finish. I sense you might not understand what these finishes are. I understand what you want to do. But you don't understand you can't do it to that finish.

That's what I was beginning to think so I PM'd Jason Burton to see how he does it. Its definitely a lot more than I wanted to do to it, so I'm just going to try and clean it well. Thanks guys.

[mkmckinley]

If you want to spiff it up a little without damaging the original patina/finish just use a rag or barber brush to coat the surface with gun oil, then wipe off the excess.

[Wake27]

If you want to spiff it up a little without damaging the original patina/finish just use a rag or barber brush to coat the surface with gun oil, then wipe off the excess.

I figured that'd be the safest bet and that's what I ended up doing. I covered it in a solid coat of Militec and let it sit for several hours while we were gone for the day. After wiping it all down, it actually does look a little better, about as much of an improvement as I could've hoped for. So thanks mkmckinley. And thanks to everybody else for reminding me to not do anything drastic, even if it was a little strongly worded haha.