# How to prevent the Idiot Scratch



## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

There are a few ways to do this,one being a credit card laid under the stop or a thin blade to depress the plunger.Problem is you need that item with you whenever you field strip it.Some are just a real bear to install no matter what.Here is a way to do it with no tools.

At least despring the slide but I just pull the barrel and recoil assembly.Line up the assembly notch with the stop as you would push it in but stop when it touches the plunger.Look at where the plunger is touching the mag nub and mark that spot.Remember that the stop slides up and in.Now take a small round needle file and cut a tapered channel from the rough depth of the plunger to nothing in the vicinity of the slide slide slot.I use a triangle file at the mark and pull a few light swipes to rough out the depth taper and angle for installation,that helps guide the round file without walking until you get a good cut going.If you look at the stop and plunger,you will see exactly where it needs to be cut.Don't always go by any marks on the stop nub because there's a bit of leeway and it can slide in on different paths.If you get too high or low off the plunger it can force it to bind on the frame or slide,but it really isn't hard to locate the center with marking fluid,a marker,or spot of Scotch tape.

I don't have a pic but this one will work from the person I learned it from. http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=214653

I put it here instead of gunsmithing because most new people aren't going to go there,and those are the ones that can really benefit from this.


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

Here's a much simpler way to keep from putting the "idiot scratch" onto your 1911 or clone:
Have the frame hard-chromed! :anim_lol:

(It works for me: I can't tell you how many times I've tried—really, really tried—to idiot-scratch my hard-chromed 1911s, but I just can't seem to do it.)


----------



## Cait43 (Apr 4, 2013)

Hmmmmm, what do you call someone that is not an idiot yet scratches their 1911...... Just asking....


----------



## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

I'd say that's an oops.I've seen a few of those real tight ones and it started the rollout,but I had enough pressure on it to catch the frame and I backed off before it zipped around.I used to do an up and in push,and that transition is where it usually goes awry.The stop nub is started in the frame but the change in direction can slip it right back out.Now no matter what my thumb is always angled to push up and when it starts to go in I press with the tip without breaking the thumb joint to push in.Actually more of a squeeze so the meat under the stop helps block it.If it doesn't fully seat it's in far enough now it can't slip out.

That chrome is a hell of a finish isn't it Steve.I was never much into silver finishes so I've never had chrome,and luckily never tried to scratch one.Odd thing now is I thought about having my stainless Commander frame satin chromed for better protection because some times I think I sweat acid.I want the slide changed to black but haven't really decided if I want to change the sights yet.The std little rear isn't bad because the slide is flat topped but I'd prefer to lose the staked in front before it decides to.It's still tight but they've always made me leary.Doesn't help it was built in the early 90's when Colt was still struggling with their comeback.


----------



## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

I don't know a lot about it, but I believe (from what I've been told) that "hard chrome" isn't really chrome plating at all.

Be that as it may, it is dull-surfaced, and not particularly reflective. It is also almost perversely scratch-resistant, eats sand for lunch, and also resists everybody's sweat except mine. (My sweat will corrode anything, including silver, gold, platinum, and chemically-inert carbon.)

If I remember correctly, this hard-chrome stuff can be permanently blackened, too. However, I use epoxy paint on it instead, especially as an extra layer to keep my sweat off of plated-steel grip parts. (It only works for a little while.)

Anyway, it does prevent idiot-scratch.

The proof that I'm not an idiot: I had my two competition 1911s hard-chrome plated. No worries, mate. :smt083


----------



## Glock Doctor (Mar 14, 2011)

All I ever do is to insert the stop halfway into the hole. Center the stop in my fingers and gently wiggle it up and down as I push inward. Don't let the stop get too high; and don't let the stop get to low (which produces, 'the mark'). I've had 1911's that I've used for as long as 30 years without ever putting a scratch underneath the slide lock. 

This is, also, how my gunsmith friends used to do it, too.


----------



## rex (Jan 27, 2012)

That's the way it's supposed to be,but there's a big variation in builds.Even Colt was from the 70's through 90's.I've seen quite a few where the plunger tube was long or forward right off the stop,putting that plunger quite a bit forward.The standard wiggle takes a lot of pressure and it can easily slip down to jamb the plunger in the slide cut or just kick it down.These are quite aggrevating and this cures it.

Steve,I've always been told it is chrome but different than a car's bumper chrome,better actually.Black chrome is beautiful with a deep,rich blackness if it's done on a polished surface.Unfortunately whatever is used to make it black pulls it's properties down around Nickel,not quite as soft but but not near hard chrome.I may actually go that route on the slide because I'm leary of the heat required for the melonite process.Hehe,my rails will get a little tighter after chroming too.


----------



## Shipwreck (Jan 26, 2006)

I have had many guns hard chromed over the years (some were completely hard chromed guns, and some hard chromed slides for polymer guns) - you CAN scratch hard chrome. And, its not hard at all. But, it usually takes another piece of metal to do it. Hard chrome sees to be holster wear proof with leather holsters. A plastic holster can cause "shiny" spots to appear on hard chrome over time - which is basically how hard chrome scratches.

I once had a $3k hard chromed 1911. When I got it new (shipped in to my local FFL), it already had an idiot scratch when I took it out the box. Imagine how angry I was to take it out of the box and discover that.

Springfield Custom claimed they didn't do it. And, my local FFL says it came in that way. There are a few obvious possibilities - but I had Springfield take the gun back and fix it... Now, there is no way to "fix" a scratch on hard chrome - the plating must be stripped and then the gun/frame re-plated. Stripping hard chrome is a harsh process involving some strong chemicals, and not necessarily one you want done to a brand new gun. But anyway, thee did that and returned the gun to me.

After that experience, I found a solution to keep this from happening again. I didn't put the first scratch there - but I didn't want it to ever happen again.

Some 1911 purists roll their eyes at using a device specifically preventing this, but I say... who cares. If it works, it works. And, it worked better than any of the other solutions I have seen suggested.

I used this: Idiot Scratch Prevention Tool Official Website
(EDIT by Moderator: link is dead now, which is not unusual given its age. I'm leaving the post up, in case someone runs across one of these tools on the used-tool market and wants to read about it.)

Besides that expensive Custom Shop Springfield, I also had a $2200 Ed Brown at the time. I didn't want 1 careless mistake to scratch such a nice gun. So, I used the same device on that gun as well. Worked every time. Never a problem. And, it isn't like these little devices are very expensive...

The slide stop on the Ed Brown was very easy to put in. But, on every Springfield I ever owned... Whether it was that custom shop gun or just standard production Springers... The slide stop was always hard to put in, and sorta just invited the chances of such a scratch...

Anyway, I no longer have any 1911s currently, but I still have few of those devices packed up in a box somewhere. If I ever get another 1911, I will probably use them again.


----------

