Nuker
Platinum Member
- Joined
- Jun 22, 2024
- Messages
- 845
I had a Midnight Blue Fusion Silent Night with red/black machined G-10 handles I was considering stripping, since I had put it up for sale… and it didn’t sell.
I had a can of BIX stripper that had recently started leaking & set it outside a couple months ago.
I figured I might as well go for a strip.
Etched first…
I mixed hot water / salt in a shot glass. Dug a 9v battery out of my stud finder, and grabbed three Q-tips & some alligator ended test connectors from the garage. I used each end of the three Q-tips about 30-45 sec. Etch complete in about 4-5 mins.
15-20 mins after stripper applied, used plastic scraper. Here’s first pass:
Second pass, and used brass wire brush:
I started to use a green Scotch Brite, but wasn’t happy with how curved scrub marks were looking by the handle scallops. So, I decided the scales better come off. I screwed it down to a piece of wood, for drilling the tubes out.
I used a 0.229” drill to thin the tube walls. Then a bigger one, I think 0.269” to get the flare to come off.
The scale didn’t want to come off, and I started to worry a bit about screwing up. I reached out to
randucci
since he’d done this sort of thing before & had a great time meeting him about a month ago. He said to keep going & the tubes might be tough to get out.
I was also concerned about flaring. I had found a couple automotive pullers I thought I could bolt down & set up as a flaring jig.
They have a nice 45 deg tip:
Randucci had a better idea & he whipped up a set of custom flaring dies. There’s a few different tube sizes, so I should have my bases covered with these beauties!!
I had a can of BIX stripper that had recently started leaking & set it outside a couple months ago.
I figured I might as well go for a strip.
Etched first…
I mixed hot water / salt in a shot glass. Dug a 9v battery out of my stud finder, and grabbed three Q-tips & some alligator ended test connectors from the garage. I used each end of the three Q-tips about 30-45 sec. Etch complete in about 4-5 mins.
15-20 mins after stripper applied, used plastic scraper. Here’s first pass:
Second pass, and used brass wire brush:
I started to use a green Scotch Brite, but wasn’t happy with how curved scrub marks were looking by the handle scallops. So, I decided the scales better come off. I screwed it down to a piece of wood, for drilling the tubes out.
I used a 0.229” drill to thin the tube walls. Then a bigger one, I think 0.269” to get the flare to come off.
The scale didn’t want to come off, and I started to worry a bit about screwing up. I reached out to
randucci
since he’d done this sort of thing before & had a great time meeting him about a month ago. He said to keep going & the tubes might be tough to get out.I was also concerned about flaring. I had found a couple automotive pullers I thought I could bolt down & set up as a flaring jig.
They have a nice 45 deg tip:
Randucci had a better idea & he whipped up a set of custom flaring dies. There’s a few different tube sizes, so I should have my bases covered with these beauties!!
