Thread: Buffing Compounds Revisited

I picked up some Emery, Stainless, and White Rouge from Eastwood a week or so ago and wanted to give my opinions.

It's really good stuff, something I would recommend to have as a standard in your restore tool chest. Slow cutting but great for working around engraving on blades. It's also exactly what you need to restore mirror finishes on blades (a larger buffer would be better to speed the mirror finish process up but you could get by with a dremel for this).

You have to work in the emery and the stainless on your felt wheel (dremel). This not the wheel that the stuff calls for, but you can "make it happen". I did not really like the finishing white rouge (it's really hard to get it to stay on the felt wheel) and prefer Maas for the finishing work.

The compounds really don't scratch much at all. More of a buff "smear" and that gets buffed out with the finishing compounds. I would not recommend this stuff for a blade that does not have engraving or does not need a mirror finish (maybe at the end you could use this for the mirror) as it's a slow process. I'm currently working on a blade that has some nice engraving and a mirror finish so this stuff is working out perfect.

There is higher grits available that would make for even shorter work, but the emery and the stainless is a good place to start. I was at Sears Ro. today and I saw bars of the stuff for $2 a piece (and a good amount per bar, more than you'll ever need for blade work). BTW they [Sears] have really nice Ball Peen hammers made in the USA @ 4 oz. and 8 oz. with very nice wood/ very well made for under $15.

Don't all rush at me with all those questions...




I did a few searches in the forum search engine and I did not come up with anyone speaking of this method. So I am wondering is this something everyone knows about and uses in everyday restore practice? Or am I doing something wrong here, maybe violating some forum code? You can even PM me, maybe to point me in the right direction?

in my opinion your fine i use the same buffing compounds all the time for light finishing work. If i have to sand i usually go from 220-12000 then to the compunds and finish with MAAS. if it works stick with it thats what i always say

You might find www.caswellplating.com a very interesting resource for buffing compounds and supplies.

The hard, dry buffing compounds are easy to put on a felt wheel if you first break off a chunk, smash it into small pieces and then put the pieces into an electric coffee bean/spice grinder and pwder it. Then combine it with Maas or some similar goo. Then it will stick to the felt wheel.

Originally Posted by randydance062449

The hard, dry buffing compounds are easy to put on a felt wheel if you first break off a chunk, smash it into small pieces and then put the pieces into an electric coffee bean/spice grinder and pwder it. Then combine it with Maas or some similar goo. Then it will stick to the felt wheel.

Thanks for the tip!

I have been taking a razor blade into the outside of the felt wheel making several cuts into the felt while the dremel is on (slow speed). This gets some crevices going into which the melted buffing compound can stick. Then I (turn the dremel down low for all this work) buff into the compound in a side to side motion. After I turn the dremel off and manually turn the wheel into the compound again (this adds another coat to the wheel). I let it dry for about 30 seconds or so and it's really to go. You can also smear some of the melted compound (it melts after the dremel wheel hits it for a little bit) onto the blade like you would Maas.

I like your idea best, but I don't have a grinder to grind into a fine powder. Maybe just use emery powder (do they sell various grits of that stuff?) and Maas? There's also that stuff Bill Ellis uses to start up a new bevel on a blade. He puts it on his 4000 grit stone. It looks like he uses it to get a lower grit out of a 4k (like having a 1k on the cheap). I forget the name of it.

Originally Posted by bth88

There's also that stuff Bill Ellis uses to start up a new bevel on a blade. He puts it on his 4000 grit stone. It looks like he uses it to get a lower grit out of a 4k (like having a 1k on the cheap). I forget the name of it.

Rotten Stone

Rottenstone is decaying limestone. It breaks down very rapidly and can be used for a final polish on a blade.

For honing I grind it up first then it is used on a paddle strop in place of a 0.5 micron compound. After it is put on the leather then it needs to be "worked" with a blade to break up an large grits.

I use buffing compounds for all sorts of things in restoration and I agree, they are an indispensable weapon in my restoration arsenal.

I use a course rouge to clean up razors when I get them to get an idea of how much sanding will be needed. I use the same one after 2000 grit wet/dry to get a less than perfect mirrir finish. I use a fine green rouge for mirror finishes as well as on a paddle strop for final polishing when honing.

Incidentally, a clean denim wheel does wonders for polishing horn, bone and dense woods (cocobolo, ironwood etc. )

Originally Posted by randydance062449

The hard, dry buffing compounds are easy to put on a felt wheel if you first break off a chunk, smash it into small pieces and then put the pieces into an electric coffee bean/spice grinder and pwder it.

Sounds great for the compound. How does your coffee taste afterward?