(Possibly) obscure finish question

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noahmercy

Blackhawk
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Jun 13, 2015
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Sheridan, WY
So I convinced my mom to bid on a NIB Oglesby-tuned New Vaquero 45 Colt a while back during a live auction of a friend's estate sale. She won, and got a fantastic deal on a 4 5/8" polished stainless pistol with a slick action. I loaded up some anti-bruin loads for it with book max (for Colt & clones...don't worry, I wouldn't blow up my mother!) charges of Unique and my hand-cast and tempered 260 grain flat point slugs so she had something to carry up in the Big Horn Mountains in case she ran into a grumpy Yogi or unreasonable mama moose.

She took it to the range and it shot great! Then she put it in a new nylon Uncle Mike's holster my step dad had gotten her, and stuck it in the safe...for several years. I believe UM should put a label on every package that says, "All Uncle Mike's holsters ship from the factory with corrosive moisture in the foam at no extra cost to you!" SMH...

So I removed the orange dust from the top of the barrel as best I could, then used 4-ought steel wool and Ballistol to get it to clean metal, but there is still some discoloration. I want to return it to as close to factory as possible.

I have a good buffing wheel for my bench grinder, and several grades of polishing compound sticks. The question is does anyone know what grit (color, name, whatever) compound will get me closest to the factory finish? I am lucky in that it is only the barrel I need to deal with, and the cloudiness is not over the lettering, so no worries about "over-polishing" and rounding edges or obscuring factory stampings. I just have to remove the ejector rod/housing, and I have complete access to the affected area.

Thanks, guys!

(UPDATE) Edited to reflect that #1, I got it almost perfect with green polishing compound and a cloth wheel, and #2 I changed my description of the firearm to avoid upsetting the terminology nazis.
 
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contender

Ruger Guru
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Lake Lure NC USA
Well, I do seem to recall that Ruger gets their final polish from a vibrating tumbling media. And from what I've seen,, some folks have used a Scotchbrite pad of different colors to buff out marks etc.
Maybe try the scotchbrite pads?
 
Joined
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I polished a stainless Super grip frame to match my polished Vaquero. I repolished part of the main frame at the same time. It all matched up perfectly- I started out with white polish and ended with green. Hope this helps.
 

noahmercy

Blackhawk
Joined
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Messages
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Sheridan, WY
I polished a stainless Super grip frame to match my polished Vaquero. I repolished part of the main frame at the same time. It all matched up perfectly- I started out with white polish and ended with green. Hope this helps.
Awesome...that's what I've been looking for. Thanks, partner!
 

BearBiologist

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Off Topic: I hunted mule deer a couple of times on a ranch between Worland and Ten Sleeps. Saw grizzly signs although it was supposedly outside of grizzly territory. Cowboy who packed our deer out confirmed two had been sighted on the ranch. Glad had my 300 Win Mag and OM Blackhawk 45 Colt!
 

noahmercy

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Joined
Jun 13, 2015
Messages
748
Location
Sheridan, WY
Off Topic: I hunted mule deer a couple of times on a ranch between Worland and Ten Sleeps. Saw grizzly signs although it was supposedly outside of grizzly territory. Cowboy who packed our deer out confirmed two had been sighted on the ranch. Glad had my 300 Win Mag and OM Blackhawk 45 Colt!
Yeah, the Feds like to say there are no griz in the Big Horns, but I know too many ranchers who have said they've definitely made their way to the western slope, and every guide I know has said if you shoot a deer or elk even well east of Cody, the gunshot's like a dinner bell for old horribilis.
 

noahmercy

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Sheridan, WY
Do you mean a Vaquero or a New Vaquero. I'm not familiar with a New Model Vaquero.
I am SO sorry I accidentally capitalized the "M" in "model" and upset one of the nomenclature police. Is there a difference in polished finish between any models of stainless Vaquero? If not, would it matter if I "misgendered" this one anyway? Were you going to offer helpful advice, or just try to do a "gotcha" so you can show your obvious superiority?
 

BearBiologist

Buckeye
Joined
Dec 4, 2021
Messages
1,976
I am SO sorry I accidentally capitalized the "M" in "model" and upset one of the nomenclature police. Is there a difference in polished finish between any models of stainless Vaquero? If not, would it matter if I "misgendered" this one anyway? Were you going to offer helpful advice, or just try to do a "gotcha" so you can show your obvious superiority?
Relax! He's a "Newby"!
 
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