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Polishing questions.

2K views 15 replies 6 participants last post by  ronpaul716 
#1 ·
I have polished the bottom of the bolt carrier but was wondering if polishing the complete underside would be a good or bad idea. Also, during my last cleaning I noticed that the middle of the firing pin showed wear marks and some of the parkerizing was being worn away. Would polishing the firing pin be a good or bad idea. Thanks Ktogers your unput and advise has helped me and my SUc alot.
 
#2 ·
There is no need to polish anything on the bottom of the bolt that doesnt have brass rub marks on it. If it isn't rubbing on anything, all polishing will do is remeove the finish and make it more succeptable to rust.

I would not recomment doing any polishing on the firing pin. It is a nice slip fit inside the bolt for a reason, and should stay that way.

If you get it all polished nice & slick & undersized, it might be more prone to causing slam-fires.


rcmodel
 
#5 ·
So that I understand and don't messup..the underside of the bolt carrier raised flat portion should be polished. The curved area on each side of the raised flat portion can be polished too? I have only polished the flat protion of the bolt carrier and the chamber.
 
#6 ·
ragdawg1 said:
So that I understand and don't messup..the underside of the bolt carrier raised flat portion should be polished. The curved area on each side of the raised flat portion can be polished too? I have only polished the flat protion of the bolt carrier and the chamber.
I feel that the curved, or 45 degree parts of the bottom of the bolt carrier are as important as just the flat portion that drags the hammer... As these surfaces actually contact the rounds in the magazine.

Take a loaded magazine and look at it.. See how the rounds are staggered off to one side, then the other? As the rounds are being pushed up, they press against the sides of the bottom of the bolt carrier.. The flat part of the carrier only serves to push back and reset the hammer.

But if you like, do just the bottom and test the rifle outside at the range, by manually cycling rounds. Just the bottom maybe slick enough for you.. Only you can answer that one.. No need to fix it, if it isn't broken.

As well, get used to running a slightly lubed cutip along this polished area for corrosion protection.
 
#7 ·
Prior to my last range outing, I did polish the bottom of the bolt carier, chamber and replaced the factory extractor with th Bushmaster. The results were a much improved rifle. I still had a couple (out of 150 rounds) FTE's and a couple of double feeds. Hope that polished the other portions of the bolt carrier will stop those issues. Thanks for all your help!
 
#8 ·
ragdawg1 said:
Prior to my last range outing, I did polish the bottom of the bolt carier, chamber and replaced the factory extractor with th Bushmaster. The results were a much improved rifle. I still had a couple (out of 150 rounds) FTE's and a couple of double feeds. Hope that polished the other portions of the bolt carrier will stop those issues. Thanks for all your help!
Make sure you brush well under the extractor claw when you clean, as this area can accumulate small amounts of brass and carbon which can effect its operation.

Most use a firm toothbrush or M-16 brush for this purpose.. In fact the entire bolt face should be brushed thoroughly everytime you clean.

If the bolt is not pulling the spent case out of the chamber after firing, even after you replace and clean the extractor, this is unacceptable.. Let us know if this problem persists.

BTW, what mags and ammo are you using?
 
#9 ·
I have the 10 round mag that came with the SUc. In addition I picked up two 30 round mags from the Army/Navy store. Both are marked "gov use only/BATF" They are in good shape and have been disassembled and cleaned. And this past weekend at the Gun Show I bought 2 new 20 round Bushmaster mags. The best, for my SU, ammo has been Lake City 5.56 and Guat. surplus 5.56. These have run flawless. I picked up a can of 500 Georgia Arms that Bam_Bam uses and these run well but did have 1 FTE that caused 1 double feed sending the bullet into the case. Remington cheap stuff has not run well but I have not tried it since polishing and changing the extractor. By the way, Georgia Arms .223 are military fired once and factory loaded and for $120 for 500 including the ammo can I thought why not.
 
#11 ·
I finally got around to pulling my Charlie apart and take some pictures of the bolt carrier to show where to polish since ITW came up with this great tip to help our rifles run smooth. Show I guess it's show and tell time! ;D

Here is a picture of the bolt upside down and I'm pointing to the area to polish, the raised portion.



Notice how it is shaped. You want to polish the top and sides of this raised portion, no need to polish anything else here.



Thanks to InTheWoods for this tip. I'm sure it has helped several people here have trouble free rifles. I did mine just to make me feel better, and I can't leave well enough alone either! ::) Hope this helps everyone out. ***Notice the flat spot on the rear portion of the bolt, does anyone elses bolt have this mark? I guess it from the hammer contacting it during firing. Just curious.


Bam Bam
 
#12 ·
Thanks BamBam.. Perfect..

Yeah that's from the action of the hammer.. Anywhere you get metal to metal contact will eventually rub off the parkerizing and leave mate marks..

This is the normal process of parts mating to each other, and should be considered part of the break-in process..

No harm at all, these are solid steel parts that will no doubt outlive you and me put together.. ;)
 
#14 ·
Thanks BamBam.. Perfect..

Yeah that's from the action of the hammer.. Anywhere you get metal to metal contact will eventually rub off the parkerizing and leave mate marks..

This is the normal process of parts mating to each other, and should be considered part of the break-in process..

No harm at all, these are solid steel parts that will no doubt outlive you and me put together.. ;)
Hi Inthewoods, i have a question for u regarding polishing the underside of the bolt carrier that is probably a stupid one, but i'm hoping you can help me really quick. I saw the post in the FAQ about it, i have some 800 grit sand paper i picked up. Was wondering while polishing if its better to do it wet or dry. I know they sell metal polish & products like that. Ideally i'd rather not buy polish just for this 1 job, but i also want it to be done right. The FAQ didn't provide any specifics regarding this, quite possibly because my question is stupid & the answer probably already inferred haha. Thanks man
 
#16 ·
Yeah thats what i was thinking too, throw some Rem Oil or CLP on there because thats all i currently have right now. Would prefer using that versus buying some compound or polish that i'll most likely never use again. But on such an important part, if buying something like that were make or break then i'd obviously do it.
Thanks for the info, as i've been holding off on doing it as i wait for a comment like yours to give me the confidence to go ahead with it. Cheers
 
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