Savage cast SS Trigger Guards

[charlesb]

Savage makes its stainless steel barreled actions with a brushed finish, the most repairable of the various SS finishes. - A bit of Scotch-Brite and a steady hand will obliterate minor scratches and dings.

( Click image to see it full-size )



The trigger guard as seen below has a rougher, casting type finish that gets dirty in the field. Here on my 93R17 BTVS you can see how the trigger guard does not match the rest of the gun. Nasty too, needs a scrub.



The SS trigger guard on Savage centerfire and rimfire guns all come off with the removal of two screws.

I used 180 grit sandpaper, backed by a flat or round stick for outside surfaces, and done by hand on the inside of the trigger guard until all of the casting bumps and marks were gone, and all of the sanding scratches were front to back, in a straight line.

Then I used 220 grit to get the 180 grit scratches out, and worked my way on down to 400 grit, which gave a finish that was more shiny than the rest of the gun. This is an important step in matching the rest of your gun's finish with a piece of ScotchBrite abrasive pad, which will give you the "brushed stainless" finish that matches the rest of the gun, and is so easy to repair.

You deliberately scratch up a really shiny 400 grit finish with the ScotchBrite pad, making sure that your scratches go fore and aft ( front to back ) on the trigger guard for appearances sake. On both the inside and outside surfaces, you want the "brushing" to be continuous from front to back in a straight line, with no criss-crossing or curved scratches. - If you carefully address this one nit-picky detail, you won't have much trouble matching your gun's finish, for a professional look.





Sorry I have no pictures of me doing the work... I hate to have that kind of evidence laying around, I'm sure you'll understand. - What if my wife accidentally stumbled upon pictures of me working?

You might wonder why I did not stick with the almost polished look that #400 grit wet-or-dry paper will produce, scratching it up for a brushed finish with ScotchBrite instead.

My reasoning is that most stainless steel is just not hard enough to be durable when brightly polished. - A polished stainless gun is a scratch magnet, and the scratches on a polished SS gun cannot always be buffed out without compromising the overall finish.

Also, the shiny trigger guard would look as out of place as the original pimply rough-cast finish did.

Oh yes, and I Scotch-Brited the piece of SS sheet metal around the clip area and that worked out well, too. Hard to see in the pictures, though.

Now that I have the trigger guard on my sweet bull-barreled 17 fixed up, ( Can't miss with that gun ) next I'll do the same thing on my long-barreled .243, pictured at the first.

Good luck, and have fun!

[ruger22]

That looks like fine work. I like brushed stainless the best, as you point out, it's easiest to repair. I thought I'd clarify a little about Scotchbrite, for future readers on this post.

The green Scotchbrite that's easy to get is a bit too rough for a brushed finish on most guns. Works better if it's a "used" piece, already used on pots and pans!

Better yet is the maroon Scotchbrite. It's a finer "grit" for a nice brushed finish, Especially matches Ruger's brushed finish stainless. Harder to find, but many hardware stores have it, and places that sell auto bodywork supplies.

Any Scotchbrite is pretty aggressive. It doesn't take much pressure to get results.

Never, ever use ordinary steel wool on a stainless gun. Tiny bits of it will imbed themselves in the gun surface, and they will rust. You'll have a stainless gun that looks like it has the measles. It is possible to get stainless steel wool, but it's harder to find.

[charlesb]

I was using a used piece of the green stuff. - It hasn't been in the kitchen, but it has been around the shop for a few years, now.

[Medicine Hat]

Most hardware stores have a "copper wool" product. Pretty much the same as steel wool, only made from copper. I've used it before, and it works well. I've used it for copper fouling in extreme cases, as it is softer than the steel of the barrels/receivers.