polish the pan?

[phoenix511]

I have read articles that polishing the flintlock's pan will improve performance. The claim is the polished surface won't retain as much moisture and/or debris from the previous shot as a rougher pan surface, and the flame will jump quicker.

What were the high-grade original pans like... Manton, etc? And are there some adverse consequences, such as more rust?

Anyone have some thoughts on this matter?

 

[45flint]

it sure is much easier to clean when polished and you'll get less rust with a clean pan

 

[rabjr]

I polish my pans. :thumbsup:

 

[daoliver924]

Yep

 

I have read articles that polishing the flintlock's pan will improve performance. The claim is the polished surface won't retain as much moisture and/or debris from the previous shot as a rougher pan surface, and the flame will jump quicker.

What were the high-grade original pans like... Manton, etc? And are there some adverse consequences, such as more rust?

Anyone have some thoughts on this matter?

As for holding moisture I don't think that holds water :haha: for debris it may catch some of the grains of powder? Many of your high grade guns like Manton, Westly Richards, etc. had gold, silver lined pans. Look at the others that didn't have smooth pans or fancy coverings, they didn't seem to have any issues? Personally as mentioned I would rather have a fairly smooth pan for ease of cleaning.

 

[ADK Ephraim]

"Personally, as mentioned, I would rather have a fairly smooth pan for ease of cleaning."

Ditto! Me too - - mjw

 

[robinghewitt]

What were the high-grade original pans like... Manton, etc?

They were lined with polished gold. Late Manton's had a platinum bar along the bottom. Here's a Durs Egg pan, at the top you can see where he punched indents to key the gold in, now sadly missing

 

[Trench]

I polish all my pans mostly for ease of cleaning. A wet thumb easily removes fouling from a well polished pan.

 

[Melton Kidd]

Polished pans are easier to clean, look better, and make other shooters think you know what you are doing. :grin: I can't tell that it speeds ignition.

 

[Billnpatti]

You really should polish your pans. An unpolished pan will retain more of the burned powder residue. It is that residue that is hygroscopic and will result in more moisture getting into your pan. The polished pan will retain less residue and is more easliy wiped clean with your finger tip or, better yet, a piece of cloth.

 

[DelSnavely]

If you don't mind me asking;

What is used to pollish the pan and how do you do it?

 

[MSW]

i use a dremel buffing wheel, followed by a felt attachment loaded with polishing compound.

the purported benefit of increased lock speed is, i suspect, more theoretical than practical. i haven't timed it, so i don't know for sure... perhaps a good project for the high speen camera at Friendship next year.

i polish my pans because i think it looks cool.... just one fellow's opinion...

 

[paulvallandigham]

A shiny surfaces reflects heat( and light ) better than a dull surface. That is the THEORY behind polishing the pan making the gun shoot faster. Actually, the polishing of the pan is to make it very FAST TO CLEAN the pan of residue, that will other wise absorb moisture from the air.

The half round arc on the outside of the flash pan, if polished, might focus some heat inward towards the vent hole, but not to any degree that we might notice either with our eyes or ears. Polish the pan to help you in cleaning it between shots, to eliminate fouled priming powder as a reason for a misfire.

 

[DrLaw]

Polished mine last night with a Dremel and polishing wheel and compound. Did it light, did it right (I hope :haha: )

Little by little, picking up the tips here and putting them to fruition.

The Doc is out now. :v

 

[jmac]

HMMM, Got a pic? This sounds interesting...the dremmel tool may come out this week.

J-Mac

 

[Dphar]

I have read articles that polishing the flintlock's pan will improve performance. The claim is the polished surface won't retain as much moisture and/or debris from the previous shot as a rougher pan surface, and the flame will jump quicker.

What were the high-grade original pans like... Manton, etc? And are there some adverse consequences, such as more rust?

Anyone have some thoughts on this matter?

Polishing will make cleaning easier. Speed it probably won't help.
Manton put gold etc lining in a lot of pans.

Dan

 

[miked35]

I polished the pan on my .40cal. The reason I did it was to make it easier to wipe off between shots as it was pretty rough and hard to clean. As a side benefit, this gun just would not fire unless it had two shots of prime in the pan no matter where it was placed. Now it only takes one.

Mike

 

[tsmgguy]

Both of my rifles are from The Rifle Shoppe. The pans are fairly smooth, but not polished. Ignition has been fast and 100% so far.

 

[PennLongrifle]

Dremel and polishing compound. Got it.

Do you leave the lock on the rifle or remove to polish?

 

[fyrfyter43]

Remove the lock to polish the pan.