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Grinding/Buffing Out Previous Owner's Initials Steel

Yooper-Al

Plastic
Joined
Dec 30, 2005
Location
New Mexico
Recently got a good deal on a revolver that has the previous owner's initials on the grip and trigger frame, done badly with what was probably one of those $9 Dremel electric engravers. Must be at least .005" deep. I can have those parts re-blued once I remove the markings but was wondering what might be the best way to get to a smooth surface? I was thinking flapper wheel abrasives followed by Scotch Brite Unitized wheels in increasing fineness.
 
I remember a FBI crime lab program. How they can still read printing after the metal particles around the depressions are removed.
You think everything is nice and flat and polished.
Don't know how deep the depression has to be removed for all the image information to be not readable.
 
Recently got a good deal on a revolver that has the previous owner's initials on the grip and trigger frame, done badly with what was probably one of those $9 Dremel electric engravers. Must be at least .005" deep. I can have those parts re-blued once I remove the markings but was wondering what might be the best way to get to a smooth surface? I was thinking flapper wheel abrasives followed by Scotch Brite Unitized wheels in increasing fineness.
I would start with a power sander (DA, Orbital, whatever) with a coarse grit and work up with hand sanding till you can buff it.


If you can't get the engravings out, you could weld over them and grind them down. Not a joke. If they're on the grip and the trigger guard, I don't see how it could hurt - assuming the grip/main spring housing isn't heat treated. Not sure why it would need to be.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Tapatalk
 
I remember a FBI crime lab program. How they can still read printing after the metal particles around the depressions are removed.
You think everything is nice and flat and polished.
Don't know how deep the depression has to be removed for all the image information to be not readable.

i work in an automotive machine shop there is this shyster that we do work for. his gig renumbering run of the mill Chevy blocks in to Chevy corvette blocks . i could be wrong but its my understanding that only one of the gm foundry's cast the corvette blocks along with like blocks for other chevys and that there are four things that make it what it is three of them are cast in to the block . no. 1 the foundry no. two the day it was cast and 3rd. the block size [is it a 350 a 427 and so on] the fourth is stamped in to the head gasket surface this tells what it is and what type of car it went in. and that's were the presto change o comes in and you won't find it with your fbi simple green two acid test . this is how it goes down after him gets a deposit . he starts off by taking an air hammer and going over the org. stamped id no. so now all the metal in that area is compressed so now if you do the acid thing you mite see a cloud type of image but no numbers or letters next the block is decked now there is a problum with that as the org. finish was brothed so that gets fixed on a big belt sander then the block is re stamped . i have never seen the stamping part as the shyster picks up the block and dose it at his shop [ i walk away from him when he comes in the shop as i don't like what he is doing ]at is also my understanding that he is the third owner of these stamps and that there is more then one faunt as the numbers and letters are not the same for the 50's 60's 70's and 80's there is a fixture that is bolted on to the top of the block and then its stamped then burnished and of all things cold blued . so when so one tells me its this and its i just say well maybe it is and maybe its not i have seen behind the curtain to meany times . when there money to be made the shysters will find a way to take it from you . so remember all that glitters is not gold
 
I'm given to understand the OP isn't trying to erase a serial number or other ID to disguise a stolen gun. It's to simply remove a previous owner's initials.

I once bought a Baldor bench grinder upon which the previous owner had stamped, with full 3/8" high letter punches, his full name and complete social security number.

This was from back when people were told to engrave such things to expensive items like TVs and cameras, so they could be more positively identified if found at a pawnshop or the like. And obviously long before the SSN became such a crucial identifier.

On the gun, a 'smith I know had been brought a rifle receiver, a Ruger #1 falling block. A previous owner had electric-pencilled his name and the town he lived in on the side, in tall and kind of ragged letters. The gun was a legit purchase from a dealer, but the new owner didn't like the markings because it wasn't his name, nor was it his town, nor was it particularly good handwriting.

The 'smith simply surface ground the side of the receiver, a #1 is pretty slab-sided, and it was an easy job. Said it was about three thou to erase it entirely. Customer declined a full hot-blue, and so it was simply recolored with Casey's.

On curved surfaces, I'd use sandpaper backed with something like a flat hardwood stick, and slowly work the area in smooth strokes 'til the marks were gone. If you just try and slide the paper across with your thumb, you'll get undulations, and the fresh blue will look wavy.

I'd start with 320, kept lubed with a little WD-40, bump that up to 600, finish with 1,000, maybe bump up to 1,500 if it's a particularly glossy blue, and have the whole gun refinished by a reputable hot-bluer.

Or you can just buff it off there with those little sanding drums on a Dremel, and cover it up with some cold blue. Plenty of people have done that, too. :D

Doc.
 
Depending on what it is and where it is you have a couple of options.
a ruger or run of the mill smith, grind, polish buff and re blue. Maybe in certain areas like a backstrap or trigger guard you can cover it with checkering, stipling, engine turning, or knurling etc.

Next option is to have a good tig welder fill in the initials, then grind sand polish blue back to original dimensions. there may be some discoloration of the metal as the filler metal may not take blue the same as the gun but Ive had really good luck with Brownells nickel rod and cold blue in the past on most guns.

Las option, and its gonna cost, so i wouldnt do this unless its like a korth or colt python is send it to doug turnbull.
 
My 1" mic that I bought from a fellow worker in 1956 still has his initials EM scratched on the frame. Why all the worry about it?? :-)
...lewie...
 
