Well, the never-ending winter has given me a lot of time to consider what new project I want to kick-off this year... and I have settled on it - a DIY Melt/Dehorning job on a 1911 compact. I have put "melts" on several handguns in the past and have had really good results. I documented on project on a Keltec PF9 here on INGO:
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/146915-kel-tec-pf9-melt-job-you-can-do.html (pics got deleted from the original post but are back up at the end)
My first big question is what to start with? I have owned a dozen 1911's - all higher end (Kimbers and Sigs) and honestly don't have the stomach to buy a new/used $1000 gun and take to it with a grinder! I know that I want a compact/ultra/officers 3" gun so my options are limited. I have settled on the ATI FX45 which can be bought for around $450 new. (I will replace the guiderod/spring and magazine right off as I think these are pretty weak parts in this gun)
~a quick aside here... this will not be my primary carry. My Kahr PM9, Kimber Solo and Glock 26 fill this role - this is just going to be a project. I understand that concept of "you get what you pay for" and that everything from metals used, tolerances and parts are of a higher quality on other, more expensive 1911's~
My plan is to go with a "medium melt" on this, eliminating the corners and edges on the slide. I am not a fan of "extreme melts" as they usually leave the gun's profile almost unrecognizable from what it was - I still want my 1911 to look like a 1911. First step will be to completely tear the gun down removing all internals, controlls and the sights. Things to remember when altering a handgun is that the final product MUST still be clearly marked with the original manufacturers name and serial number. Another reason that I am a fan of the FX45 is that this information is roll stamped on the frame - which really doesn't get much of "melt" work done to it. The slide does have a FX45 logo on it - when I get the gun in-hand I will see how deep this is in the metal. My hope would be to eliminate it if possible (again, this is not a marking required by federal regulation). Here is another question.... if this marking is too deep to remove with my planned melt job - does anyone know if these markings could be filled with something like JB Weld - then sanded smooth? I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this...
I do my "melts" by hand with sandpaper on a block. It takes time but a Dremel or wheel have the potential to take off too much, too soon. Once it's gone - it's gone. Getting rid of the corners first and then going ove the entire frame with long, front to back passes to streamline everything. This really isn't hard to do and doesn't take much skill.
My first dilemma will come after I have the slide and frame final sanded to where I want it. I used to have a neighbor with a machine shop who was also a gun guy. I gave him each of my other "project guns" to sandblast with glass beads to even out the metal and prepare it for final finish. I hate to just take my gun to anyone with a blasting setup because some areas of the slide and frame cannot be touched or altered by this process. The dovetails for the sights, all internals, slide rails, pin holes - if any of these are hit hard with the blasting aggregate - it could easily losen the tolerances and ruin the gun. He has retired and moved away - any chance that anyone reading this post is relatively close to the Columbus area and would be willing to help?
Once it comes back from the "blaster" it is time to refinish. I would like to keep the a silver but am not sure that the metal I find underneath the manufactures parkerizing will look good as is - if it does, I will use Duracoat's clearcoat to finish. Not thinking this will be the case - I am going to have to refinish both the slide and the frame. I have looked at dozens of color combinations (silver over black, all silver, all black, etc) and will eventually settle on something (suggestions?) A question here that I have for anyone reading is how good do the Duracoat metal colors look? Does it even moderately resemble actual metal or are they just varying shades of grey paint that poorly resemble stainless steel, titanium, pewter? I have used several Duracoat colors - but have never seen the "metal" colors? Pics would be appreciated. I have never worked with Cerakote - wouldn't be opposed to using it... thoughts?
I do plan to document the project step by step here on this post - so check back for updates. I'm looking to launch in April.
https://www.indianagunowners.com/forums/handguns/146915-kel-tec-pf9-melt-job-you-can-do.html (pics got deleted from the original post but are back up at the end)
My first big question is what to start with? I have owned a dozen 1911's - all higher end (Kimbers and Sigs) and honestly don't have the stomach to buy a new/used $1000 gun and take to it with a grinder! I know that I want a compact/ultra/officers 3" gun so my options are limited. I have settled on the ATI FX45 which can be bought for around $450 new. (I will replace the guiderod/spring and magazine right off as I think these are pretty weak parts in this gun)
~a quick aside here... this will not be my primary carry. My Kahr PM9, Kimber Solo and Glock 26 fill this role - this is just going to be a project. I understand that concept of "you get what you pay for" and that everything from metals used, tolerances and parts are of a higher quality on other, more expensive 1911's~
My plan is to go with a "medium melt" on this, eliminating the corners and edges on the slide. I am not a fan of "extreme melts" as they usually leave the gun's profile almost unrecognizable from what it was - I still want my 1911 to look like a 1911. First step will be to completely tear the gun down removing all internals, controlls and the sights. Things to remember when altering a handgun is that the final product MUST still be clearly marked with the original manufacturers name and serial number. Another reason that I am a fan of the FX45 is that this information is roll stamped on the frame - which really doesn't get much of "melt" work done to it. The slide does have a FX45 logo on it - when I get the gun in-hand I will see how deep this is in the metal. My hope would be to eliminate it if possible (again, this is not a marking required by federal regulation). Here is another question.... if this marking is too deep to remove with my planned melt job - does anyone know if these markings could be filled with something like JB Weld - then sanded smooth? I'd be interested to hear thoughts on this...
I do my "melts" by hand with sandpaper on a block. It takes time but a Dremel or wheel have the potential to take off too much, too soon. Once it's gone - it's gone. Getting rid of the corners first and then going ove the entire frame with long, front to back passes to streamline everything. This really isn't hard to do and doesn't take much skill.
My first dilemma will come after I have the slide and frame final sanded to where I want it. I used to have a neighbor with a machine shop who was also a gun guy. I gave him each of my other "project guns" to sandblast with glass beads to even out the metal and prepare it for final finish. I hate to just take my gun to anyone with a blasting setup because some areas of the slide and frame cannot be touched or altered by this process. The dovetails for the sights, all internals, slide rails, pin holes - if any of these are hit hard with the blasting aggregate - it could easily losen the tolerances and ruin the gun. He has retired and moved away - any chance that anyone reading this post is relatively close to the Columbus area and would be willing to help?
Once it comes back from the "blaster" it is time to refinish. I would like to keep the a silver but am not sure that the metal I find underneath the manufactures parkerizing will look good as is - if it does, I will use Duracoat's clearcoat to finish. Not thinking this will be the case - I am going to have to refinish both the slide and the frame. I have looked at dozens of color combinations (silver over black, all silver, all black, etc) and will eventually settle on something (suggestions?) A question here that I have for anyone reading is how good do the Duracoat metal colors look? Does it even moderately resemble actual metal or are they just varying shades of grey paint that poorly resemble stainless steel, titanium, pewter? I have used several Duracoat colors - but have never seen the "metal" colors? Pics would be appreciated. I have never worked with Cerakote - wouldn't be opposed to using it... thoughts?
I do plan to document the project step by step here on this post - so check back for updates. I'm looking to launch in April.
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Cool project! I hope yours shoots as well as mine does!
