🤔 How to Polish a Trigger — WITHOUT the Proper Tools?

[JungleShooter]

How to Polish a Trigger — WITHOUT the Proper Tools?





No, I have never polished a trigger. 

Yes, I have watched/read 8 instructionals about it. 



And the instructionals mention special pastes and stones. 

Well, sorry, all I got is tooth paste. 

And in the stone department I might be getting a tomb stone if Corona gets me good. But until then, nah, no stones, polishing or other.





And since the Peruvian government has everything under striktest lockdown for the past 50 days and counting, I won't be getting any either. 







What I do have:

▪Sand paper, 600 and 800 grit

▪Dremel with various accessories, cf. pic with numbers

▪Steel wool 0000

▪etc. etc.





So, what methods and contraptions do you suggest to do my trigger polishing? 

▪Do I glue the 0000 steel wool around Dremel accessory No. 3 and polish away? 

▪Would the nylon brush (No. 5) make any difference?

▪No. 4 is a steel brush, No. 6 a stone — probably too coarse?

▪Your suggestions? 





Thanks for your input!

Matthias

 

[oldsparky]

I use to work on Chinese cloned shotguns for cowboy shooting. Some of the parts were rough, I can't imagine any rougher. You can get in trouble real quick using a. Dremel with a stone or. sandpaper if you change shape or radius of a piece. Sandpaper laying flat on a smooth surface can be used and is easier to control. Most parts just need polished. The little felt polishing pads that go on a Dremel can get a lot done, dry or with compound. If you don't have compound a tooth paste can work. Go easy, sometimes it is a pain but put your component back together and feel try it. Ok I take the chance of sounding stupid. go easy, don't change geometry of a piece. Ask me how I know

 

[Fuciliere]

What I suggest is if you already know the edges that your taking off, use the flexible nail file (not the one in the nail clipper) that your wife or girlfriend use ( just replace it with a new one when you're done or else you'll be at war), its bec it you will not be removing it too aggressively and after removing the edges use the wire wheel, but make sure you have eye protection bec as that wares outs and as you will tend to spin your rotary tool faster, the small wires will fly off and you don't want that wire going into your eyes.

 

[Vetmx]

Everything in your picture spells doom to a trigger. Just polish with a buffing pad on your dremel with the least abrasive compound you can find. If you do anything other than that, make sure all the parts in your trigger are easily available for you to order replacements.

 

[elh0102]

A lot depends on the type of trigger, and your experience. Most of the tools pictured will ruin a decent trigger. Polishing is not grinding or sanding, in that you are not removing metal, except, I suppose, at the molecular level. If you are changing the engagement angle of sear and cocking surface, that is some pretty precise work, and gunsmiths usually have jigs set up to hold parts at the correct angle. For polishing, I like two tools, a set of Arkansas stone files, and 3M silicone polishing paper. The stones are of different hardness and shapes, and the paper is available in grit as fine as 7,000 or so. This combination will produce a mirror smooth surface. First rule of trigger work that involves anything more than pure polishing, don't start on a part until you have a replacements available! The question is not whether or not you will screw it up, but rather how many?

 

[Motorhead]

Certainly NOT WITH any of those tools shown .. NO WAY !!!



Don't have the correct tools DO NOT DO ANYTHING you will just make it even worse IMO.



One can use 600/1500 wet / dry paper on a sheet of flat glass working out on the flat of over near a corner .. tho HARD STONES purpose made to be used as such are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

 

[whyzee]

Look at the way that the sears slide in relation to each other. When you polish, do so in the same linear direction that the sear slides or breaks!! Do not polish perpendicular to the sliding action/breaking as this (at a highly magnified level) just adds to the rough and notchy feeling Of the second/creep stage of your trigger. 


as others have said, do not use any of those Dremel bits you have shown. 

 

[mtnGhost]

Certainly NOT WITH any of those tools shown .. NO WAY !!!



Don't have the correct tools DO NOT DO ANYTHING you will just make it even worse IMO.



One can use 600/1500 wet / dry paper on a sheet of flat glass working out on the flat of over near a corner .. tho HARD STONES purpose made to be used as such are HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

This 100%. If the parts are made from tool steel and the surface is really bad, you still shouldn't need to go more abrasive than 600 grit (wet-dry 3M is great). 1500 or 2000 is good to polish with.

Depending on the sear, you may not want to go further with a 4K-8K polishing cloth, because you probably want to leave a little surface friction.

 

[JungleShooter]

Thanks for all the warnings, guys! I'll will leave the Dremel in its box...! ;-)



Thanks for the suggestions.



I will try my 600 and 800 sand paper, after taking off the bite on something else first.

I'll use a glass as resting surface for the sand paper.


I will look for some cheap (= abrasive) toothpaste, Peru has much more powerful cleaning agents available (since no lawyers and environmentalists are cracking down on stuff).

Wish I had a buffing wheel for the Dremel.




I'll check again the PP700 instructions which trigger parts actually need polishing.



And I'll try to keep the shapes intact, only polishing, not removing metal.





Matthias

 

[Vetmx]

The only trigger work my PP700 needed was getting the settings to jive with how much hammer spring tension I had. Once you are happy with a tune, then go to the trigger settings. It’s hard to play with your hammer spring all the time and expect a good trigger. One thing at a time.

 

[JungleShooter]

Frank/Vetmx,

thanks for your advice, that was something I hadn't considered at all — still new at all this modding/tuning...!



So, I did as you recommended — I readjusted the HST again before messing with any trigger work on the PP700. — Because my previous tune shot well (12FPE [JSB Exp] with Huma 85bar, HST 5% below the knee) — but the gun got rather loud.





Then I reviewed the instructions on how to adjust the trigger setting and the dire warnings not to set it too light and all that.

Previously in my attempt to set it I had turned the screw so far that the hammer wouldn't stay cocked — so I got scared and backed the screw. 

➔ Probably backed it off way too much...!  

Armed with the courage that comes from frustration at shooting groups that I feel could be smaller I turned that screw again. 

➔ The trigger is much lighter now, a real joy.



I hit the cocked, unloaded gun with my fist from all directions, but the hammer did not let loose.

Problem solved.



And after COVID is over in Peru I will be ordering the proper trigger polishing equipment — for when the frustration grabs a hold of me again....!  

Thank you all!

Matthias