Back in the day Ruger used to buff their Minis to much shinier finish than the matte stainless you get today . I also imagine the Armorers kept buffing them when they got scratched . You can pretty easily buff a matte finished one to a mirror shine . Here is an example of one somebody polished Before After are most likely federal ordinance steel handguards that were nickle plated but could have also been made by the armorers out of stainless or aluminum sheet . Ruger even used to make wooden handguards for the early minis . Interestingly they were all Semiauto but the squibs and sound effects make them sound like full auto . I just had my stainless mini out the other day and made a video testing some neat old Ramline mags that work in both the Mini and the AR .