I wish there was more videos like this on youtube! Even simple cleaning & maintaining videos on Kimber 1911s would be great. Loved the vid! Keep it up :)
I watched your video and decided what could it hurt? I have a Kimber classic. Stainless LE. From what I’ve gathered on the internet, it was made in 1996 and only 600 or so were made. You could only get them through Gander MTN. I polished the sides of the slide by hand and it looks awesome! It just brightens up that full finish to something your friends will envy. Thanks!
I would field strip to polish because mothers works the best but, it can cause corrosion if you don't give it all off and its also extremely slippery. Polish then give it a dawn dish soap bath after and oil and reassemble.
Np beautiful weapon im buying a very similar myself! Iv noticed some other things i used mothers on caused some surface corrosion from some left over mothers!
I used lapping tapes, 9 microns through 0.1 microns made by Wicked Edge. They're adhesive backed and I put them on a sheet of glass. It helps prevent polishing of surfaces other than the flat part of the slide. I would like to add that the only reason I did this, is because the more I looked at the finish done by Kimber, the more blemishes I noticed and it was getting my OCD kicked into overdrive🤪
If you were to mirror polish it would it scratch easy if you daily carry in a leather holster? I want to get a stainless steel 1911 and engrave and mirror polish to carry every once in a while but would hate to have to regularly polish out scratches
There's a reason they put a finish on carbon steel, it needs it because it will be prone to rust if it doesn't have one. You shouldn't have raw steel exposed on carbon steel, only stainless steel. Your 1911 stainless is fine, your Glock barrel is supposed to have a finish.
I've always wondered if the black just keeps coming if one were to keep polishing due to the black being carbon ingrained in the metal. You owe yourself a dremmel to save your joints.
To clean it I would just use some gun solvent or some alcohol and some Q-tips, and a rag, I also use an old toothbrush to scrub tough spots. After that you can start to polish it, I keep mine pretty clean but it doesn’t have to be perfect before you start to polish since you will be removing the top layer of finish with the polish anyway.
Don't use NEVER Dull on your gun!!! I used to use it on my chrome bumpers on my cars. It leaves a film on the metal that eventually dulls outs. Plus unless you use glove it will dry out and eat away at the skin on your fingers.
@@RandomThingReviews Thank you, friend requested. Im getting ready to add a 1911 collection and not very sure which to get. How do you like your kimber? is it true that it jams on the first round?
@@sawyerramos3113 so I really like my Kimber, although a lot of of people hate on them it’s done good for me. I also want to buy a Sig Saur 1911 and a Springfield so that also may help you make a choice either one will make a great 1911. My next 1911 will have a light rail tho.
i did this to my kimber last week from watching this video. i couldnt notice it in urs, but mine still has this leftover grainy/dotty shine up close in the steel. did u still have that leftover or did u get the grainy look gone too. From this video, i couldnt really see it, and i worked hard all day on mine with the mothers polish, so im assuming its just part of the steel and cant be removed. Otherwise, its shiny and beautiful from a distance of arms length and beyond.
@@RandomThingReviews lol man ur not exxagerating either, if anything its and understatement, i do the exact same thing, if im just watchin netflix or something, ill just polish away, and for a whle the progress showed rather quick, but now its like hit a wall lol, i guess like you said, more hours of doing it while watchin tv and we will see. i am already very happy with it, but worst comes to worst, if i have taken it the furthest it will go with by hand, ill take it somewhere and have it nickel plated, but thats not the plan yet, just gonna keep at it.
So I wouldn’t recommend on a black pistol unless you want to completely remove all the paint and make it shiny like mine. But the polish would remove everything.
It’s a really bad idea to polish a pistol assembled. The polished needs to be kept away from the machined areas where steel rubs on steel. If polish get in those areas, it will change the way the firearm functions probably for the worst. Completely take apart the pistol and thoroughly clean off then polish before assembling. The same goes for steel chips or dust.
