When you get into polishing on a wheel, it's a whole separate challenge and although not rocket science, proper and effective polishing requires adherence to guidelines, etc. I don't claim to be a polishing expert, I'm not. With the experience I have had, the information I've read and the polishing experts I have talked with I can give you a few bits of info that will help:
- You do NOT want to load your wheels with a lot of compound. A little goes a long way. If you load your wheel, you'll run the risk of glazing and causing too much friction. You may be thinking that you're not getting enough compound on your wheels when in reality, you may very well be applying the right amount.
- Caswellplating.com has been a great resource for me and I buy my compounds from them. They even have a free polishing PDF here: http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm
- This is taken right from their website regarding compounds:
"Applying Compound
LITTLE & OFTEN is the rule. Too much compound will reduce the effectiveness of the cutting action, because the surface will become TOO greasy and over lubricated. This can often be seen by the prescence of a black slick of compound that seems to reveal around the work piece. Apply compound to the wheel for approx 1 second. Any more is wasted."
- The free booklet will also teach you about the difference between "cutting" vs. "coloring" which is important.
Bottom line though, if you're using a wheel, Bill Ellis is correct in his DVD when he says blades and wheels are probably the most dangerous thing you can work with in our art form. I use cut resistant gloves I originally bought for filleting fish that are similar to these:
http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/st...=SearchResults
And I would caution anyone from operating a cloth wheel with blades from working without such gloves. Actually, right now I have been only working with one of my gloves
because I can't find the other darn glove and even wearing only the one makes me nervous.
Chris L
I guess, bottom line if you're trying to load your wheels with enough compound that you can really see the compound on your wheels, that's too much.
I hope this helps.