So I’m sitting here tonight, diligently dry-firing my Smith & Wesson 642 when I notice, horror of horrors, GUN CANCER! The grip screw, which is inexplicably the only blued part of the gun, had a nice even coating of bright orange surface rust. Some vigorous scrubbing with CLP cleaned it right up, fortunately, but now I have to keep a close eye on it. THIS is why I buy stainless or chromed guns for carry.
Does anyone have any leads on a stainless screw? I checked both Brownells and Gun Parts Corp. but came up empty-handed. Maybe it’s a common size and I can find a replacement at the hardware store (yeah right)?
C’mon, anybody? Bueller? Bueller?
Now that you got the surface rust off, try some RIG grease on the screw. Unscrew it, rub it in a RIG rag to liberally coat it in grease (it won’t look like much, but it will be there), and then screw it back into the gun. The RIG grease will stay put better then the CLP.
A RIG rag is great for blued firearms. The company just got bought out and the products are being discontinued, so get some now. Check your local shops or order on line while vendors still have some in stock.
Btw, other then the rust, how’s that J frame working out for you?
I was going to try to grab one of those recent “no lock” guns, but wound up lucking into a 1973 Model 49 Bodyguard at a yard sale instead. That killed my gun budget, but I think it was worth it.
I really only *need* one J frame and since I like guns that are heavy for their caliber (for the recoil reduction) so I think the all steel Bodyguard better suits me anyway.
If we ever get to the same range at the same time I’d be interested in comparing J frames. (And CZ-75′s. I have my own hard chromed custom CZ and you are the only other person I know with a custom CZ. You just don’t see guys customizing those much)
If you’re interested, I put a post up on the M 49 over at THR.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=368325
I would imagine you can find a stainless screw for a 640 or 940, but not for a 642
Oh damn! Here I blithely assumed that my 940′s grip screw was stainless, but a quick peek just now proved me wrong!
Maybe Tam will know… obviously I got nothin.’
I either go to http://www.mscdirect.com/ or http://www.mcmaster.com/ for stuff like that. Of course, you need to know the proper size first. They will have it, even if what you need has a left-hand thread (unlikely).
If I had it in front of me, I’d just mike the major diameter and whip out the thread pitch gauges. Maybe someone on a gun board can tell you?
Damn, I fail at replying to comments lately.
Btw, other then the rust, how’s that J frame working out for you?
Very well. I just posted about it yesterday.
If we ever get to the same range at the same time I’d be interested in comparing J frames. (And CZ-75’s. I have my own hard chromed custom CZ and you are the only other person I know with a custom CZ. You just don’t see guys customizing those much)
Yeah, we need to do that. I’m too damn poor to do any shooting right now, but we should get out to the range sometime soon.