Add the “Midas” Touch

When it comes to custom-gun projects, the little embellishments such as case-coloring, engraving, checkering and other custom touches can be an important part of the total package. To that end, Forster cts of Lanak, Illinois www.forster prod san inexpensive goldor silver-inlay kit ($13.40) that will give a touch of distinction to any firearm. The catch is, to use the kit, the piece must sport some kind of engraving, or at least have some pronounced markings on the receiver, slide, or frame.

This is not a problem with most handguns. The lettering on barrels and slides can easily be filled with the gold or silver fill. This touch might not be right for every shooter or every firearm (particularly a collectible), but in the right instances, a highlight of precious metal can really set your metalwork off. The directions supplied with the kit are simple but, of course, must be followed carefully for the best results.

There are three key elements in the kit: the Forster Number 1 Cleaner, Forster Number 3 Liquid Base, and the actual metallic fill. The cleaner, which contains toluene and xylene, should be used only in a well-ventilated area; avoid breathing the vapor or contact with the skin. Some care must also be taken when selecting the area to be filled. Well worn or corroded areas will not produce good results. Naturally, a deep scratch over the lettering will also be filled, so prepare the section to be filled carefully.

Forster warns against attempting to gold-fill a Parkerized area or any area that has been sandblasted and then blued over. Parkerized surfaces and any rough-finished surface where you don’t want the fill to adhere should be masked with tape. Examples of areas where the fill can be used to advantage include the company name and model number on Ruger pistols and the Smith & Wesson logo on revolvers. The sides of the Remington 1100 receiver require some effort, but can be really eye-catching when gold filled.

While the filling can be removed (on most surfaces) if you have a problem, Forster warns that the gold fill cannot be removed from cast engraving. Preparation is much simpler with pistols than with long guns. With rifles, you’ll have to mask screw holes and wood-to-metal joints with masking tape to prevent the gold or silver fill from running into these areas. I chose a 1911-type pistol’a Rock Island Armory .45 Compact’for my first effort. This is my daily carry piece and it’s a rather plain if purposeful pistol.

The pistol has received several internal upgrades and a set of grips from Wilson Combat, but overall is a pretty plain-Jane carry piece’ exactly the intention. I’ve always thought the historical Rock Island Armory logo on the slide was a nice illustration, and would be even nicer if brought into greater relief or highlighted in some way.

I also thought A gun-patch-type cloth is also included. that, since this pistol is fired every week and drawn from the holster often, it would be a great test piece to see how the gold fill holds up. First, I used the cleaner. The "Number 1" is marked just above the warning label in very small letters, so be sure you have your glasses on’and safety glasses as well. Clean all the lettering and engraving with the Number 1 cleaner. A small cloth is supplied.

These cloths are the same as cleaning patches and are easily replenished when used. Allow the area to dry for a few minutes and then sprinkle a little of the gold powder on a clean piece of paper. Take one of the cloths and dab it in the Number 3 base and then dab it in the gold powder. Carefully work it into the engraving. It will take perhaps a minute to work

Then, the excess is cleaned off the surface using the supplied cleaner. the powder in. Then, before the area is completely dry, take a cloth moistened with the Number 1 cleaner and remove the excess. Things did not go as well as I would have liked with the RIA pistol. The application was somewhat inconsistent, even after I worked the area over three or four times.

I decided it takes a little practice to press the gold fill into the engraving with sufficient force and in sufficient volume, and then to avoid wiping it all off when I cleaned up the excess. I decided to try another handgun to add breadth to my test, and the results were much better. This gun was a Glock 19. While the Glock is not something you think of when you think of "custom touches," I thought I would give it a try. The results were excellent.

The lettering of the words "GLOCK" and "9 x 19" really stood out with the gold fill, and gave me a bit more pride in what is otherwise not a very attractive piece. I moved to my newest polymer Overall, the author was pleased with the results of the Forster inlay kit. frame pistol, a Glock 37. On this pistol, I got excellent results on the first try with a minimum of fuss and bother. Curious, I broke out another favored carry gun, a Springfield Armory with a lightweight frame.

The Springfield emblem on the stainless slide is quite attractive. The Springfield Armory emblem is well struck, deep and well defined. Again, the results were excellent, although gold on stainless steel is not as eye-catching as gold on blue. The gold fill on each of these pistols was an experiment. As for the Glocks and the Springfield, the lettering was deep and took the gold inlay well. As it turns out, the RIA pistol has very shallow engraving.

Under magnification, the edge of the Rhode Island Armory emblem was a lighter strike on one side than the other. I can only blame myself for not putting the emblem under a strong magnifying glass in the first place, and I hope you’ll benefit from my mistake. Still, one fact remained. Despite (continued on page 21)

the good results with the other pistols’confirming Forster’s claims for the product’t he RIA piece was the one I had originally wanted to embellish with the gold accent. Eventually, with a little more experimentation, I learned how to deal with the shallow and uneven engraving. I’ll warn you, however, that it’s time-consuming and you’ll have to decide if it’s worth the effort. This is how I did it. Clean as normal. On my pistol, the word "Armory" was deepest, while "Rock Island" was a bit thinner.

After the first application, "Armory" looked good. I let this word dry and taped it over. Then I moved to applying gold fill to the less well-defined letters in hopes of making the lettering match. I used a lead pencil’not sharp, but dull and round’t o fill in the lines of the words "Rock Island." I dipped the cloth in a little base, which adhered well to the lead, and then dipped a bit of powder and applied it to the surface.

Then, looking through the magnifying glass, I carefully used a combination of pencil erasers and Q-tips to clean up the excess gold fill from around the letters. This technique was tedious, but it allowed me to get an even gold coloring in the letters, and the RIA pistol looked great when I was finished. In the final analysis, I concluded that the gold fill makes a striking addition to a blued-steel gun’as would the silver.

On a stainless gun, the gold fill is subtle, but attractive. (The silver, of course, wouldn’t show up at all on stainless steel.) The work involved in using the product turned out to be about twice what I thought it would be, but this isn’t the first time a seemingly simple job has become more time-consuming. But I can’t say that it’s more complicated than I thought it would be, as the procedure is really quite simple.

In short, I’d say that a little practice is a big help, and well-struck deep engraving makes the process much easier. I