Banish And Prevent Those Scratches!

The dreaded “Idiot Scratch” on a Colt 1911 pistol caused by improper assembly.

Everyone hates a scratch. A scratch on your car, a tabletop and especially your gun. Scratches not only look bad, they can lead to rust on guns if left untreated because they can expose raw steel, so fixing them is important.

Repairing scratches can be easy to complex depending on the depth, location and underlying material. Pistol exteriors may be carbon steel, stainless steel, or polymer. Small parts can be steel or aluminum. Most of the time, scratches show up on blued carbon steel or stainless-steel pistols.

The 1911 slide stop modification by Richard Boukes that prevents assembly scratches.

Blueing Scratch Repairs

The first thing I do is look at the depth of the scratch, see if any surrounding area has been damaged. That damage needs to be addressed without making a larger repair area.

If the scratch is small, I de-grease the area with some acetone in preparation for application of a small amount of instant blue. I like Brownells’ liquid “Oxpho Blue” because it works well and is easy to use. It goes on like water and turns carbon steel blue to protect it from rusting.

I like to go one step further than Brownells’ instructions. I have a small butane torch on my bench, which I use to heat the scratch area. This removes all moisture from the metal, dries any solvent and opens the pores of the metal to better accept the instant blue.

Once the area is clean, decreased and heated, I use a number of tools to apply the “cold blue.” I don’t want to just wash the area with cold blue. I want to only treat the smallest possible area. Washing can change the color of the surrounding metal and make things look worse. Sometimes for a small scratch I’ll use a small needle-like pointed tool to apply a tiny bit of blue to the scratch itself. For larger scratches I use a 000 hobby paint brush or even a Q-Tip. Once the blue starts to affect the scratch, I wipe it off. I don’t want the scratch to be darker than the original blue. If my repair is too light, I start the process over again until I get a good match. Apply oil to the repair as soon as possible once you’re satisfied with the color.

Two must-have supplies: Brownells’ Oxpho Blue liquid to
touch up scratches and small abrasive wheels.

Stainless & The Big Oops

Stainless steel scratches easily. The only real way to hide it is to refinish the scratched area. So, if it’s a small part, a few strokes with 400 or finer sandpaper can erase the scratch. For matte finish areas, a light blasting with fine glass beads or aluminum oxide will hide most blemishes. For deeper scratches, some file work, a Scotch Brite pad or wheel might be needed. I found a variety pack of small abrasive wheels on Amazon, which are color coded by grit. They can get into small areas well.

Then there are scratches on large flat areas like a 1911 slide or frame. For these I first remove all the parts that will allow me to work freely around the area. I use various grits of sandpaper sheets on a flat surface and drag the frame or slide across lightly. Start slow and work with just enough pressure to remove the scratch — not the rollmarks or serial number. Use finer paper as you go to match the original texture on the pistol. This will require a re-blue job.

You might consider prevention strategies to avoid scratches like the legendary 1911 “Idiot Scratch” caused by dragging the slide stop pin across the frame during take-down or reassembly. Richard “Log Man” Boukes came up with a great modification for the slide stop. By making a small notch on the lug at the back side of the slide stop using a round file, the slide stop can easily be inserted in the frame, slipping past the spring-loaded detent straight in without dragging against the frame. To do this Richard uses a small 1/8″ round needle file. I start with a triangle file for the first cut to avoid the file slipping out of position and finish with the round file. I show clients this modification and the proper way to insert the slide stop. Their reaction is priceless.

For more info: Brownells.com

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