I have the same model Kimber as yours in the video. I really would like to purchase one of those compensators, but how do you know which size to pick? The Valkyrie Dynamics website has the compensators sorted by Government, Commander, and Compact. Would it be Government size?
Yes the government size would be the right choice. Also make sure you buy the tool to take it down and also the spring plug they offer because you will need it for that compensator. And sadly it doesn’t come included.
I ended up taking mine off, even though I think the weight does help with recoil I also noticed it beats up my frame more with the heavier slide. So instead I’m going to order a threaded barrel and a threaded comp.
Question, can this be done also to remove scratches from the slide or is it just to polish it aland is this the way professionals do it to make it look like a mirrow like shine
@@RandomThingReviews by lot of more work do you mean doing it for hours and prob another day or do you mean using a rotary machine with wheels cotton buffer i did ny 1911 stai less stell slider and it is shinner than before but I have not yet come close to a mirrow shine yet. Do I still need to keep on polishing longer
@@RandomThingReviews ok so I kept sanding my slide and it did get shiny but no mirrow like. So I looked up some videos and you definitely need to do some work to get it mirrow polish. I did some sanding and buffing and it came out mirrow polish shinny just how I want it. I do see some small lines but they r very little noticeable I might just take it to a shop and get then vanished. But def if you want mirrow finish these mothers and a rag won't do but it will def give it some shine. Anyways have a good one and beautiful Kimber👍👍
@@brannonbenjamin203 thank you and I used 400-1600 after that the polish and a buffing wheel. Either for your drill or bench one if you don’t want to do it by hand.
Am I able to get the same results on the frame as well? I did this once on the front of my Taurus 856's Cylinder that I recently sold to clean the burn. It definitely did polish it.
Mine hasn’t rusted, I’m pretty sure after polishing metal that much the pores in the metal get super small and don’t let it rust super easy, I also add a coat of oil after cleaning it. And my frame is aluminum so I didn’t polish mine but I have friends that polish the stainless frames all the time and they look nice.
@@RandomThingReviews So the Mothers Brand says Mag and Aluminum, I'm thinking it should work? I'll give it a try Hopefully it does🤞🏼. Do you consider polishing the Frane on Yours? Thanks once again for the Video.
Could you use a small Dremel with a polishing pad at the end to polish it quicker or will it affect the finish on the gun? As I have a Springfield V10 Ultra compact 1911 stainless steel
You could but you need to be careful not to remove the finish and you could possibly slip and hit the middle shaft off the gun but your safest bet is to do it by hand. hope this helps 😊
Question i see it more shiny but is not glossy mirror shiny , can you really get it to that mirror shine by doing this or is it best to just send it to a professional
You can get it as shiny as you want using this method. I stopped there only because it takes a bit longer to get it to chrome look. Also that’s to flashy for me.
@@RandomThingReviewsby shiny do you mean also mirrow shiny or just shiny because I have seen other videos also and is not exactly mirrow shine but really shiny.
@@Joetrout yes thanks I actually had to use sand papers before doing the polish. I belive that is the only way to get a mirrrow finish. It does takes time and patient but the finish is amazing. Of course everytime u put ur hands on it it gets finger marks and smudges so it is a clean and clean everytime
So it’s been great no rust on it or anything. What I read was that when you polish metal that shiny the pores in the metal get so small it’s hard for rust to form.
I’m loving mine and I’ve had it polished for months now in and out of holster and it hasn’t changed. If it ever gets dull I’ll re polish it but it will get its shine a lot faster than the initial process.
ordered the exact same kimber today. The Stainless LW in 45ACP. How do you like your Stainless LW? anything notable youve experienced with the gun? failues of any kinds or anything you just dont like about it? i cant seem to find many reviews on this pistol.
@@RandomThingReviews oh yeah I've been thinkin about getting one of those too! They look sexy! Did you get the one that slips under the grips? Or the one that's part of the mainspring housing? idk which one I want lol. The one that slips under the grips is way more affordable for me haha
You can but it’s aluminum and may not look as shiny or the same when polished. A stainless lower would look just like the slide does when polished because they’re the same material. On the Kimber stainless LW it’s a lightweight aluminum lower
So I just add a light coat of gun oil and also wipe it down if you get it wet with rain or water. But mine has never shown corrosion. Mainly because when you polish the pores in the metal become super small.
