What Do I Need To Do To Remove Paint From Park'd S&W Victory

[dalbert]

I'm looking for some expertise and experience...maybe someone has encountered a similar situation. This is an interesting situation involving a family heirloom firearm. It's sort of a "What Is It I Need To Do" situation. First, some background...

 

During WWII, my wife's grandfather was a U.S. Navy Dauntless pilot. I met him once before he passed away. He shot down a Japanese Zero, and had the original gun camera footage converted to VHS tape, which he showed me. He also took the photo of the Japanese prisoner of war camp used to identify where Pappy Boyington was imprisoned in Japan...Boyington and others had marked something on the roof to identify his location to U.S. aviators. He enjoyed talking about WWII, unlike my wife's other grandfather, who served in the Infantry during the Battle of the Bulge. He, on the other hand, kept his war experiences to himself, and was haunted by them.

 

My wife's grandfather who was the pilot was issued a S&W Victory Model revolver. He also showed it to me, along with the shoulder holster he carried it in during WWII. Unfortunately, after he died, one of his daughters threw out the shoulder holster. My father-in-law inherited the Victory model.

 

The S&W Victory was stolen from my father-in--law's house a couple of years ago. I was really bummed when I heard the news.

 

Fortunately, the pistol was recovered by the local police, and my father-in-law got it back a few days ago. Unfortunately, it is not in its original condition. The thug who stole it painted it black, and removed the grips, which were not recovered. I'm also told he "glued the hammer in place," which doesn't make any sense to me, but I'm trying to find out more about what is meant by that statement.

 

So, I have some pictures of the pistol that will help...My questions are as follows...

 

Does anyone know of a way to remove paint from parkerizing without affecting the original parkerized finish? It looks like the thug just took a can of spray paint, and sprayed everything. The pistol will need to be disassembled, and the paint removed. If anyone has some tips, they will be appreciated. I'm going to see if I can do it myself, but it's in Texas, and I'm in Ohio, and we were just there for Thanksgiving, so it may be a while..

 

Also, does anyone have a spare pair of grips? I'll be looking for a replacement pair.

 

Here are some photos:

 

 

Any advice you can offer will be appreciated!

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

[RoscoeTurner]

David,

 

I have used Cirtrus strip on painted parts with no effect on the Parkerizing. You can test this on an area of the frame that would normally be hidden by the grips. Cirtrus Strip will remove bluing.

 

Cirtrus strip is a very gentle paint remover, so much so that gloves are not required.

 

Grips show up occasionally on GunBroker and eBay.

 

RT

[jim c 351]

David,

Back in my carbine collecting days, I seem to remember using Zipstrip paint remover to remove paint from some carbine parts. That was a long time ago and I might not be remembering correctly.

Before trying on the S&W , try on a scrap part.

If you can't find the grips on line , you should be able to pick up at a gun show. They were once rather common.

Jim C

[ron_brock]

David,

 

If you really get in a pinch for grips, I believe Sarco has them listed for the Victory model. I do not recall if they are original or new made, however.

 

- Ron

[RoscoeTurner]

The S&W forum is also another good place to look for grips.

 

 

http://smith-wessonforum.com/

[johnsonlmg41]

Commercial methylene chloride based solvent type strippers will melt that paint away- and any paint on the sights as well. Will melt most plastics also....like grips. It will not harm Park or bluing at all. The gel type works well and you can rinse with paint thinner because it will dry back on very quickly once the solvent evaporates you're left with paint stuck on again. Easiest would be to apply the stripper and rinse in a solvent based parts washer. Instructions will tell you to rinse with water.......but that would be a bad idea. With the lousy paint job it should be pretty easy.

 

Or you can use acetone (wifes nail polish remover) in small sections at a time with a paper towel/ toothbrush etc. Less harsh on you than methylene chloride. Or if you have a furniture stripping place nearby they may have a dip tank set up, but these days I don't know how many have a methylene tank anymore. If used indoors you'll want exellent ventillation with all of these. Never in the basement at all for any of them.

[TSMGguy]

I've successfully used Strip Eze (Sp.?) to remove paint from parked steel on several projects. It won't touch the park or any blued parts that a victory will have, including the cylinder spindle. After the stripper has done it's job, flush with mineral spirits. Just for grins and giggles, you might try it on a hidden spot inside of the frame, but you'll have no problems. It's available at Lowe's or Home Base in quart cans.

 

The seller linked below has excellent quality reproduction walnut S&W victory grips. They're not cheap, but the quality is excellent, they look right, and they include the escutcheons and screw/bolt:

 

http://www.gungrip.c...un%20Grips.html

 

Glad that your pistol was returned!

Edited December 31, 2012 by TSMGguy

[Uncle Dudley]

Commercial methylene chloride based solvent type strippers will melt that paint away- and any paint on the sights as well. Will melt most plastics also....like grips. It will not harm Park or bluing at all. The gel type works well and you can rinse with paint thinner because it will dry back on very quickly once the solvent evaporates you're left with paint stuck on again. Easiest would be to apply the stripper and rinse in a solvent based parts washer. Instructions will tell you to rinse with water.......but that would be a bad idea. With the lousy paint job it should be pretty easy.

 

Or you can use acetone (wifes nail polish remover) in small sections at a time with a paper towel/ toothbrush etc. Less harsh on you than methylene chloride. Or if you have a furniture stripping place nearby they may have a dip tank set up, but these days I don't know how many have a methylene tank anymore. If used indoors you'll want exellent ventillation with all of these. Never in the basement at all for any of them.

 

I've been using paint professionally for almost 40 years, mostly automotive and industrial finishes, and a $12.00-15.00 gallon can of acetone should dissolve most spraycan/aerosol paint without affecting the parkerizing. Get a cheap natural bristle brush to help remove the paint. A lot of hydrocarbon solvent based parts cleaning solutions should work, too. Get a plastic bucket and soak it in the solvent or acetone and brush the dissolved paint away. A well vented (outside) area will keep you from a quick "solvent buzz" and a charcoal type respirator wouldn't hurt. It shouldn't take too long to get it clean. And remember, it's very flamable

 

U D

[dalbert]

Thanks to everyone for the advice. I'm going to recommend the acetone method. I'm not sure if my father-in-law will attempt it until I'm there...and that could be a good thing.

 

So, apparently the hammer is glued in place, and the gun is currently non-functional as a result. The thug may have wanted to argue a deadly force charge by disabling the pistol enough that it would not function. I'm not sure what kind of glue was used, but that will be an interesting wrinkle. Maybe it will be something that the acetone will also remove.

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

[dalbert]

Just thought you might be interested to know that I found a pair of Victory grips for $40 with the escutcheon screw at OGCA yesterday for $40. They're fairly worn, but I think they will do fine with the pistol.

 

David Albert

dalbert@sturmgewehr.com

[wwiifirearms]

Another very mild way to attack the paint is good old WD-40. It works great for some types of paint and if it doesn't work it definitely won't harm it.

-Ray