Idiot scratch on new stainless loaded.

[kcin520k]

Hi everybody, I am kicking myself inthe rear. I bought a new Springfield TGT Loaded a few days ago and took it apart to clean before I shoot it. Well, when I reassembled it I gave it the good ole idiot scratch Can anyone tell me how I can get rid of it. It is a stainless gun. I cant believe I did it to a $1000 gun! Oh well I guess any other scratches won't hurt as much as the first one.

[Hellsing76]

I did this on my "NM" Loaded about eight years ago, figured I would leave it for the next scratch....never scratched it again so about a year ago, I decided to grab what we use on stainless at work a couple small patches of red(med/fine) and LIGHT grey(very fine) 3m Scotch Brite pads, got home stripped down to frame, applied some blue masking tape to create a perimeter around scratch and began to stroke lineal to get the grain back in and matched up, now I got impatient and reached a "looks good to me" point but turned out WAY good and can hardly see it now. I'll go through some pictures here at home and see if I can get a before and after for ya....

[gpjoe]

Welcome to the club.

It depends on how deep the scratch is.

I have used Scotch-Brite pads on stainless steel watch bands to remove scuffs and minor scratches. Just go lightly.

If the scratch is deep, it may require a more vigorous method and someone else will have to suggest exactly what needs to be done.

Of course there will be someone that says to leave it alone, that it adds "character". I have a very minor idiot scratch on my first 1911, a black-framed Kimber Ultra CDP II. I just touch it up with a fine-point Sharpie every now and then.

[mity2]

I used 800grid wet/dry.

But my scratch(i didn't put it there. It was there from factory!) was very faint

[1toughdog]

Covered in the: "Are you a member of the IDIOT SCRATCH CLUB?"

[kcin520k]

Thanks guys, I will try that. Going to go shoot it for first time today. I will let you know how it went.

[touchdowntodd]

this is why i didnt care when my friends poked fun at me for making home made idiot scratch prevention tools from thick slippery plastic ... i never want to feel that pain it took me TOO long to finally get a 1911. ..

that being said my new SA champion is a bitch to get the slide stop on .. is yours?

[kcin520k]

Yes it is. I have an 1989 Springfield 1911 and the slidestop goes in no problem. No idiot scratch on that one and I have had that one for a couple of years.

[kcin520k]

Well I took her to the range and she shot beautifully! I shot 100 rds of Remington Hollow points and no problems at all. I am sure she will get smoother with time. Now all I have to do is get some materials to erase my idiot scratch! And if I do it again it is staying. She is not going to be a safe queen.... She will be my favorite tool!

[TClark22]

welcome to the club! I did the exact same thing the first time i reassembled.

[Capt. Methane]

I feel your pain and embarrassment-

I'd never had a 1911 that was as difficult to put the slide stop back in as my SS Target Loaded...what a PITA and yeah, second time cleaning I got it-not too bad but bad enough.

Of course it was afterwards that I discovered this-

http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=214653

So before you go cleaning up your SS Loaded's little wound, fix the source of the problem first!

Mine's a little over a year old and bears holster marks and handling marks-nothing a little scotch bright/bead blasting wouldn't hide again but that thing is the one I want to take to the range!

And that Loaded is my first SS firearm and you know, I like it because you can fix the finish pretty easily!

[Jrhemming]

I did the same thing when I got my loaded black stainless and it's such a nice looking gun it killed me but I soon got over it when I few more scratches popped up from carrying it every day and it's so accurate and reliable I haven't worried about it

[Cyborg]

Originally Posted by mity2

I used 800grid wet/dry.

with oil/lubricant

[samvswild]

If it doesn't affect the function of the firearm then it's all good. These aren't time pieces, they're tools.

[Combat_Vet]

Eh... It happens!

[kcin520k]

Thanks for all the advice and making me feel better about the scratch. I am sure she will get more. It is already my favorite gun and it will go where I go.

[Ranger325]

Since its a SS gun, how about Flitz??

[Hellsing76]

Here's the before and after pictures I was hoping I had...."fixing" the scratch also encouraged me to get after refinishing the Wilson extended slide stop from glass bead to #4 grain at my shop, to match the rest of the controls; it came out alright for a beginner. It was one of those things where I felt if I messed with it any more, I might slip and scratch it worse, lol! I might get a wild hair one day while it's all stripped down to brush it out some more, but you either have to have a bright light or look really close now to even see it, used to be the first thing noticed when holstering or taking it outta the safe.

[2toes22]

simichrome and your finger tip or Q-tip. SA should warranty this, we all do it.