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Filling in etching on a 1911 to make naked

7K views 32 replies 17 participants last post by  SemperFi1977m 
#1 ·
I have an itching to modify one of my 1911. It's an stainless Springfield Mil-Spec, and I want to fill in the factory etchings on the slide.

Other than sending it off to a smith, what's the best way of doing this? I'm pretty mechanically incline and have patient. Is it possible to fill in the etchings with soldering and sand it down for a smooth finish?
 
#2 ·
I removed the super ugly rollmarks on a Taurus before, but it was quite some work as the slide was not flat at all. It was closer to a Ruffles potato chip rather than a flat piece of steel.

I used different grades of sandpaper on plate glass. However, I had plenty of experience lapping metal to a super flat, mirror finish prior to trying it on one of my guns.
 
#7 ·
You're going to have to take an awful lot of metal off that slide to be below the deepest sections of those roll marks. Have you considered purchasing a new slide without roll marks from Caspian (or similar) and selling the stock Springfield slide to recoup some of the cost? I had the laser engraving polished out of my Billboard SW1911, and you could still make out the ghost of the markings. Even now, after I blasted it with aluminum oxide and followed up with glass beads they are still visible. Just a thought, as I am sure there are people that would love to have a no FCS Springfield marked slide.

Robert
 
#8 ·
Don't do it!

I tried to remove the "billboard" from my EMP slide and ended up having to go so deep that I jeopardized the integrity of the slide :( To add insult to injury I had to have Springfield Custom fit a new one (EMP is non standard slide size and Springfield won't sell you one directly or one without the rollmarks). It starts out innocently enough but the etchings vary in depth so to completely remove them requires going too deep (atleast it did for me). That slide still hangs above my workbench as a reminder :grumble:
Here's the thread with my slide mishap:
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=260060
Doug
 
#11 ·
I tried to remove the "billboard" from my EMP slide and ended up having to go so deep that I jeopardized the integrity of the slide :( To add insult to injury I had to have Springfield Custom fit a new one (EMP is non standard slide size and Springfield won't sell you one directly or one without the rollmarks). It starts out innocently enough but the etchings vary in depth so to completely remove them requires going too deep (atleast it did for me). That slide still hangs above my workbench as a reminder :grumble:
Here's the thread with my slide mishap:
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=260060
Doug
Wow man, I feel your pain in that project. Thanks for the warning. If I mill it down, it would stop at the rear serrations.
 
#9 ·
Measure twice, cut once.
If you are going to go to all of that trouble, why not just weld it up and resurface it?
A surface grinder will do the job in no time and you won't compromise any structural integrity.
 
#12 ·
Hello,

I have removed a lot of roll marks. I do it by sanding sanding using an aluminum block with adhesive paper on it. Usually on a milspec gun they are about .005"-.007 deep which isn't that big of a deal if you use the right paper. I just did a colt 80s this week. Keeps the lines crisp too.

Respectfully,
 
#14 ·
Well, that just all depends on what kind of finish you want and how long you want to work on it.

Typically if I am doing one I start with 120 then I go as follows, 220, 320, 400, 500, 800, 1000, the buff...wearing out each piece of paper on that particular side before going on to the next grit...I also sand straight, then diagonal, then straight again through all the grits...

Respectfully,
 
#22 ·
I removed the roll marks from my Springfield G.I. with a surface grinder... could be done with a mill also and then sanded smooth with increasing grits of sandpaper on a flat surface... the roll marks were about .005- /008 deep. This also called for recutting the cocking serrations so be aware of that.:)
 
#25 · (Edited)
yeah it can seem kinda excessive and obsessive lol....but man, do these companies really need to use such a huge billboard?! "Rock Island Armory" and their logo (which also says Rock Island Armory in it lol) cover 70% of the left side of my slide.

I will be leaving it alone for now....but when this one gets holster and daily-use worn and battered and is due for a refinish; I think the billboard will be removed by me....especially since I need to clean up some spots around where the rear dovetail was cut and a few other areas they should be smoothed out nicer. If Im gonna fork out the dough for a refinish, shes get'n everything finnessed first :rock:
 
#24 ·
Well in the case of mine (GI) I simply don't like them, personal quirkiness I suppose. But mostly, the Springfield Armory is poorly done...it's lightly struck around the ELD AR and it just looks like crap. But I'm quirky about looks. Mr Joe C (above) will be doing mine soon.
 
#26 ·
If they are going to put a huge billboard on the slide,
the least they could do is spell 'armory' correctly!
:)

I wouldn't think any sort of 'filling' would work well. If you use something low temp, when you blast for coating prep, the fill will erode far more than the metal, and it will show a lot.
If you use something high temp like weld, you will warp the slide.
 
#31 ·
Hi,
I'd like to add that if you weld up roll marking to remember it may warp the slide if not done carefully. Especially if it's only one side of the slide.
Another observation concerning Laser Marking is the reason you can still see faint writing after sanding and bluing is the laser fused and hardened the steel under the letters making it harder than the steel around them. Bluing will change colors at different hardness levels.
Hope this helps,
Wes
 
#33 ·
Hi,
Another observation concerning Laser Marking is the reason you can still see faint writing after sanding and bluing is the laser fused and hardened the steel under the letters making it harder than the steel around them. Bluing will change colors at different hardness levels.
Hope this helps,
Wes
That does help...I didn't think about that. How do you know if its lasered or not? It wont matter with me; Im just curious. I will probably do a ceracoat or a duracoat finish when I am due for one.
 
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