Hi Yooper-Al:
I've welded up tons of engraving with a laser welder, and it works very well so long as you choose the same steel as the original part as akajun points out in post #7.
If you don't it shows up like a sore thumb when you blue it or even polish it.

So if the engraving is deep, that is an option for you, and you'd need to find a mold repair welding shop in your area.
If it's shallow enough to blend out without making the rest of the gun look like a pig's breakfast, then I'd do that instead and save the cost and the headache if welding it goes wrong.

I wouldn't touch it with a power tool; I find I can do a far better looking job with files and abrasive cloth...they are easier to control precisely but they are a bit slower too.
I'd draw file it with a fine single cut file from several directions and work over a large area so I don't file a divot or a flat spot into it.
I'd invest in a big Sharpie too and cover the area I'm filing from time to time so when I hit it with the file again, I can immediately see where the high areas are and direct my attention there.
Do yourself a favour too, and put it into a nice solid padded vise so you can control the placement of the file strokes and the pressure.

Moldmaker's abrasive stones are also a great way to refine what you're doing...buy them from Gesswein and use them by hand just like a file with a light oil like 3-in-1 from the hardware store.
With patience and skill you can make a perfect blend, preserving the crispness of the lines and making a super smooth surface that matches the rest of the gun properly.

A flap wheel will dub off all the corners and it will look like the gun was dragged behind a truck.
A Dremel or the like will make so many nasty divots you'll polish half of forever to make them go away again.

On the other hand, if it's just a working gun and not a showpiece for your collection, I'd just do as Lewie recommends in post #8.

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 
Recently got a good deal on a revolver that has the previous owner's initials on the grip and trigger frame, done badly with what was probably one of those $9 Dremel electric engravers. Must be at least .005" deep. I can have those parts re-blued once I remove the markings but was wondering what might be the best way to get to a smooth surface? I was thinking flapper wheel abrasives followed by Scotch Brite Unitized wheels in increasing fineness.

How can you be a Yooper and be in New Mexico?

A simple file would do the trick.
 
Hi EPAIII:
Bead blasting is unreliable in its ability to remove toolmarks from steel surfaces and they are typically fractions of a thousandth deep, not 0,005" as the OP is estimating.
Not only that, bead blasting will erode the steel inconsistently...even worse than a flap wheel will.
Last, polishing out the pits from a coarse beadblast will be worse than just rolling up the sleeves and accepting the file and the abrasive cloth into your life.

It's not so bad...it's actually quite soothing if you have the right mindset...a bit like an old-fashioned woodworker with a nice smoothing plane, prepping a piece of fine hardwood for the next operation.
Beats the cold impersonal mechanical reality of the CNC any day:D.

Embrace it...let your inner craftsman shine out...be mindful, Zen-ful and happy!

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining
 
Last edited:
i work in an automotive machine shop there is this shyster that we do work for. his gig renumbering run of the mill Chevy blocks in to Chevy corvette blocks . .....
So weird, other than matching serial numbers to a car corvette blocks are the same as any others.
Same castings, same machining line, same tolerances. It is only at assembly where they get different parts put in do they become "corvettes".
A friend got a job at V-8 here putting in cams. Nobody told him to read the tag on the pallet, As they were the closest to reach he put corvette camshafts in every motor he built for 4 days.
Bob
 
I'd see if I could change to engravings to something more palatable. For example, if his initials were LVI I'd add an E and and S and make it say 'ELVIS'
 
Recently got a good deal on a revolver that has the previous owner's initials on the grip and trigger frame, done badly with what was probably one of those $9 Dremel electric engravers. Must be at least .005" deep. I can have those parts re-blued once I remove the markings but was wondering what might be the best way to get to a smooth surface? I was thinking flapper wheel abrasives followed by Scotch Brite Unitized wheels in increasing fineness.

A picture of the part will help a whole lot...
If its a removable grip frame and not adjacent to the area where the frame meets up its probably going to be relatively simple to fix.
 
Hi EPAIII:
Bead blasting is unreliable in its ability to remove toolmarks from steel surfaces and they are typically fractions of a thousandth deep, not 0,005" as the OP is estimating.
Not only that, bead blasting will erode the steel inconsistently...even worse than a flap wheel will.
Last, polishing out the pits from a coarse beadblast will be worse than just rolling up the sleeves and accepting the file and the abrasive cloth into your life.

It's not so bad...it's actually quite soothing if you have the right mindset...a bit like an old-fashioned woodworker with a nice smoothing plane, prepping a piece of fine hardwood for the next operation.
Beats the cold impersonal mechanical reality of the CNC any day:D.

Embrace it...let your inner craftsman shine out...be mindful, Zen-ful and happy!

Cheers

Marcus
Implant Mechanix • Design & Innovation > HOME
Vancouver Wire EDM -- Wire EDM Machining

Consider using a dental sandblaster. Used are cheap on Flea Bay. Far more precise and extremely fine medium available. Handpiece more like a laser pointer with a 2mm (or so) blast diameter.
 
So weird, other than matching serial numbers to a car corvette blocks are the same as any others.
Same castings, same machining line, same tolerances. It is only at assembly where they get different parts put in do they become "corvettes".
A friend got a job at V-8 here putting in cams. Nobody told him to read the tag on the pallet, As they were the closest to reach he put corvette camshafts in every motor he built for 4 days.
Bob

that's funny . hey grandma what's shaking . or the ol dodge ads back in the late 60's and early 70's with the racing grandma saying [ put a dodge in your garage sonny ]
 








 
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