Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Gunsmithing what's your bolt/raceway polishing technique?

I generally do it by hand and then apply a very little high pressure valve grease... with decent results. But I'm wondering what others do?

Brownells sells a raceway polishing tool that looks like a heavy duty tuning fork. You wrap it with whatever grit emery cloth you want and polish away. You could probably make something similar yourself.

I have a special tool, but have promised it to a buddy. 320 lapping compound on the bolt and jacking it off many times make a very smooth receiver. I do not lap the lugs.

Butch do you have a picture of that action tool ?


Hal

When I put together my M700 NRA match rifle, an experienced shooter/gunsmith suggested to just run the bolt to smooth the action. It was a pretty decent action without a lot of tool marks so I skipped the abrasive. I lubed the stainless action, bolt, and trigger, very well with NECO moly grease and I spent half an hour every evening for several weeks running the bolt in and out of battery while watching TV. I'd completely clean and re-lube it every week. That rifle is the smoothest operating bolt action of any type I've ever handled. The action can be run with two fingers in the rapids which disturbs the rifle a lot less. Not sure how many cycles it was, but it was worth the effort.

Is that "NECO Moly-Slide Paste"?

https://www.neconos.com/item/MOLY-SLIDE-33

Or...?

-Chris

That is the stuff. Though mine is in a tube that is about 20+ years old and still going strong. It doesn't take much of it to be effective.

I’ve got a tub of the NECO stuff and use it on new uppers / Bolt carrier groups.

Great stuff - but don’t get it on your good shirt, it might not come out.

Its easy to make a wooden tool to do this. For rifles like Ruger m77's, it is a must. Polish them out so they feel like a model 70...

Yeah, I've got a couple of shirts that are "shop only" now from getting that stuff on them.

I have found up to a half pound reduction in trigger pull weight from using moly slide on a variety of guns. It has a 100% success rate in lowering and improving trigger pull and significantly reduces bolt lift force when used in the cocking cam. Just a great high pressure lubricant.

OK, thanks.

-Chris

I've thought about using something like Flitz on the bolt, maybe with a buffing wheel on the Dremel tool...

Or even slathering up the bolt and running it back and forth in the receiver, but that'd probably be a royal pain to get cleaned up afterwards...

-Chris

I just work the bolt a couple hundred times.

Wipe all the oil off and cycle the snot out of it 😁

I don't Hal I think I bought both from Brownells.