Gunsmithing Beadblasting a barrel

[Jeremybj]

Hey guys,

I got a new barrel in polished stainless and am thinking that a bead blasted what is more what I am after.

Is it difficult to get the bead blasting to look even?

What grit beads would you recommend?

 

[smschulz]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

Med beads 80 grit is pretty benign.
It will only slightly dull it.
If you want it really matted then a 125 grit Alum Ox will make for a rougher and flatter finish.
Getting it to have an even finish is not really an issue.
YMMV

 

[hero's machine]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

You can see the finish and its easy to get good coverage.....no worries about the finish. If you want a remington factory stainless look....go glass, if you want a very dull look, go garnet or ao.

 

[Jeremybj]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

On my chrome Molly barrel when I Garnet blasted it started to rust when i let it sit dor a few weeks with no cerakote, that won't be an issue with stainless?

 

[LRI]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

No. Chromoly has much more iron in it. SS doesn't. Stainless barrels will rust if conditions are right, but it has to be pretty miserable outside.

Glass bead the barrel. It peens the surface. Garnet/ao cuts it. The cuts trap oil, dirt, moisture and will make it appear dirty almost instantly.

Use a silicon cloth and wipe it down with beads. It'll stay looking nice longer.

Polish the barrel before glass beading. Beads won't hide scratches. Surface has to be smooth for it to come out nice.

Hope this helps

C.

 

[ackleyfan]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

This comes up quite often, IMO a aluminum oxide finish was meant to be coated ,Bead blast looks great as a stand alone finish!

 

[300sniper]

Re: Beadblasting a barrel

this was done with 60-120 grit glass beads at 80 psi. it's not hard to get an even finish but it's good to take it out of the cabinet into the sun a time or two during the process to make sure you didn't miss any spots. when using alox, it's much easier to see exactly where you've covered wile still in the cabinet than it is with glass beads. it would take a lot of work to over do it with glass beads though.