Cleaning a S&W Model 34-1 Stainless Steel

[jedi]

After it's 1st cleaning!

Here are a few images of the gun after a good cleaning. My fingers are raw right now from all the 'elbow grease' I did on this gun.

I started with a copper wool pad (ie. pot cleaning pad) since I could not find a brass wool one at the store. In any case it took the rust spots off and when I scrubbed the cloudy parts of the barrel that stuff also came off. The cloudy stuff was like a dried out wax that crumbled and came off in parts. If you took your nail to it, it too would crumble off. Not sure what it was/is. In any case I scrubbed away with the pad on the whole gun. Next I took a clean cloth and put a little of the flitz (blue smelly paste) and started at the bottom trigger to see what it would do. The cloth (was white) turned BLACK. Using another cloth I wiped away the now black paste from the trigger and it was shinny.
So I tried it on the barrel and it also worked. Spent about 2 hours and the results are below. I'm sure if I continue at it I can get it to really shine but like I said my fingers/hand are raw now from all that scrubbing. Plus the gun looks a lot more presentable now.

 

[billybob44]

New Gun??

Jed, that's the difference in night/day!! Looks great from what the first picts. looked like.
After your fingers heal up work on it with a little more Flitz until no more black comes off on your rag+you'll have it good-to-go..Bill.

 

[jedi]

Thanks BillyBob,

It's bitter sweet working on this handgun though. It belongs to grandma, she use to carry it with her when I was a little lad (80s) and she and grandpa [grandpa pasted away 7 years ago] would take us (my sister and me) to the store, wendy's and the arcades. I did not know about the handgun until about 2 years ago and it was not until 48 hours ago that I had actually seen it.

Sadly grandma has begun to "bounce thru the years" and losses track of time along with saying stuff (ie. she is tired of living, etc..) that has finally caused the family to move her in with my parents and look after her more closely. It befell on me (as the only gun owner in the family) to take possession of the handgun for now for safe keeping.

My heart was in such pain when I went to her empty house 2 days ago with my little one (5 year old daughter) to secure the handgun. My daughter asked why we were taking grandma's gun and all I could think of was "wow... one day you (my daughter) may have to do this to me when I begun to lose my mind".

Once I do finish getting it clean I suspect that it will remained untouched for years to come. Part of my wants to believe that grandma will get better and I will be able to return the handgun to her but the logical side knows that is not the case anymore. *sigh*

 

[gunbunnies]

I would agree, that is a nice come back for that little revolver... I do believe the black your seeing in the finish though is the metal surface coming through the nickle plating as the nickle plating is wearing thin at this point. You may be at the point of clean outside surface and not much more plating left on the surface of the gun... from the pic's...

On the family situation, we take care of our family members in many different ways, sometimes it isn't along our normal thinking mannerisms.. I would hold the thought that your just holding on too it for a very loved and cherished family member and it's still hers just not able to be kept by her at this point... It's a family thing...