I guess we all newbies with 1911 go through the same mistake but is always nice to know that there is people like you to help fix our mistakes my 1911 brand new out of the box and I scratched the so called idiot scratch 😀😀😀 thank you for sharing great video
MosinVirus I looked into that and I agree that should be standard but with my eyes that cut is above my pay grade. After some practice I have the technique of popping it in without scratching down.
This is one of the most fantastic vids I have seen wow you are something or someone special many thanks and thanks for all your time and vids you make.WOW 100 THUMBS UP UNBELIEVABLE WOW.
I put a very light one on my SS trophy and now seeing this I have a smile on my face. I will wait for my new barrel and try this. Great video. I will use 1000.
I bought my 1911 out of my FFLs case. He gave me a price I couldn't refuse! I brought it home and I saw that "idiot scratch" on it. For the price it didn't hurt me ,,,,MUCH! I'm sort of a "perfectionist" and the grip screws had the slot heads on it that were "boogered a little bit" I bought replacements for them, they were expensive but worth it! Torx on them much nicer. I will need to buy some of the 220 and the 600 grit paper. Thanks for the video.
After you sand out that scratch, wire brush the whole frame on the wheel, and that will blend the finish so that you won't see it. I have a stainless P13-45, and got it looking like new. I did the frame on the wire wheel on my bench grinder, worked great. In fact, the wire wheel will take out small scratches all by itself.
I wish we were good friends and you and I were neighbors. Firearms and timepieces are my favorite hobbies and each needs the same basic tools and skills.
Very good video. The idiot mark is not an idiot mark at all. I've seen over and over, the experts, have trouble putting the slide stop back in a 1911, dragging, and creating that same mark. The 1911 really should have been designed more like the Star pistols, which never had that problem in the first place.
I take a 1911 apart the same way the Campaign Hat told me. Do it this way. Pull the spring and bushing out 1st. Of course if did not manage to hang on to all that. It was worth 50 pushups to loose control of all that. Or maybe not when the Campaign Hat did the counting..
If you disassemble the whole gun and use a flat stick (or it is possible to use you have if you do it right ) with sandpaper starting with a grit that matches the finish or what ever grit you choose but step up in sand as you go, like 320 , 360, 400, 600, 800 ,1000, 1500, 2000 then use polishing compound you will have a very shiny gun. That is why I like stainless steel it can be repaired not like blued guns.
Yes, some say it is. But I don't wanna try it with my kimber eclipse. Perhaps I'll use sand paper just like you did. Thanks for the tips. Good morning from the Philippines.
Nice job! I just recently bought a Tisas 1911. It came with an "idiot scratch" from the previews owner. But unfortunately mine is not stainless. So I may have to find a way to cover it. Hard to find what the real finish on it is. Also I need to round the factory ambi safety as it has some sharper edges. The gun was un-fired when I bought it. and I bought it as a project so I'm watching videos like yours to decide what I am going to do to fix a couple things. Anyway thanks for the good video.
Its Tisas made in Turkey. I haven't found a way to contact them yet. I think Buds gunshop says they are parkerized. But it looks really nice for that. I may just leave the idiot scratch and file the safety off the gun so I don't scratch anything else and refinish that.
It was not properly staked at the factory.Tisas made in Turkey are 350.00 and have forged frames slides and barrels for 300 bucks less than a Springfield gi
the bottom edges along the slide release. I had the same issue when I had a colt 1911A1 government model too. the one I'm referring to now it the colt 1911 WW1 replica. I'm guessing its an issue with colt made 1911s
I know. I checked the gun before turning on the camera. that was the time when I started seeing people specifically showing that guns were unloaded, and I didn't really intend to do the same, and it turned out clunky and wrong. in any case, that was not the purpose of the video.
Fantastic videos. That was the last one of your list. I learned a lot from your instructions. Since I am in Canada and gunsmithing is a dying breed here, I would like to get in touch. What’s the best way to get ahold of you?
I recently got my own section on Full30 Forum. Here is a link to my welcome thread. You can navigate to my main section and start a new thread. Or send me a message. Join up. forum.full30.com/t/welcome-to-mosinvirus-section/7625?u=mosinvirus
Was your sandpaper wet or dry? I saw on a Colt video that it is bad to go back and forth like that. They said that you should only go in one direction, and not back and forth.
Sandpaper, unlike files, cuts in all directions. If you are trying to replicate a brushed look then you should only move linearly, but both directions will produce the result.
That's hammer bite. Caused by your skin getting pinched between the safety and the hammer when the gun cycles. It can only be fixed with an extended beaver tail.
In this case it was the burr on the grip safety. I know what Hammer bite is, and this issue was not that. One of my other guns is biting, but after I took the burr off the Grip Safety on my 1911, I have put another 150 rounds through it and didn't even have a red mark on my skin. This 1911 never bit me.
Hammer bite, i don't think that edge file is going to help , extended grip safety, or commander hammer, it's the reason why you see this swap so often. That is a fine gun, like my mark four goverment model that hammer cocking bites your skin between the grip safety, trust me.
