Fast Ed

I have polished a few actions in my day and although I am sure that some of the professionals that frequent this forum may disagree, I like to use stones to start out with for the simple reason that you can keep everything straight and sharp with them while you are stoning. a nice long stone will help you to identify the high spots and the low spots. I like the ones from Brownells, but any industrial supply shop should have stones available. after stoning, you can use 240 grit paper backed by the stones for a final finish, or if you want a real shiny finish you can go to 400 and 600 grit paper.

the main thing is to go into the project understanding that polishing an action is not a 15 minute proposition. plan on spending at least two or three hours for a rough job and up to 5 or 6 hours for a perfect job on the outside.

Agreed. What Blue said.

I have two 1903A3 actions that I am planning on using for custom projects. The actions are typical war production, rough. What is the best way to polish the metal to remove the tool marks and rough spots? I am planning on a matte finish on the actions, so I really don't need it to shine like a mirror, just look better than it does now.

Fast Ed