Barrel Finish

[lazyMlazyK]

Does the outter finish on a barrel affect accuracy at all, as heat builds up? I'm mainly wanting to discuss polished smooth, bead blasted, or nitride/cerakote finishes on the outside of the barrel. Please, kindly keep fluting discussions out of this thread.

I'm debating the finish on a barrel to be used in competition - 600-1600 yards.

 

[SET]

Every barrel I do has a very slight crosshatch finish using a Scotch-brite pad.
Our range faces South and a shiny barrel reflects too much light in the scope.

 

[DaveTooley]

Leave off nitride and none affect accuracy. You can add PVD coatings to the approved list. I've Cerakoted thousands of barrels with no issues. Polished quite a few. Blasted a lot with an abrasive also. No problems

 

[tobnpr]

Strictly cosmetics...

 

[WayneShaw]

There is a popular benchrest gunsmith that finishes barrels using an orbital sander with 80 grit paper in it. He turns it in the lathe and goes back and forth and generally makes a mess of it. But it looks great! I have 2 guys in mind but I don't want to name names without knowing.

 

[epc308]

There is a popular benchrest gunsmith that finishes barrels using an orbital sander with 80 grit paper in it. He turns it in the lathe and goes back and forth and generally makes a mess of it. But it looks great! I have 2 guys in mind but I don't want to name names without knowing.

I did a barrel like that for the first time about 5 years ago thinking I had figured out something new and different.
Wrong, lol.
I used 220 grit wet or dry with WD-40 to keep the dust down. Ran the spindle at 250-300. You can use differing grits to get more or less cut and scratch, same with RPM. I’ve done a half dozen with good results. Uniform side to side movement is key.
Grap a random chunk of bar stock for practice.
Yep, it makes a huge mess, but cover the ways with paper towels or cardboard and it isn’t bad.

 

[areaone]

I have five barrels with the above finish method…look great, preferred much more than a bead blasted finish. Simple and easy to do, with little to no effort or time spent. Message me for the name of the smith.

 

[AlNyhus]

There is a popular benchrest gunsmith that finishes barrels using an orbital sander with 80 grit paper in it. He turns it in the lathe and goes back and forth and generally makes a mess of it. But it looks great! I have 2 guys in mind but I don't want to name names without knowing.

Wayne, Dan Dowling kind of started that style of finish...he calls it the 'swizzle (bleep)' finish.

As you know, lots of people do their own spin on this now. I've got a barrel on the way now that the outside finish was so bad it looked like an old vinyl record. 'Humble' Henry had to resort to a belt sander to get it smoothed out!

Good shootin'. -Al

 

[WayneShaw]

Thanks Al, he was one of the two! Good finish especially when you turn down a blank and have to make look like something.

 

[geo.ulrich]

Wayne, Dan Dowling kind of started that style of finish...he calls it the 'swizzle (bleep)' finish.

As you know, lots of people do their own spin on this now. I've got a barrel on the way now that the outside finish was so bad it looked like an old vinyl record. 'Humble' Henry had to resort to a belt sander to get it smoothed out!

Good shootin'. -Al

Al, I'm fairly sure Dave Hall did it in the 70's they had an article in P.S. about him nicknamed the whirlygig barrel man....

 

[LarryDScott]

Must be speaking of a Schneider. Shoot good, but the finish when you receive them is horrible.
American barrel co has the best out of the shipping tube outside finish that I have owned. The bores on mine have been perfect. LDS

 

[WayneShaw]

A nicely polished barrel sure looks nice, but scratches show up easily. The swizzle or whirlygig takes care of that.

 

[hfinkle]

I wanted to take the paint off one, so I took it off and used my bench grinder with the wire wheel on it. It looks great and still shoots fine.

 

[LC Tikka]

An appealing finish is 600 grit on orbital sander, long crosshatch action, barrel run in a lathe at a speed that gives the pattern you like.
LC