I've been through a fair number of Ruger revolvers in my time, both DA and SA, OM and NM. An OM Super Blackhawk was the first handgun I ever shot, fifty years ago, or more. It was a stout cast load (Ideal 429-303) and I was hooked. Just over ten years ago, I'd "settled" for an OM 45 Colt I'd bought cheap and did some work to to get it where I wanted my ONE single-action - at least the one I used most, like all the time. It had been messed with" and NOT collectible, so I cut it to 5.5", and had an eminently wonderfully handling big bore. I did this because I couldn't afford a 44 Special conversion, but there still ain't no flies on the 45 Colt by any means.
Along comes Lipseys and the 44 Special Flat Top. A Ruger collector brought it to my attention because I had turned him onto the 'Special, and he had a custom done by a famous fella an hour-plus east of us. It was/is a gem. So, to truncate the long thread, I offered him my 45 Colt OM in trade for a new Lipseys 44 Special - IF he could find one. Boy, he found one, and fast. We traded and I was pretty please. In the intervening years, I couldn't get that pig to shoot and sent it back to Ruger after trying for five years. I told the nice lady that I don't shoot like I USED TO, but I don't suck THAT bad. When they got the gun back, they agreed that it was wrong, but further decided it was unfixable and replaced it with a production version, with which I was even happier.
THEN, once I knew I had a "keeper," I started taking care of the necessary little tweaks. I added a NM SBH hammer, for which I also had to replace the trigger, because the trigger was too long - couldn't get the hammer back far enough for the sear to engage the hammer notch. Found a "short" trigger in the scant parts cache and worked with it until I got it functioning better than any one I'd had in the past. Swapped the steel grip frame (heresy, I know) for 500 rounds of Starline 357 brass, and bought a beat up XR3-RED from Numrich. NOW, this gun feels like the old OM 45 Colt, and the custom 44 Special OM BH ny dad just up and GAVE me one day. The weight distribution was prefect - what I was used to. I was lucky that I had just enough "meat" on the aluminum grip frame to fit it to the Flat Top 44 Special. It was CLOSE.
For several years now, I've had this skanky-looking grip frame on my favorite SA of all time, but it SHOOTS and I love the way it handles. I was able to put up with the ugliness because it was so perfect otherwise. To make it worse, I've had the original walnut panels left from the OM 45 Colt on it too, which had been very neatly, cleanly and completely drilled THROUGH the FRONT for the left panel's locator pin hole. NO idea how or why that would have happened, but there it is. I have been messing with the new Service Six lately and an stopped waiting for the grips I want. Started eyeballing this ugly situation and decided, what the heck, I'm going to sand that paint off and see how it looks!
I did NOT like the look of the BRIGHT aluminum on the blued gun and started wondering what to do about it. It doesn't have to be a pefect match to the gun's color, but so mething darker would be nice. It was like a new pair of white sneakers that flash before your eyes every step you take until they start to get a little soiled. Then, it hit me! I;d just tested a mil pasteurizer for a neighbor. This thing was made in 1952 and someone had prettied it up with a 320 grit foam sanding pad, inside and out and it's ALL aluminum. Running the pasteurizer through its paces, I heated softened well-water for the lack of that much milk, which is about cheaper than well-water these days. I filled the pasteurizer half full of water and ran it through a cycle. When I was done testing, I noticed the pot had a deep, even dull gray appearance where someone had taken the abrasives to it, and the top half was still bright and sort of shiny.
After I dealt (GENTLY) with the paint on the grip frame, starting with 220 grit, then putting some definition back into edges with some 320, followed by a Scotch-Bright pad, this thing was just too bright. I know it woould have toned down in time, but it had been too long, too ugly already. I suspended the bare grip frame in a stainless pot of well-water and boiled it for thirty minutes. It came out with that same dark, even gray and looked anodized, though I seriously doubt the "finish" will be anywhere near as durable. I waxed it heavily after it was dry, but still hot, and buffer it with a rag and installed it on the gun. I'm pleased with it, but if it fails to keep me happy over time, I'll have it bead-blasted and "paint" it or have it "painted. I'll decide what/how when that time comes.
From what I've read, this process sort of emulates passivation, and I've read that you can't actually passivate aluminum. Supposedly, you can "passivate" aluminum (even though it can't be passivated) with a citric acid bath too, but I was looking for this color and anxious to see how it looks after some handling and use. I've cleaned high-carbon steel using citric acid and it blackens it, but the "finish" is very fragile and ephemeral - literally rubbing off onto your hands.
