[19658]

I know there are lots of threads on this, but I have looked at them and the information is somewhat overwhelming and I haven't gotten as specific of an answer as I was looking for.

I want to polish the bolt on my Marlin 917VS bolt action rifle. I believe that the bolt is stainless. The reason I want to do this is for looks and function.

My questions after reading about this are:

1. I realize that polishing removes metal, it has to to remove the not perfectly smooth surface. My question is.... Is this amount of metal negligable, or will it cause slop.

2. What is the best way to do this? I want to do it by hand to avoid removing too much metal. I would rather use elbow grease and not risk it. The method I am think of consists of a good paste (what kind?, flitz?) and rubbing it in will a polishing cloth (t-shirt or store bought cloth?)

Advice is appreciated.

Mark

 

[19413]

The best way I have found to polish a bolt is to use ascending grits of wet or dry paper folded in fourths. Use oil to wet the paper, 400, 600, 1500 and finer if you wish. The folded paper is stiff enough to keep the surface true. This not only improves the appearance of the bolt but makes it work smoother.

 

[19658]

But wouldn't that remove more metal than a paste would? Does it remove enough to even matter? I see you are from OKC, I am from Tulsa. BTW

 

[jnyork]

dbryan has given you good advice. You dont have to worry about removing too much metal, you are only talking about less than .001" with even the most vigorous polishing. I usually start with about 400 grit wet-or-dry and go up from there.

 

[18997]

It won't remove too much metal if you don't go crazy on it. But to answer your question, yes it will remove more metal than polishing compound.

 

[19658]

Thanks guys for your advice. If someone has some experience with the paste, I would like to hear about that also. That way I can compare the two methods and decide which one I feel I can do better. I have limited hands on skills and I don't wanna screw this up and have to buy a new gun to get a new bolt.

 

[jnyork]

Send Help, what you are talking doing is not rocket science!! If you are unsure of yourself, go out in the shop or garage and get a round piece of steel of some kind, like a big bolt, and practice on it until you feel confident and can achieve the results you seek. Trust us, the wet-or dry works and wont hurt your bolt dimensions. :t

 

[19413]

Send Help;
Tulsa is my favorite city in the world and I have seen a few of them. My original home is 90 miles north of Tulsa.

 

[quickdtoo]

I polished all my bolts with flitz, 2 917s and a CZ452 American...just smear the Flitz all over the bolt, slide it in the action and work it open an closed for a couple hundred cycles....makes em glass smooth, but not loose that I can feel. A complete tear down and cleaning is required after this treatment, though.

 

[19658]

Does "complete teardown" mean disassembling the bolt into the two pieces on the 917 or taking out the springs, firing pin, etc. to clean afterwards.

If it does mean taking out the firing pin, etc. Can you point me in the right direction on how to do this or a place that has the info.

I like the idea of paste more than sand paper although sand paper would probably work fine. I just don't have the confidence in my abilities to put sandpaper near my bolt. I had a hard enough time sanding down my stock without freaking out.

 

[19413]

The sandpaper is FAR easier than the flitz!!!

 

[quickdtoo]

The sand paper is only going to smooth the bolt surfaces, the Flitz will polish the contact points on both the bolt and the action which will make the biggest difference in how it feels, but won't do anything for appearance. If you do a search for 917 bolt, you'll find a post by Dkemper detailing bolt disassembly.

Here's the bolt disassembly instructions...

http://rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=63345&highlight=Front+rotates

Front third rotates 180° and slides off. The extractor pops off, frees the firing pin. Watch out for the return spring buried under the firing pin, forward of the striker.

With the front of the bolt off, I use a small socket and press the bolt body down on the striker untill the striker cam pin/cocked indicator is free from the rear of the bolt body. Pop or tap the pin out to free the striker knob the genly release the pressure on the striker. Remove the small screw that holds the main spring retainer and the voila, the bolt is about as far down as would ever need. I've never removed the pinned on main spring collar on the striker, nor the allignment pin on the front of the rear bolt body.

In the infamous words of most maintenace manuals, reassembly is a reverse of dissassembly.

 

[19658]

Oh goodness! Ahh! Overwhelming. I think have some go ideas now and just need to get down to business and do it. I appreciate all you help guys, thanks. Wish me Luck. I will let you know how it goes

Mark