Steve Bedair Stainless Guide Rods

[finpro]

An excellent way to remove rough spots on a stainless guide rod or to simply prepare it for use is to insert it into an electric drill and gently pinch the rod within 2000 grit sandpaper while spinning it with the drill. It would probably work as well with metal polish on a cloth. It takes just a few seconds and puts a very high polish on the rod that makes it much slicker. It is more important to do this to the front half of the rod, but I generally do both ends. I think this helps with any wear issues due to the rod passing through the front of the slide. I suggest polishing the front corner of the rod to aid in reassembly. It might be better to do only the front half of a non-stainless steel guide rod to prevent rusting. Final dressing of the rod should be done with the sandpaper moving it back and forth from the front end to help with the excursion through the slide. After doing this, I use metal conditioner on metal guide rods using a toaster oven to heat it, per the instructions. I have done this numerous times beginning with Steve Bedair rods bought years ago and have never experienced any problems. After doing this, I do not recall ever having seen further wear.