I would agree if that was the reason. But in this case it was the machining or casting burr on the underside of the GI grip safety. I used to get bit by my TT, :)
I feel fortunate that my first 1911 is a inexpensive RIA GI model. Because I’ve made “idiot marks” ALL over this gun learning the ropes of gunsmithing. 😂 Edit: Did you decide to re-stake that front sight or have the slide cut? My old eyes can hardly see that front sight and I’m trying to decide which way to go.
@@MosinVirus I forgot to ask. How do like the fiber optic vs the sight you had on it? I saw that it was a large white sight and I was planning on just a tall white sight myself. However, I would like to hear your opinion between the two.
Soo I know have an idiot scratch on my first pistol ever it's a Kimber Custom II two tuned model. It's hurts because it was 900 but oh well I guess it adds character
the idiot scratch I am starting to believe is complete fabrication by people who want the gun to stay pristine but no matter what the gun will obtain a scratch or two because it is a gun and a tool. Using the idea that it is because it is assembled incorrectly is completely wrong. The stop is suppose to swing upward as the first angle at the top of the area that moves against the plunger is intended only to cam off the plunger itself and pushes in on it and it serves no other purpose. That said the so called idiot scratch is simply because someone has it fall down and then pushes it back into place while it is pushed in further. It is a mistake anyone could make. My build is more of a show 1911 as well and has a high polished frame so any scratch shows up on it well but is easily polished back out if it is fine enough. Sorry but the scratch is just evidence it was used and not placed in a box to look at. Don't be so hard on yourself it is not an idiot scratch it is a "I at least use my gun" scratch. The front sights that are staked in are fairly easy to fix as you seem to have quite attention to detail and pay attention to what you are doing. Just restake it with the slide held in a vise with plastic jaws or wood and something like plastic resting under it for it to rest against (low profile vise works great) then restake it with a punch. For extra insurance put a drop of blue loc-tite below it before staking. To make it a bit easier you could pull the entire sight and start a small pilot hole with a small drill bit to give a center punch a point it can't skate off of. The last method is permanent hit it very lightly with a spot of weld and then blend it into the slide the sight will never move again but at the cost of not ever being able to replace the sight without drilling the hole back out. Personally I think all staked front sights should always be brass or aluminum. Sure it is not as strong but it is an easier material to restake. I had a sight I had to stake back in on a shotgun I had shortened to 16 and 1/2 inches on the barrel. The method I chose to deal with it was to drill the hole in the correct spot and then place epoxy down in the hole and tap it into place. The epoxy in the hole just ensured it did not back out or work loose. It never came off and is still on the shotgun.
evilcowboy Thank you. Yes, I understand and agree that the gun will get scratched with use. at the time it was the most expensive handgun I owned and I wanted to baby it. I later fixed the front sight as well.
Some people see a car as a tool. Some appreciate them. That doesn’t mean one person is right and another wrong. I often hear people whine about it being a tool and nothing more. The idiot scratch in my opinion refers to people who get a gun and simply don’t educate themselves with it. I took my CCW training with a couple of glock fanboys. They didn’t know what a python was. They didn’t know much outside of Sig and Glock. Ok, whatever. It’s these guys that typically scratch a 1911 because they don’t appreciate them like they would a Glock. Fortunately for them, a Glock is easy to take care of.
Regarding the "idiot scratch", bro LEAVE IT THERE!! The Army actually taught recruits to drag the slide stop up the frame when reassembling to better help get it underneath the plunger. That's why most USGI pistols have the scratch. All those little imperfections give your 1911 character, man. Now if you did that to a Stan Chen custom or an antique Colt with Turnbull restoration, THEN I'd call you an idiot.
How do you feel fine imperfections with gloves on? I cant. My hand looks like a clone of yours!!!!! Colt combat commander sharp edges. Good video though.
I used to put gloves on for 2 reasons. Black gloves when the camera was dimming the lighting of everything in the shot as my hands were on screen, and other gloves because one of my hands has pretty bad eczema. I would rather not have viewers be looking at my hand vs the content of the video. As far as feeling goes, the gloves don't really help. Lol.
Hello again Mosin. I had the same problem with both of my Rock Island Armory 1911's. I got slide bite from both of them. The only difference is my grip safeties are blued rather than yours which I assume is stainless. Would this technique work for me as well? I guess I'd have to re-blue it some using this product I do not like. Would you please have any do-it-yourself recommendations? Thank You Sir. Sincerely, JAMES.
Hi James, yes if yours are blued or parkerized and you only dress down the corners you could touch it up using Birchwood Casey cold blue. The color may not match exactly but since it is only on edges it will look fine.
I figured that a wooden tabletop wouldn't really scratch steel. Since then I still usually put a leather mat under my guns when I work on them. Largely to protect the table.
i have a raptor II stainless in jail and got to see it today when i started the dros. the previous owner left a few faint scratches and i'd like to know what that tool you used is called to sand.