I wish there was more videos like this on youtube! Even simple cleaning & maintaining videos on Kimber 1911s would be great. Loved the vid! Keep it up :)
Thank you so much!
1911s are 1911s.
@@RandomThingReviews So you literally just kept using mothers Mag you did not sand it down ? ,
@@alexx_windycitychi558 yup I I didn’t sand at all.
I watched your video and decided what could it hurt? I have a Kimber classic. Stainless LE. From what I’ve gathered on the internet, it was made in 1996 and only 600 or so were made. You could only get them through Gander MTN. I polished the sides of the slide by hand and it looks awesome!
It just brightens up that full finish to something your friends will envy. Thanks!
I’m glad it helped! And that’s a rare 1911!
I would field strip to polish because mothers works the best but, it can cause corrosion if you don't give it all off and its also extremely slippery. Polish then give it a dawn dish soap bath after and oil and reassemble.
Thank you for the advice I’ll make sure to clean her up better!
Np beautiful weapon im buying a very similar myself! Iv noticed some other things i used mothers on caused some surface corrosion from some left over mothers!
I used lapping tapes, 9 microns through 0.1 microns made by Wicked Edge. They're adhesive backed and I put them on a sheet of glass.
It helps prevent polishing of surfaces other than the flat part of the slide.
I would like to add that the only reason I did this, is because the more I looked at the finish done by Kimber, the more blemishes I noticed and it was getting my OCD kicked into overdrive🤪
I finally picked up my new Raptor. I’ll be polishing tomorrow.
Awesome! Good luck and I hope it turns out awesome!
I cant wait to get my 1911, dear god!
You got it yet!?!?
If you were to mirror polish it would it scratch easy if you daily carry in a leather holster? I want to get a stainless steel 1911 and engrave and mirror polish to carry every once in a while but would hate to have to regularly polish out scratches
My freind its like wearing white shoes everytime i look at my stainless peice its got new scratches .
There's a reason they put a finish on carbon steel, it needs it because it will be prone to rust if it doesn't have one. You shouldn't have raw steel exposed on carbon steel, only stainless steel. Your 1911 stainless is fine, your Glock barrel is supposed to have a finish.
clean looking 1911.....bad azz
I been looking for this video for a few years lol thank you
Gente De Atlanta awesome I’m glad you liked it!
Sweet. I have 2 im working on now 1 is my ruger gp 100 and the other is a ruger 1911.
Just curious, did the polishing process affect the etched logo on the 1911? And did you use Mother's, or the wadding?
@SouthernExposure I used mothers polish
@SouthernExposure and no issues with the logo. Still sharp
Awesome, thank you! I think I'm going to try it on mine.
@SouthernExposure let me know how it goes! Good luck 👍 I’ve been enjoying mine and people always love my 1911.
Would love a link for that comp! Gun is sexy especially with that on it.
www.valkyriedynamics.com/
And thank you !
I've always wondered if the black just keeps coming if one were to keep polishing due to the black being carbon ingrained in the metal.
You owe yourself a dremmel to save your joints.
Hm I’m not sure but that makes sense.
Dremel's nice, you just have to be careful because it's possible to polish too much.
Should I take apart my beretta 92fs before I polish or it works fine doing it assembled ?
I prefer to at least take the slide off.
So it works good on stainless steel?
@@naterod5830 yes it does my 1911 slide is stainless steel
Do I need to clean it first. I want to do it but my slide is quite dirty is there an easy way to clean it??
To clean it I would just use some gun solvent or some alcohol and some Q-tips, and a rag, I also use an old toothbrush to scrub tough spots. After that you can start to polish it, I keep mine pretty clean but it doesn’t have to be perfect before you start to polish since you will be removing the top layer of finish with the polish anyway.
