milling a raised stamped Colt 1911 slide

[Infrequent Shooter]

I am sort of a Colt guy, but no expert. in later years the Colt 1911s, were stamped so poorly on the slide the metal was pushed up around the colt lettering. Or it could be the early ones were the same but were finished better/more before shipping. If a person had a high quality milling machine do you think the lettering could be cleaned up. Some of the series 80 Colts were very high quality, but I had a hard time getting past the raised lettering.

 

[WSnyder]

Roll marks. Sand them off with sand paper on a granite surface block. Don't sand over the serrations at the back. If you have one, a surface grinder would do it. I would not use a milling machine.

 

[shortgrass]

No sure how you'd go about 'cleaning the lettering up" with a milling machine,,,,,, unless the goal is to deface that slide. 400 grit wet 'n' dry wrapped around a flat sanding block, with a squirt of WD-40 for moisture, would be my preference. No all 'gunsmithing' is machine work, especially metal finishing. Oh! Don't forget the elbow grease.

 

[LVLAaron]

Wet sand it. I wouldn't touch that will a mill

 

[tobnpr]

Or it could be the early ones were the same but were finished better/more before shipping.

That would have to be "it".
Stamping displaces metal, doesn't remove any. It's gotta go somewhere...

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

No sure how you'd go about 'cleaning the lettering up" with a milling machine,,,,,, unless the goal is to deface that slide. 400 grit wet 'n' dry wrapped around a flat sanding block, with a squirt of WD-40 for moisture, would be my preference. No all 'gunsmithing' is machine work, especially metal finishing. Oh! Don't forget the elbow grease.

I am sort of a Colt guy, but no expert. in later years the Colt 1911s, were stamped so poorly on the slide the metal was pushed up around the colt lettering. Or it could be the early ones were the same but were finished better/more before shipping. If a person had a high quality milling machine do you think the lettering could be cleaned up. Some of the series 80 Colts were very high quality, but I had a hard time getting past the raised lettering.

So sanding could remove the high spots? without damaging/scratching//edited the slide? shows my distinct lack of metal working knowledge.

 

[LVLAaron]

So sanding could remove the high spots? without damaging the slide? shows my distinct lack of metal working knowledge.

Whatever you do to remove the raised part of the lettering, you're going to end up doing to the rest of the slide to make it match.

400, 600, scotchbrite wheel - would be my guess

 

[Fuj]

I've stoned off a few. Use Mylar tape on all the flat surfaces.
surrounding the area. I don't like to use sand paper unless it's
tightly block. Don't be surprised if it actually comes out looking
worse then when you started. Even if roll marked, it does not
mean each letter is at the same depth, or your slide is truly flat.
Find a practice piece before you commit.

 

[shortgrass]

Whatever you do to remove the raised part of the lettering, you're going to end up doing to the rest of the slide to make it match.

400, 600, scotchbrite wheel - would be my guess

Run any 'wheel' over lettering / numbers and risk 'smearing' those letters/numbers. I was shown a 'blue job' on a 1911, done by an amateur who was proud of the color. Trouble was, he had polished with a Dremel tool. Ripples everywhere, and all letters/numbers washed-out. Metal finishing is work! No 2 ways about it! I've been bluing and slow rust bluing since the early '90s. Polishing metals for a 'finish' must be close to an art form from what I have seen from others. Not "fast 'n' easy",,, and everyone wants "fast 'n' easy".

 

[boltfluter]

Leave it alone unless you want a real mess on your hands.

 

[Rwfish]

You may not realize the can of worms you are opening here. As others have stated, job best done with a stone or a surface plate and abrasive paper. Unfortunately doing this will change the finish pattern of the metal itself. Your bluing (especially) or coating finish will highlight even the slightest difference in the base metal. You will have to spend allot of time trying to duplicate the finish of the rest of the gun in this spot or refinishing the whole gun to match. Being a Colt, it will do nothing but diminish value and have no positive change to function / reliability..

 

[Infrequent Shooter]

I am glad to get this input. I guess Colt did not do any 'cleaning up' of the slide after they roll marked the slide. In the very early production years, the 80 series roll marks were fine. I agree, best to leave it alone. It appears some of the recent production Colt 1911s are getting better, finish wise, but still not close to the series 70.

 

[Rwfish]

There are plenty of shops that have the experience to do this work correctly. If you don’t have the tools / experience your better off leaving it or paying someone with the skill to do it..

 

[nicholst55]

Colts are nowhere near 'flat,' or true. The top 1911 smiths end up polishing them by hand to get them evened up. If the factory markings are important, they will have to be re-engraved. That's just the reality of it.

 

[std7mag]

We do a LOT of engraving at the shop where I work.
Ours is done with a carbide insert spinning about 3,000 RPM.

However if the insert starts to get dull, we will end up with the raised edges like you have.

We use a fine stone over the area. Just a few swipes usually brings it down. However we do end up with some marks when the stone gets to the base material.

Since you have a finish on the slide, these extra scratches would be very evident!

The only way to truly get rid of the raised lips around the engraving would be to remove the finish on the whole slide. Stone the effective area. Polish the whole slide, then re-apply the finish. Again to the whole slide.