I purchased a used 10/22 with the new plastic trigger, housing, etc. I was going to polish the internals but I can't seem to find much of a need for it. The sear, disconnector, hammer, etc all seem to be very very smooth. Has Ruger stepped up the quality of their finished parts or am I just not looking closely enough?
On my 3 10/22s, all of different decades, I have found the trigger parts to be smooth enough. I did polish mine, but the results were marginal. The pull weight issue arises from the length of the sear hook on the hammer. If you look carefully, you'll see that the hammer is pulled back quite a way against increasing hammer spring pressure by the initial movement of the sear, before the shot can break. It takes great care and some skill to stone that down properly to avoid making the rifle dangerous and illegal. Instructions are in the 10/22 Action section of rimfirecentral.com. I have done one that way, but the others have had drop-in hammer kits from Volquartsen. My next one will have the Kidd "trigger job" kit. The VQ triggers a a little creepy compared to Kidd.
Oddly, some of the "grit" you may feel comes from the trigger return plunger. Polishing the edges of that, at both ends where they contact the rear of the trigger guard, may help. I also put a small dab of grease in the hole that plunger sits in.
I've had excellent results for some time with the Power Customs trigger sets in the older cast aluminum trigger housings. I found it made little noticeable improvement in a plastic trigger housing. I got an excellent refurbished plastic trigger group from Hornet Enterprises in Florida for less than $100 that was then rebated an additional $30 for a "core" stock trigger group in exchange.
Many feel the new polymer trigger groups are an improvement. I had Brimstone do a Tier 2 on one of mine, very nice results; 2.5# Glass rod break. If you drop in, Power Custom is my preference.
I have a Kidd drop in 2.5#. Absolutely outstanding except it's too little if you're using the rifle as a loaner.0
Thanks ya'll. i appreciate the advice and I'm currently polishings away. The plunger cleaned up nicely.
Despite so many who don't like them, MIM parts can be quite good. Easy to get a good surface finish, as you noticed.
There is some to be gained, but it's a fine tuning effect. Also consider polishing the bolt body wherever it touches the receiver to reduce fouling buildup and improve cycling.