INTRODUCTION
I've been asked this a bunch of times now, and so I've taken
the time to write a short step-by-steo guide (my way, at
least) to sanding down a metal GBB slide.
This isn't the be-all-and-end-all of guides, so you may
well need to improvise somewhat, but it should be a good
guide.
INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1
Go into a hardware store, and pick up a wet-sanding sandpaper
sponge with a *fairly* fine grit - nothing too extreme,
but it should
be able to remove a fair amount of paint.
STEP 2
Go into a hobby store and pick up varying grades of 'wet
& dry'
sandpaper. Mine ran from 600, to 800, then up to 1200, then
finally to
1400 and 1600 for final finishing. I also recommend a hobby
file set.
STEP 3
Lay out a bunch of old newspapers or whatever in your work
area,
as you WILL make a mess here...
STEP 4
Remove the slide from the frame, then the barrel and recoil
assemblies (very simple, just slide them out). Now undo
the screw in
the blowback mech in the rear of the slide, and lift the
mech out. Now
slide the rear sights out sideways. The front site, I personally
never
removed, but I believe it's held in with a glue of some
sort. You'll
need to break that, then pinch together the two 'lobes'
on the bottom,
and it should come out.
STEP 5
Get a bowl of water, and using your wet-sanding sponge and
said
water, begin to sand the slide down (it's as simple as that).
When no
more paint really comes off, go to the next highest grade
of 'wet &
dry' (dip it gently in the water, and then sand with it),
and keep
going up. You may have to use your file to 'sand' some points
here,
such as around the ejection port. A lot of little paint
particles will
collect in the water on the slide, go gently wipe it off
with
something like kitchen roll from time to time.
STEP 6
Keep working down to the highest grade sandpaper you've
got, when
you may wish to stop wet-sanding, and only dry-sand. Personally,
however, I just wet-sanded all the way through.
STEP 7
Wipe off all particles and water remaining, and try to clean
out
the inside rails of the slide as best you can. Now leave
it somewhere
warm and dry for an hour or so to dry out.
STEP 8
Give it a good spray and wipe down with 100% silicone spray
to
prevent damage, oxidising, and fingerprints. Re-install
the blowback
mech, then the barrel assembly, and finally the recoil spring
assembly. I recommend you spray a load of silicone oil into
the slide
at this point, too, although performance will drop off for
a few
hundred rounds afterwards.
STEP 9
Put the slide back on your gun, get yourself some good green
gas,
and fire her up!
CONCLUSION
So there you have it. All being well, you should now a lovely
silver slide on your gun, which, while not (probably) at
a perfect shine, should look much more exciting (and pimpy...)
than any normal black slide!
Enjoy!
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Credits/Acknowledgments
This review was brought to you
by HaVoC.
August 11, 2005. N. Wales, UK.
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