[Stnmikita]

I'm really hoping the collective wisdom here can give some advice on how best to remedy this unfortunate scratch. The pistol is pristine otherwise.

I have no desire to completely refinish this pistol, but the scratch is a terrible blemish on an otherwise showroom piece. I've personally never used Flitz or similar substances on a firearm and have no experience with it whatsoever. If that was the route needed, suggestions on who might do such work well would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Collects]

Field strip the gun, remove the stocks, and polish out the scratch using Flitz polish and a microfiber cloth. Flitz will remove the idiot scratch. If you loan me the gun, I will inadvertently put the idiot scratch back on the gun!

Do a search here for "Flitz," and you will learn the simple technique. You can do it as you watch TV.

If the gun is actually nickel plated, and not stainless steel, you may wear all the way through the nickel before the scratch is gone.

Also, you may end up with a different level of polish on the newly-polished scratch area than the rest of the pistol, in which case you will need to hand polish the entire pistol to get a uniform level of polish.

You could just learn to live with the takedown mark, an extremely common mark on 1911 styles of pistols.

 

[JudgeColt]

You should do the work yourself. It involves polishing the spot and surrounding area until the scratch is invisible. If the scratch is a surface scratch without a deep gouge, then a polishing compound might be enough. If not, then use the finest grit sandpaper you can find and use it to polish away the scratch, being careful to blend in the area so there will not be an obvious "divot" in that flat area. To do it right, will take a great deal of polishing, so do not lose patience.

 

[Vintage Racer]

You could just learn to live with the takedown mark, an extremely common mark on 1911 styles of pistols.

I'm with Collects'. I'd just live with it. I have four with the marks (one I did, the other three were bought that way).

I scratched a Gold Cup Trophy. I had field stripped it 50 times. I got lazy once, and my hand slipped. I polished it once or twice, and it didn't go away.

 

[dogface6]

Do 'not' speed things up by using your Dremel Tool...

Just do this by hand - take your time, stop frequently to look, and reflect upon your sins - and vow to be more careful in the future.

 

[JudgeColt]

While off subject, the way to avoid an "idiot scratch" in the first place is to align the slide stop and push IN and UP, not in and down or down and in.

 

[chaosrob]

I would just leave it. If you do not have a lot of experience in polishing you are going to make the surface "wave" if you concentrate on that one area too much. If you want it gone sent it back to Colt otherwise I believe you may do more harm than good. It's a pretty gun with a very small blemish and will be an excellent shooter. I have two of the 38 super customs like that and they are very fine/fun pistols to shoot.

 

[Vintage Racer]

I messed up on the Colt Gold Cup Trophy:

It's not really a problem when you buy one for a lower price because of the mark. They still shoot straight:

 

[Stnmikita]

Thank you to all for the advice and tips!

This pistol is stainless steel so I wouldn't be concerned about wearing through the finish as with nickel, but it's a Colt Custom Shop bright polish and as a total novice with Flitz I REALLY don't want to learn the skill on this particular firearm.

If it were returned to Colt for the work what would I be realistically looking at (cost and price)? Would they feel the need to refinish the entire thing? If this were a run of the mill pistol I might try my hand at it and if it were run of the mill I also might not mind the blemish, but because of what it is I'd really like it to be fixed and fixed correctly.

Thank you again for all of the assistance. As always this forum remains the single greatest place for a Colt fan on the internet.

 

[JohnnyP]

I would also agree with leaving it alone. It appears to be scratched fairly deep for a slide top mark, and metal will have to be removed for a distance on either side of the scratch. The slide stop is harder than the receiver, and appeared to have a rough area on it.

 

[arjay]

I'd work on it patiently and see how it looks.If that doesn't work,I'd send it to colt when they get caught up

 

[keystonearms]

I would never leave it as it is if it bothers you. Obviously you starting this thread indicates exactly that. To turn a perfectly Mint firearm into a "Good Shooter" is insane over a 1/4" Scratch. Get that scratch the heck off there and return it to it's former Glory.

PM Sent.