gunsmithing, 1911On my new Springfield Champion .45, the thumb safety has some ridges which are so sharp that I cut my palm few times when racking the slide. Can someone recommend how to smooth the ridges without taking it all apart? It has a stainless steel finish.
I was thinking of using some polishing paste. If this is the right idea, is there some particular kind of paste suitable for this application?
I have seen several mentions of using 140 Grit compound, though I think you might be better off using a fine grit paper and doing it by hand to insure you don’t slip and or go further then you intended. See: How to dehorn.
Cratex Rubberized Abrasives in a dremel tool are great for smoothing something out when you don't want to remove too much material. (Google 'cratex' and you can find smaller kits or individual pieces).
I would highly recommend disassembly regardless of how you do it - you won't have to worry about touching the slide or frame or getting 'grit' in your pistol. Removing the thumb safety is relatively simple:
Take the slide / barrel assembly off the frame just as you would for cleaning.
Ease the hammer forward to relieve pressure from the mainspring.
With a punch, drive out the mainspring pin (the pin at the bottom rear of the butt).
Slide the mainspring housing down and out of the pistol.
If the 3-fingered spring falls out at this point, don't worry about it. It will fall out by the time you've removed the safety.
Put the hammer in the cocked position.
Starting with the thumb safety in the 'fire' position, start pulling the safety out while raising it toward the 'safe' position. A little bit before it gets all the way to normal 'safe'position it should start to pull out. This might take a bit of fussing to find the first time.
As the safety comes out, it frees the plunger in the plunger tube. It's unlikely to fly away, but watch it.
Withdraw the safety completely. If it's an ambidextrous safety the passenger side is removed by rotating it so its 'tail' clears the grip scale.
At this point the grip safety will fall out (along with the 3-fingered spring if it hasn't already).
---Go do your work on the safety.
Re-assembly is just following the directions in reverse with the following exceptions:
Start by placing the 3-fingered spring in position. The bottom should engage the slot in the bottom back of the frame.
Push the mainspring part way in place to hold the 3-finger spring in place for the rest of the process.
Don't forget the hammer position ('cocked' when inserting the thumb safety, 'fired' when re-installing the mainspring). Use a 1/16" punch to depress the thumb safety plunger while pushing the thumb safety home.
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