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How to Refinish Gun Slide Degreasing

The finish on a gun is what protects it from the elements and helps preserve the metal in a serviceable condition. If you need to refinish any part of your gun, such as the slide, then you need to completely disassemble that part of the gun and strip it of all existing grease, rust and finish. Once you're back down to the bare metal, you can reapply the finish and give your gun a new lease on life.

Things You'll Need

Latex gloves
Safety glasses
Degreasing agent
Cotton cloths
Sandpaper
Gun refinishing kit
Oven (optional)
Painter's tape (optional)

Instructions

- 1
  Unload the pistol and strip off the barrel. Release the clip and pull back on the slide to eject any bullets in the weapon. Flip up the lever on the left hand side of the gun and pull the slide forward. Remove the spring on the underside of the slide and take out the barrel. You should now have just the slide by itself.
- 2
  Put on the gloves and protective eyewear. Dip the slide in a degreasing agent or spray the agent onto the slide and wipe it down with clean, cotton cloths. When the grease has been eliminated and wiped away, sand down the slide with fine grain, metal sandpaper until all rust and old finish has been removed.
- 3
  Coat the slide with the refinishing product, according to instructions. There are a large number of bluing and refinishing products for home use and all of them will require you to paint on a new layer of finish. A heat gun or an oven may be necessary to heat the pistol slide depending on the refinishing instructions. Once the slide is painted and heated, the new finish will have soaked in. Allow it to cool down and dry completely, then reassemble the slide.

Gun Collecting