After gunsmithing for over 30 years and seeing a lot of guns, I honestly believe that more firearms are ruined by improper polishing by both amateur and professional gunsmiths than are ever worn out by shooting. You've seen guns like these. They're the ones that have been refinished where every sharp edge or angle on the metal has been rounded over. Screw or pinholes have been washed out and now look like funnels. Even the edges of the slots on the screw heads have been rounded over. I've seen some so severely rounded that a screwdriver would no longer hold in the slot. As one old gunsmith buddy of mine puts it, "They look like used lollipops."

Common chalk is used on the file to keep the teeth clear of metal particles.

This is really unfortunate as the person responsible for this often has absolutely no idea of the damage he's doing. I well remember a customer years ago coming into my shop with an original, signed, North Carolina mountain rifle made in the 1850s by a well-known maker. It would have been a very desirable collector's item worth thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, he allowed a "friend" to talk him into letting him "fix up" the muzzleloader. He fixed it up alright! He polished the octagon barrel with a buffer until all the flats were rounded over and then blued the metal with a hot caustic salt bath. It was bright and shiny and had more ripples than a fast movin' stream. And it was now virtually worthless. I still remember how uncomfortable I felt answering his questions as to the value of this family heirloom. It would have taken a restoration genius to repair the damage done to that nice old rifle.

There is a place for a buffer in a shop. When used appropriately, it can be a great tool to save time and energy.

Regrettably, very few people with access to buffers really understand how to use 'em. About 15 years ago I toured the Colt plant in Hartford. It was an amazing place, and I had a great time. What most impressed me was the time I spent talking with the one fellow who at that time was responsible for polishing all Colt single-action revolvers.

Reid uses a 10-inch smooth mill file for draw-filing out pits. Note how he has rounded the edges of his file.

He was located in a fairly small room and worked on a bench of modest size. Mounted in the middle of the bench on the front edge of the top was a small buffer. As I recall he used something on the order of over 30 different-shaped buffing wheels of various materials as he worked on each revolver. He had a wheel to polish the inside of the flutes on the revolver cylinder, one to polish the curved areas between the flutes, one for the topstrap of the frame, etc. He also had multiples of each shape that were coated with progressively higher grits of polish. As he worked he was constantly changing wheels on the buffer even when working on a single part. His skill was truly amazing.

The fellow could not understand how anyone could believe that a gun could be polished properly with nothing more than three or four wide, flat-faced muslin or felt wheels because there was just no way to get into the many tight curves and rounded areas that are so frequently seen on a gun. And he was right!

Both hands are used to draw the file along the flats of this older Winchester 94 barrel, removing pits but preserving the edges of individual flats.

I don't claim to be an expert in polishing with a buffer. In fact, even after 30 years I'm a bit reluctant to use the one in my shop. I know all too well how just a moment's inattention can cause a problem when you take off too much metal.

Long ago I decided I could do better work polishing by hand than I ever could with a buffer. And it was safer. I ran a lot less risk of damaging the gun. Polishing by hand is a slow process, but there are ways of making the task faster and more efficient.

Filing
Many folks think that you can and should polish out all rust pits. Yes, you can do that, but it'll take a lot of time. A better way is to first use a file. I use a 10-inch smooth-cut mill file for most of my draw-filing to remove pits. I modified the file just a bit by rounding the edges so the sharp teeth on the side would not dig into my work piece. This was especially helpful when working on Winchester Models 94, 12, and 97 where you have a machined ridge on the front and rear of the sides of the receiver. If you run a file with a 90-degree corner into these curved areas, you'll leave tiny gouges. The rounded edges of my mill file avoid this.