ROFL ...now i have to clean up my Smith & Wesson 645s!!! THANKS GUY!!! =)
Just find a good movie or show to watch and get to work on them, although my wife gets annoyed with the smell of the polish after a few hours 😂
@@RandomThingReviews you KNOW it, and i better be outside just in case fumes of the polish make me goofy!!! ;) (it's a USMC thing) LOL
@@maxwellmarsden7273 you’re a Marine too? That’s awesome. I’m stationed in Hawaii right now.
Don't use NEVER Dull on your gun!!! I used to use it on my chrome bumpers on my cars. It leaves a film on the metal that eventually dulls outs. Plus unless you use glove it will dry out and eat away at the skin on your fingers.
Always wear gloves when doing this kind of work with chemicals, etc.
Thanks for video , looks great
اخي الكريم..هل تقصد ان المسدس مصنوع من الفولاذ وقد قمت بعملية بولش له دون طلاء
Would that compensater fit on my para expert .45 it’s a full size, but I don’t have a full length guide rod so idk if that makes a difference
From what I read, the only thing you can’t use em with is a 1911 with a bull barrel.
@@RandomThingReviews awesome I should be fine then appreciate your quick response and help!
there is a 1911 club on facebook? good lord. heading over there
Iet me get you a link!
facebook.com/groups/1911acp45/?ref=share
facebook.com/groups/1911addicts/?ref=share
@@RandomThingReviews Thank you, friend requested. Im getting ready to add a 1911 collection and not very sure which to get. How do you like your kimber? is it true that it jams on the first round?
@@sawyerramos3113 so I really like my Kimber, although a lot of of people hate on them it’s done good for me. I also want to buy a Sig Saur 1911 and a Springfield so that also may help you make a choice either one will make a great 1911. My next 1911 will have a light rail tho.
i did this to my kimber last week from watching this video. i couldnt notice it in urs, but mine still has this leftover grainy/dotty shine up close in the steel. did u still have that leftover or did u get the grainy look gone too. From this video, i couldnt really see it, and i worked hard all day on mine with the mothers polish, so im assuming its just part of the steel and cant be removed. Otherwise, its shiny and beautiful from a distance of arms length and beyond.
I’m glad you polished yours too! And yes so if you just keep going believe it or not it’ll show less and less imperfections in the metal.
It took me a few hours a day while watching tv and stuff to get mine perfect.
@@RandomThingReviews lol man ur not exxagerating either, if anything its and understatement, i do the exact same thing, if im just watchin netflix or something, ill just polish away, and for a whle the progress showed rather quick, but now its like hit a wall lol, i guess like you said, more hours of doing it while watchin tv and we will see. i am already very happy with it, but worst comes to worst, if i have taken it the furthest it will go with by hand, ill take it somewhere and have it nickel plated, but thats not the plan yet, just gonna keep at it.
For sure I’ve spent days so far on mine !
I wonder if it would be a good idea to use an oscillating multi tool with a polishing pad attachment and green polish?
can this be done if my rock island 1911 is black ?
Yes because you will be stripping off all the paint. And once it’s bare metal it will slowly start to get more and more polished and shiny
Would you recommend this to make a black pistol more polished? Or could it mess up the finish?
So I wouldn’t recommend on a black pistol unless you want to completely remove all the paint and make it shiny like mine. But the polish would remove everything.
It’s a really bad idea to polish a pistol assembled. The polished needs to be kept away from the machined areas where steel rubs on steel. If polish get in those areas, it will change the way the firearm functions probably for the worst.
Completely take apart the pistol and thoroughly clean off then polish before assembling. The same goes for steel chips or dust.
I have the same model Kimber as yours in the video. I really would like to purchase one of those compensators, but how do you know which size to pick? The Valkyrie Dynamics website has the compensators sorted by Government, Commander, and Compact. Would it be Government size?
