[zrozulu]

So a little while ago I picked up a very ugly Kimber in a trade. The previous owner had sprayed the whole thing with Wheeler ceramicoat and it was chipping and scratching. The before pic actually looks twice as good as it did in person. In addition to the horrible finish, the grip safety was sticking to the trigger bar and was preventing the trigger from resetting.

So I took it apart and started stripping the ceramicoat. That was a complete nightmare so I put the whole thing in a box to save for a rainy day. Well a couple days ago I got a harbor freight sand blast cabinet setup in my garage, and after blasting a few more immediate projects, I took to the Kimber.

I thought I was just going to strip the paint, but I got an idea to crank it up to 90 psi and see what it would look like bead blasted. I think it turned out really nicely and it is back to being a smooth operator! I even blasted the sights and polished the lamps with 1000 grit so they are visible again.

Pretty happy with how it turned out.

 

[1LuvGuns]

Amazing!

 

[Cousin Vinny]

Sweeeet!

 

[Spokes]

Nice work. Glad it also shoots well..

 

[Dddrees]

Wow, that turned out real good.

 

[BillKilgore]

It looks much better than the 'before' shot. Glad it functions better as well.

 

[Bender]

Lookin good!
Keep an eye on the frame, the blasting has removed some if not all the anodizing

 

[azguy1911]

beautiful

 

[zrozulu]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the positive feedback!

Lookin good!
Keep an eye on the frame, the blasting has removed some if not all the anodizing

I'm confident that all the ano has been removed. What is the worry there? Should I spray it with some clear coat? Thanks.

 

[duketbrd88]

I would probably use a good gun grease on the frame rails like sig recommends. That's just my opinion.

The anodizing provided a harder surface for the steel slide to ride on. It's probably a bit softer now.

 

[Bender]

It you notice the frame dulling, it corrosion.
Not really sure about how removing the anodizing will effect the frame. It is most certainly, softer now that it’s been removed. Personally, I would think about sending the frame to US Anodizing.

 

[swampgas]

Nice work but I'm wondering why that model seems to get abused so many times. I traded into one and the guy went on and on about how nice it was, blah, blah, blah. He brounght it by and externally it was fair, locked it back and looked down the barrel then asked him how much he had fired it and when was the last time,,,not much total firing, and just back from a range trip a couple of days back. I suggested he have his house fumigated because the barrel and chamber were full of cobwebs. LOL,,,only gun I've ever seen besides a wall hanger that had cobwebs in the bore and chamber.