Hi Mosin, I did exactly as you said with the 220 grit sandpaper, and it got rid of the scratch, but the sanding left sort of a scuffy mark, as if the sanding didn't match quite right. Think I should try a different grit? I have the same stainless 1911.
Perfect -- Scotchbrite pad worked great...looks like nothing ever happened! And Springfield was going to charge me $100 to buff it out at their factory!
i had two idiot scratch on the frame and on the slide. contacted springfield and their tech recommened me to get a 3M Contour Surface Sanding Sponge, Super Fine; which i got from Amazon for $5.78. here's the link: goo.gl/izFijM then i followed your video on the direction where to sand based on the grain and it came out flawlessly. after that, per SA's technician's suggestion, i used some a dab of ballistol (or any gun lube of your choice) on a patch and lightly coat it.
eosme Nice. I am sure it came out great. We are lucky that our guns are stainless, as it would certainly not be as easy to fix on blued, parkerized, or coated guns.
Lol. Answered a few times. One of the reasons I used to wear black gloves is so that the camera wouldn't dim the lighting, the other reason is that I have eczema on one of my hands so I didn't want to distract viewers with my ugly hand.
Hi, yes, it is a flat mini file, or needle files as I believe they are called. I wrapped sandpaper around it because it is too coarse by itself. Any brand will do, you could even use something else as backing for your sandpaper.
Your hammer bite is coming from when the pistol recoils , and the spur of the hammer pinches your skin between the bottom of the spur and the grip safety . Rounding those two edges on the grip safety will not fix the problem of hammer bite
Thank you, but it wasn't a hammer bite. The edges of the grip safety had burrs that were digging in. Hammer bite usually results in marks perpendicular to the gun axis. Mine were parallel to the gun axis. Regardless, I know for a fact that the burrs were causing that irritation and skiN breaking, and once I got rid of them the irritation went away.
Sounds good. Am glad you got her fixed. Can't believe they would send it out like that . Have had my SA 1911 for 32 years now , so all is nice and smooth . Only 2 barrels and 2 extractors replaced. I think i have 75-80 K rds fired . You take care of her and she will take care of you . They only get better with age.
I just wonder with all your video's how much money you have saved for your followers and how many have started there own little company fixing guns I think you would be surprised.
Hope this helps. Go to idiotscratch.com. If not; you can make an idiotscratch from playing cards. Cut a 1 1/2 from mag catch lock horizontally, 1 5/8 vertically and cut a bit for slide cut. A hole cut out from school supply is ideal. Devise as you go along. John Moses Browning/ Col. Jeff Cooper never forget.
Thank you for watching. It depends on the depth of the scratch. If your scratch cut through the nickel coat, not much you can do unless you de-plate and replate. I have been able to polish out imperfections on nickel using rough side of leather and white rouge. You rub the rouge onto the leather, thereby loading it, and then lightly polish nickel with that piece of leather. There is always danger of rubbing nickel off.
+ftcampyjr No, do NOT do this on Nickel. Hopefully you have not. With Nickel finished guns, you get an old shirt, some Mothers Mag wheel polish, and you hand rub the polish in, and then wipe it off. Repeat this process many times. When it is all good, you apply a light coat of Renaissance Wax.
I'm not trying to give you shit dude. It's just a good habit to have. It doesn't matter what the reason is. For example, you coulda been at a range and had a failure to fire with one round left. Then you woulda racked a round in the chamber while safety checking and clearing without knowing it. It can and has happened. That all I'm sayin.
I know. I am not saying that what I did in the video is right. I always do a proper check before making videos. it was just an after thought thing I did in front of the camera. you will notice in other videos where I actually planned to show it being cleared that it is done correctly. in any case, I wasn't arguing with you.
Yup. But at the time I couldn't afford a loaded. Though I was able to mod my mil spec. Check out my other videos where I bobtail it, add beavertail and checker both front and rear straps. Now I am building my 2nd 80% 1911. So in a way, I think it was great that I felt I needed to work on it.
MosinVirus appreciate the response I know I’ll probably never get it out completely but want to make it a little less noticeable. Bought a used Colt competition that’s got one. Told myself I wouldn’t let it bother me, but it kind of does lol
I would at least have removed the wood grip before sanding on the frame. As well as removed the safety to work on it. It looked like you hit the frame and hammer a couple times.
Therein lies my criticism. That is how 'accidents' happen in the form of ND or worse, involving damage to property or person. The procedure should never vary- always, without exception, drop the magazine first. This is basically an instructional video and you don't want to pass on to newbies unsafe clearing procedures that may also result in civil or even criminal prosecution. Don't try to rationalize an excuse to save the hassle of doing it the safe(r) way. Yeah, I know it's more of a 'pain' to do it the right way, but there really is only one 'right' way to do it- check owner's manuals and military manuals.
+brentfoto Thank you for pointing this out. I am not trying to rationalize anything. I believe since that video I did start clearing the proper way. I am surprised you didn't call out the fact that my hand was covering the muzzle before it was cleared. Or that the hammer was in cocked position with thumb safety off .
