# Dressed up my 1911s a little!! (w/pics)



## MoMan (Dec 27, 2010)

So I've been wanting to do a little something cosmetic to my 1911s and decided to start with new grips, before tinkering "under the hood"!

Here is my Kimber SS Custom Target wearing some new Mother of Pearl inlays:







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My Ruger SR1911 CMD with custom monogrammed grips:







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... AND here they are playing nicely together:







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So what do ya' think???


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## berettatoter (Sep 1, 2011)

That is one of the cool things about the 1911 style pistol...you can make a huge difference with just the right set of grips! You sir, are a steely-eyed missile man! :smt033


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## MoMan (Dec 27, 2010)

berettatoter, I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the 1911 pistol platform being easily customizable! I'm kicking around the idea of changing a few of the SS components on the Kimber to black components to have them stand out. I'm thinking maybe: trigger, thumb safety, slide lock/release, etc. I'm just not quite sure what I want to do!


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

MoMan:
You might want to polish the flats on the stainless steel slides, start with 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper, followed by 600 then 1500. Place the sand paper on a flat surface and push the slide back and forth on top of the sandpaper front to back until you get the desired finish. That would look great with the black components, and the contrast between the matte finish on the frame and top of the slide. Plus the lettering on the sides of the slides will retain it's matte finish making it stand out a little more, same for the inside of the cocking serrations. It will cost you only a few dollars for the sandpaper. You might also want to try polishing the stainless steel components with the same sandpaper this also gives a nice contrast against the matte finish on the frame and you wouldn't have to buy new black ones. I love it when people personalize their firearms, I do it to all of my guns whenever possible, especially the stainless steel guns. It's fun just to sit back and admire them when your done.


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## Bobnew32 (Jan 26, 2014)

Very nice !!!


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## AdamSmith (Dec 18, 2013)

Looks beautiful indeed.


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## MoMan (Dec 27, 2010)

desertman said:


> MoMan:
> You might want to polish the flats on the stainless steel slides, start with 400 grit wet or dry sandpaper, followed by 600 then 1500. Place the sand paper on a flat surface and push the slide back and forth on top of the sandpaper front to back until you get the desired finish. That would look great with the black components, and the contrast between the matte finish on the frame and top of the slide. Plus the lettering on the sides of the slides will retain it's matte finish making it stand out a little more, same for the inside of the cocking serrations. It will cost you only a few dollars for the sandpaper. You might also want to try polishing the stainless steel components with the same sandpaper this also gives a nice contrast against the matte finish on the frame and you wouldn't have to buy new black ones. I love it when people personalize their firearms, I do it to all of my guns whenever possible, especially the stainless steel guns. It's fun just to sit back and admire them when your done.


Sounds interesting! Obviously you have tried this, could you possibly either post up, or Email a couple of pictures on how it looks when it is done? I would really like to see the final product!
Thanks!!


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

MoMan
I'm not sure how to post pictures on this forum without belonging to some sort of social networking site. I typed in "Polished Stainless Steel 1911's" in Yahoo and there are many samples of what can be done to dress up your 1911's and are probably much better photographers than I am. As long as you hold the slide flat and push lengthwise back and forth on the sandpaper you will achieve amazing results, it would also help if you put a couple of pages of news paper under the sandpaper maybe 4 at the most. If you really want to go crazy you can polish the entire gun or just do the flats on the frame and slide. Just make sure that the parts you are polishing are stainless steel, aluminum can be polished also but will quickly lose its luster unless it is clear coated. It's almost like you are buffing out the paint job on a car or removing scratches. If you get a couple of dull spots on the slide, frame or other components you can polish them out by cutting and folding the same grit sandpaper into small strips and concentrate on those areas using your fingers making sure you polish in the same direction as the rest of the parts. Smaller parts take a little more time and a little ingenuity such as rolling strips of the same sandpaper into small tubes to conform with the little nooks and crannies of those parts. Since you sound like someone who appreciates the looks of firearms and don't just consider them as "just a tool" you will enjoy polishing them out. Depending on how much time you want to spend you can get a mirror like finish. What's great about polished stainless steel is if it gets scratched you can just polish the scratches out. Whereas on a sandblasted matte finish the scratches stand out like a sore thumb. This whole process is not that difficult, have fun and you will enjoy your firearms even more.


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## smithnframe (Feb 23, 2014)

Very nice!


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