Yes the government size would be the right choice. Also make sure you buy the tool to take it down and also the spring plug they offer because you will need it for that compensator. And sadly it doesn’t come included.
@@RandomThingReviews thank you!
Very nice gun, does the compensator really work i mean minimize muzzle jump or is it for look ?
I ended up taking mine off, even though I think the weight does help with recoil I also noticed it beats up my frame more with the heavier slide. So instead I’m going to order a threaded barrel and a threaded comp.
Question, can this be done also to remove scratches from the slide or is it just to polish it aland is this the way professionals do it to make it look like a mirrow like shine
Yes you can remove scratches this way, and it’s the same method to get a mirror shine but it’ll take a lot more work.
@@RandomThingReviews by lot of more work do you mean doing it for hours and prob another day or do you mean using a rotary machine with wheels cotton buffer i did ny 1911 stai less stell slider and it is shinner than before but I have not yet come close to a mirrow shine yet. Do I still need to keep on polishing longer
@@SuAmigoElilegal yes just polish longer also if it still has coating on it you can wet sand with very fine sandpaper.
@@RandomThingReviews ok so I kept sanding my slide and it did get shiny but no mirrow like. So I looked up some videos and you definitely need to do some work to get it mirrow polish. I did some sanding and buffing and it came out mirrow polish shinny just how I want it. I do see some small lines but they r very little noticeable I might just take it to a shop and get then vanished. But def if you want mirrow finish these mothers and a rag won't do but it will def give it some shine. Anyways have a good one and beautiful Kimber👍👍
Nice , thanks for the tip 👍
I would like to see how to take something to a mirror finish. Cheers!
Same trying to find a very detailed video or source for that as well
This is awesome thanks for the info! How did you get your Glock slide shiny? Thanks
Same method but I started with sand paper to strip the coating first, then just polish after that.
@@RandomThingReviews thanks any specific grit sandpaper because I love the look of it. Great job!
@@brannonbenjamin203 thank you and I used 400-1600 after that the polish and a buffing wheel. Either for your drill or bench one if you don’t want to do it by hand.
My slide on my 1911 is black, would it turn it stainless if I did this process? Thanks
Yes once you remove the paint or whatever coating is on the slide the metal will eventually polish up and shine.
Am I able to get the same results on the frame as well?
I did this once on the front of my Taurus 856's Cylinder that I recently sold to clean the burn. It definitely did polish it.
If your frame is stainless steel or carbon steel you can! Mine is aluminum so it won’t look the same
Can you polish the Lower sect to? An does this scratch or rust easy?
Mine hasn’t rusted, I’m pretty sure after polishing metal that much the pores in the metal get super small and don’t let it rust super easy, I also add a coat of oil after cleaning it. And my frame is aluminum so I didn’t polish mine but I have friends that polish the stainless frames all the time and they look nice.
Ty got my Kimber 2020 1911 LW, ordered extra clips an compensator in Satun. Mine looks like yours ty.
Thanks for the Pointers Great Video 👍🏽. Can the Frame also be polished to match the Slide ? I'm thinking of doing that to my Kimber lw 1911
So the frame on the LW is aluminum, I’m sure aluminum can be polished but I don’t know if it will be as shiny or match the slide exactly or not.
@@RandomThingReviews So the Mothers Brand says Mag and Aluminum, I'm thinking it should work? I'll give it a try Hopefully it does🤞🏼. Do you consider polishing the Frane on Yours? Thanks once again for the Video.
@@iraram5039 you’re welcome and I may go ahead and try the frame as well! Thank you for the comments and the support!
@@RandomThingReviews You are welcome. Keep them Videos Coming.
Why not just use the polishing wheel?
Could you use a small Dremel with a polishing pad at the end to polish it quicker or will it affect the finish on the gun? As I have a Springfield V10 Ultra compact 1911 stainless steel
You could but you need to be careful not to remove the finish and you could possibly slip and hit the middle shaft off the gun but your safest bet is to do it by hand. hope this helps 😊
@@RKP_CUSTOMS thanks I appreciate it I'll be safe by hand instead
Question i see it more shiny but is not glossy mirror shiny , can you really get it to that mirror shine by doing this or is it best to just send it to a professional
You can get it as shiny as you want using this method. I stopped there only because it takes a bit longer to get it to chrome look. Also that’s to flashy for me.