I have better photos floating around in lala-land, between my phone and e-mail, but I think USPS must be involved in that particular digital delivery, because they can take hours or days to show up in my e-mail.
Along comes Lipseys and the 44 Special Flat Top. A Ruger collector brought it to my attention because I had turned him onto the 'Special, and he had a custom done by a famous fella an hour-plus east of us. It was/is a gem. So, to truncate the long thread, I offered him my 45 Colt OM in trade for a new Lipseys 44 Special - IF he could find one. Boy, he found one, and fast. We traded and I was pretty please. In the intervening years, I couldn't get that pig to shoot and sent it back to Ruger after trying for five years. I told the nice lady that I don't shoot like I USED TO, but I don't suck THAT bad. When they got the gun back, they agreed that it was wrong, but further decided it was unfixable and replaced it with a production version, with which I was even happier.
THEN, once I knew I had a "keeper," I started taking care of the necessary little tweaks. I added a NM SBH hammer, for which I also had to replace the trigger, because the trigger was too long - couldn't get the hammer back far enough for the sear to engage the hammer notch. Found a "short" trigger in the scant parts cache and worked with it until I got it functioning better than any one I'd had in the past. Swapped the steel grip frame (heresy, I know) for 500 rounds of Starline 357 brass, and bought a beat up XR3-RED from Numrich. NOW, this gun feels like the old OM 45 Colt, and the custom 44 Special OM BH ny dad just up and GAVE me one day. The weight distribution was prefect - what I was used to. I was lucky that I had just enough "meat" on the aluminum grip frame to fit it to the Flat Top 44 Special. It was CLOSE.
For several years now, I've had this skanky-looking grip frame on my favorite SA of all time, but it SHOOTS and I love the way it handles. I was able to put up with the ugliness because it was so perfect otherwise. To make it worse, I've had the original walnut panels left from the OM 45 Colt on it too, which had been very neatly, cleanly and completely drilled THROUGH the FRONT for the left panel's locator pin hole. NO idea how or why that would have happened, but there it is. I have been messing with the new Service Six lately and an stopped waiting for the grips I want. Started eyeballing this ugly situation and decided, what the heck, I'm going to sand that paint off and see how it looks!
I did NOT like the look of the BRIGHT aluminum on the blued gun and started wondering what to do about it. It doesn't have to be a pefect match to the gun's color, but so mething darker would be nice. It was like a new pair of white sneakers that flash before your eyes every step you take until they start to get a little soiled. Then, it hit me! I;d just tested a mil pasteurizer for a neighbor. This thing was made in 1952 and someone had prettied it up with a 320 grit foam sanding pad, inside and out and it's ALL aluminum. Running the pasteurizer through its paces, I heated softened well-water for the lack of that much milk, which is about cheaper than well-water these days. I filled the pasteurizer half full of water and ran it through a cycle. When I was done testing, I noticed the pot had a deep, even dull gray appearance where someone had taken the abrasives to it, and the top half was still bright and sort of shiny.
After I dealt (GENTLY) with the paint on the grip frame, starting with 220 grit, then putting some definition back into edges with some 320, followed by a Scotch-Bright pad, this thing was just too bright. I know it woould have toned down in time, but it had been too long, too ugly already. I suspended the bare grip frame in a stainless pot of well-water and boiled it for thirty minutes. It came out with that same dark, even gray and looked anodized, though I seriously doubt the "finish" will be anywhere near as durable. I waxed it heavily after it was dry, but still hot, and buffer it with a rag and installed it on the gun. I'm pleased with it, but if it fails to keep me happy over time, I'll have it bead-blasted and "paint" it or have it "painted. I'll decide what/how when that time comes.
From what I've read, this process sort of emulates passivation, and I've read that you can't actually passivate aluminum. Supposedly, you can "passivate" aluminum (even though it can't be passivated) with a citric acid bath too, but I was looking for this color and anxious to see how it looks after some handling and use. I've cleaned high-carbon steel using citric acid and it blackens it, but the "finish" is very fragile and ephemeral - literally rubbing off onto your hands.
I have better photos floating around in lala-land, between my phone and e-mail, but I think USPS must be involved in that particular digital delivery, because they can take hours or days to show up in my e-mail.