[JeffWade68]

Hello...new to forum. Will be picking up an Interarms PPK tomorrow. Just wondering what you all use to polish and “shine up” the slide, grips, etc. This will be more of a collector item for me and I would like to clean her up. Thanks for your advice.

 

[153]

Clean as you would any handgun. Don't "polish" anything, the only acceptable polish is by using the pistol, otherwise leave it be!

 

[JeffWade68]

I was just wondering if anybody here has used Ballistol. I’ve heard it is good on stainless steel.

 

[124grain]

A Little Polish on Stainless

The right polish can be used effectively to put some life back in the stainless steel and not harm anything. Stainless steel can sometimes start to look cloudy/dirty/splotchy over time with lots of use. I personally use McGuires Finishing Polish on most of my stainless pistols/revolvers to keep that clean, pleasing, satin look. Some people get good results with the Flitz brand as well. Just a light rub with a clean cotton or micro-fiber cloth with an ultra fine polish will leave a very nice luster without any hairlines, scratches or swirls. Just don't rub hard and long in order to avoid that fake chrome look. It's an easy and rewarding process.

 

[olsoul]

Ballistol is great for cleaning and lubing of your weapon. Many vintage Walthers grew up on Ballistol and in fact never used anything else.

All my Walthers old and new use Ballistol. I also use Flitz (extremely sparingly as it is an abrasive) but for a nice show room shine try Renaissance Wax. A tiny dab will do the whole weapon.

 

[JeffWade68]

Thanks all...will give one of these a try and will post after the results

 

[yagyujubei]

I like Ren wax.

 

[Jimbo80]

Olsoul hooked me on Ballistol years ago and I haven't looked back.

 

[Yoxford]

Ballistol...if it kept MG42's humming, it rocks a PPK

 

[yagyujubei]

All you guys seem to love Ballistol. It seems to be a good product, but I just can't seem to get past the stink.

 

[Kar98]

What stink? It smells so much more pleasing than Hoppe's #9!

 

[axyardbob]

What stink is right ,it smells like roses comparison wise to anything else solvent/lube that I can think of . It is the new car smell of a Walther that I never get tired of . I even used it to clean and polish my 100+ year old bed which greatly improved it's appearance . Ayb

 

[olsoul]

All you guys seem to love Ballistol. It seems to be a good product, but I just can't seem to get past the stink.

Hold your nose and think of England....or something.

 

[halfmoonclip]

Stainless is among the most forgiving of finishes to use; there's no drama in getting rid of small scratches or handling marks. The only challenging part is the bead blasted slide top.
3M cloth works well on the brush finish.
For the OP; shoot the dern thing. You won't hurt it, and the Interarms/Ranger examples haven't achieved the status of the Hitler gun.
Moon

 

[Sergeant127]

Ballistol is the air freshener of Valhalla.

 

[Herb]

PPK & PPK/S

Speaking of PPK's, where are the new ones they've been making but not selling for the past 2 or 3 years?