I have an all stainless SIG P226. It has the semi circle under the takedown lever and the scuff the decocker makes at times. Bought it in this condition (unfired) and would love it to have the "new" look and was wondering if bead blasting would eliminate this.
It would but it would just happen again when you take down the gun or decock it. CCR will bead blast it for you. You need to ask for a very fine tight bead. The courser the bead the duller the finish which scratched easier
_______________________________________________ Use thumb-size bullets to create fist-size holes.
I do my own and they come out very nice. You can get a cabinet at harbor freight for a couple hundred. If you have a compressor it's a lot of fun and you can get whatever result you want. I like smooth beads and low pressure myself.
Sent a Stainless gun in for bead blast to the custom shop and had very good experience.Gun came back looking new(wasn't bad to start with)they also updated some parts and springs without me asking,no extra charge.Turn around time around 2 weeks if that.
I had SIG bead blast three of my Nitron coated pistols. They came back looking like new in about 10 days so I was very happy with the results.
I'm certain the aftermarket can do similar work. It's incumbent upon you to tell the vendor how you expect the finish to look. The aftermarket should be able to do the work for a little less money but turn around may be longer as many shops are small operations.
Beware of a man whose only pistol is a 1911, he's probably very good with it.
Posts: 11194 | Location: Somewhere north of a hot humid hell in the summer. | Registered: January 09, 2009
I've done my own for several years now. If you have anybody other than SIG do it, ensure they know you want a fine glass bead blast, not aluminum oxide or, God forbid, actual sand blast. FWIW, I use Brownells 270+ glass beads for the finest finish, or Harbor Freight #80 glass beads which produce a finish only slightly coarser. If you have it done locally, ensure that the gun is detail stripped prior, and thoroughly, totally, completely (can't emphasize this enough) cleaned of every speck of blast media before reassembly. And yes, properly done, your gun will look like new.
FWIW, I once had a pistol blasted and refinished by a Nationally known gunsmithing outfit. I didn't discover, until shooting it for the first time, they had left blast media in the recoil spring tunnel. I discovered it only after shooting a magazine of ammo through the gun. UGLY!
NRA Life
Posts: 1564 | Location: Under the Tonto Rim | Registered: August 18, 2003
FWIW, I once had a pistol blasted and refinished by a Nationally known gunsmithing outfit. I didn't discover, until shooting it for the first time, they had left blast media in the recoil spring tunnel. I discovered it only after shooting a magazine of ammo through the gun. UGLY!
THIS is what you've got to look for after blasting, sand bead or whatever! UGLY!...absolutely!
___________________________________________________________ Your right to swing your fist stops just short of the other person's nose...
Posts: 360 | Location: Outinthesticks | Registered: October 08, 2016
I had several of my Sigs bead blasted. Bruce Gray does good work and Robert Burke is excellent. Ironically, the only bad experience I've had is the one time I sent work to Sig. They literally destroyed the slide of a irreplaceable older P229 SAS I owned. If I were to send another job out I'd choose Robert Burke.
Posts: 1874 | Location: Southern California | Registered: January 16, 2013
