Thread: Satin Finish

I got this Greaves with some pretty serious rust to practice on. I left in some pitting, and, for now, decided to leave her as a satin finish. I went up through the Black Emory from Caswell. Posted shots to show the "satin" and the "mirror" aspects of the blade.

Still learning lots as I go along...

One thing I learned, I need to stop using paper towels and switch to cloth. At this level, I'm getting a few length wise scratches on the blade from when I rinse and dry.

Cool stuff man, way to go... I just wanted to pop in and say that I think Holli is showing us the pictures that emphasize the scratches from the buffer to the extreme... I'm willing to bet that the finish looks nice and smooth without the camera lens he has to pick up those buffing marks (it wouldn't be so nice in the mirror pics otherwise).

Oh yea, the shots with the scratches are taken right under a lamp with the blade angled to maximize the appearance of the scratches. I was talking with Undream a little in chat, and I think I'm going to go back at this blade with the next compound, first toe to heal and then edge to spine so I'll erase these marks and then reproduce the pattern with the next finest compound I have. It should be good for me to compare the scratches, and maybe others will find it interesting as well. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow, but if not it'll wait till Tues or Wed because I'm working this weekend.

Thanks for the encouragement, Del1r1um!

I like what you've done. I was looking in a tool supply catalog recently and saw they have the scotch brite wheels to use for buffers. I have a scotch brite belt for my 2"x72" grinder and I've found that the evenness in scratch pattern looks closest to factory satin finish that I've seen from a buffer or grinder. I don't have any pics to illustrate at the moment but the scotch brite belt is a great tool. I wonder if the wheel would be a great tool as well for satin finishes.

I'm a fan of satin finish vintage blades.

Chris L

Sounds interesting, Chris. I'd be curious to hear/see more.

I used ScotchBrite wheels to clean up golf clubs for many years. Works great when refurbishing kniv es also. I will try them on one of my razors. Good tool!

This is mine and it is original finish 8/8 blade with CF

Originally Posted by ChrisL

I wonder if the wheel would be a great tool as well for satin finishes.

I'm a fan of satin finish vintage blades.

Chris L

The wheels work well. I use scotchbrite wheels all the time on my restores. Got mine in various sizes made by a buff supplier here & they come in 3 different grades Hard Medium & Soft.

Oz, would you say that in your experience, the scotch brite wheels put an even finish on the blades accurately reproducing the factory satin finish? It's the closest thing I've found short of a grinding belt.

Chris L

Hi Chris. I find it a pretty reasonable approximation tho I think the softest wheel (green) may be a tad finer than factory finishes.
Only downside I find is they heat the job fairly quickly but using them with compounds seems to remedy that.