@@RandomThingReviewsby shiny do you mean also mirrow shiny or just shiny because I have seen other videos also and is not exactly mirrow shine but really shiny.
You can get mirror finish it just takes a long time and a lot of work.
Grab a dremel a some polish if you want a mirror look. Wont take much time do do it either
@@Joetrout yes thanks I actually had to use sand papers before doing the polish. I belive that is the only way to get a mirrrow finish. It does takes time and patient but the finish is amazing. Of course everytime u put ur hands on it it gets finger marks and smudges so it is a clean and clean everytime
How is the glock barrel holding up without the coating?
So it’s been great no rust on it or anything. What I read was that when you polish metal that shiny the pores in the metal get so small it’s hard for rust to form.
@@RandomThingReviews Thanks for the reply! I know a knife maker, I think he said something similar.
How long does the finish last?
Also, I just ordered this exact same 1911, how do you like yours?
I’m loving mine and I’ve had it polished for months now in and out of holster and it hasn’t changed. If it ever gets dull I’ll re polish it but it will get its shine a lot faster than the initial process.
@@RandomThingReviews Great to hear, just order the Mothers polish too. Can't wait to get mine. Thanks!
@@tikijojo good luck! and let me know how it turns out!
Beautiful gun😮
Thank you!
I like to get my 1911 like that bit my is stainless steel😔
You can still polish it!
ordered the exact same kimber today. The Stainless LW in 45ACP. How do you like your Stainless LW? anything notable youve experienced with the gun? failues of any kinds or anything you just dont like about it? i cant seem to find many reviews on this pistol.
So I’ve been happy with mine 650rounds of fmj 230grain and no issues with the original mag or my Wilson combat 10 round mag.
@@RandomThingReviews thats awesome!! Did you put a magwell on your kimber? It kinda looks like it at the bottom of the handle
@@BeanWorksInternational yes I did it’s the stainless one from Wilson combat
@@RandomThingReviews oh yeah I've been thinkin about getting one of those too! They look sexy! Did you get the one that slips under the grips? Or the one that's part of the mainspring housing? idk which one I want lol. The one that slips under the grips is way more affordable for me haha
@@BeanWorksInternational the one I have is the one that slips under grips and it fits super tight and doesn’t move and looks good!
Why just the slide and not the rest of the firearm?
Looks good like that. Kind of a two tone. Stands out more
lovely gun.
Thank you!
Do you still own the gun to this day? And if so, how has it held up?
Great so far! No rust and it’s still polished
I don't recommend doing the barrel as it will gets scratched and u will need to polish it every other time.
Can I polish the lower part? I have the same one
You can but it’s aluminum and may not look as shiny or the same when polished. A stainless lower would look just like the slide does when polished because they’re the same material. On the Kimber stainless LW it’s a lightweight aluminum lower
Why didn't you use a wet sanding technique, which would get it shiny and make it easier to polish?
What wet sanding method to use
NICE
Interesting
Do you have to sand paper the gun to polish?
Did you watch the video?
@@XuroX. Yes just asking because theres a lot of things stating to sand down the fire arm so just wanted to ask if he did that before polishing
How do you protect it against corrosion
So I just add a light coat of gun oil and also wipe it down if you get it wet with rain or water. But mine has never shown corrosion. Mainly because when you polish the pores in the metal become super small.
@@RandomThingReviews thanks 👍🏼
@@RandomThingReviews what kind of oil?
@@christopher3725 I use rem oil
@@RandomThingReviews thank you
Fair warning b4 attempting this you'll need alot of patienc this ain't no one day job lol
Very true lol! Good advice
Takes days weeks months years decades 😂😂😂
What Facebook page?
It's not paint!
No shit