Thread: First try with a dremel = bad

I bought a dremel at lowe's the other day to polish up some old razors that I purchased on ebay a while back. I used a felt polishing pad and some TurtleWax polishing compound (its all I had). I applied a liberal amount to the blade and used a cloth to wipe it down. Next, I applied more compund and used the dremel on the high setting. After about 2 minutes of using the dremel I noticed that the blade was getting very hot. I stopped using the dremel and wiped off the excess compound. Well, I completely messed up my blade. The are now scratches all over the blade and it looks horrible.

So, what did I do wrong? Was it the compound? Was it caused by me using the dremel on the high setting?

What was the RPM?
If I use polishing compound, I never go above 12000 RPM because anything faster will heat up the steel so fast it'll lose its temper. lower than 10000 is generally better I find.
If the steel is so hot you can't touch it anymore, it's too hot and you are risking heat damage.

Also, what was the grit rating of the compound? If you use coarse grit, you'll do a lot of damage really fast.
You should also never use so much compound that you can't see what's going on on the blade face you are polishing.

I also use a Dremel when polishing my razors, and I use the Turtle Wax Premium Grade Rubbing Compound. When polishing a blade, I keep the Dremel at the lowest possible speed and use just a very little bit of compound on the felt wheel. Ill polish for about a minute or less before shutting the Dremel off and wiping off the blade. Since the Dremel uses a low torque motor, Ill also vary the pressure of the felt wheel against the blade to slow it up a bit if I think the blade is getting a little too warm.

Ill tell you, the Premium Grade rubbing compound works wonders. I can sand a blad down to 600 grit sandpaper, spend about 30 minutes CAREFULLY using the dremel with the rubbing compound, and get a mirror finish. Trick is to go slow, use only a little bit of compound, and dont run the Dremel for more than a minute before shutting it of and letting the blade cool a minute.

Originally Posted by mr_wizzard2004

Ill tell you, the Premium Grade rubbing compound works wonders. I can sand a blad down to 600 grit sandpaper, spend about 30 minutes CAREFULLY using the dremel with the rubbing compound, and get a mirror finish. Trick is to go slow, use only a little bit of compound, and dont run the Dremel for more than a minute before shutting it of and letting the blade cool a minute.

Yup, I can also vouch for that stuff. You can get a really good finish with it. I don't quite spend 30 minutes on a blade, but I also sand higher than 600. I also always use the lowest dremel setting.

Are you sure the felt pad was clean of any stray particles? You might have put it down and it picked up a grit of something which then messed up your blade.

Originally Posted by Bruno

What was the RPM?
If I use polishing compound, I never go above 12000 RPM because anything faster will heat up the steel so fast it'll lose its temper. lower than 10000 is generally better I find.
If the steel is so hot you can't touch it anymore, it's too hot and you are risking heat damage.

Also, what was the grit rating of the compound? If you use coarse grit, you'll do a lot of damage really fast.
You should also never use so much compound that you can't see what's going on on the blade face you are polishing.

I don't have my dremel here with me, but I looked on Lowe's website and found that the dremel I purchased has a low speed of 5,000 RPM and a high speed of 35,000 RPM. So I was using my dremel at 35,000 RPM.

As for the compound, it doesn't say what grit it is but says that it is for polishing metal surfaces and for removing scratches. I think it is designed for polishing chrome wheels if I'm not mistaken.

Originally Posted by Philadelph

Yup, I can also vouch for that stuff. You can get a really good finish with it. I don't quite spend 30 minutes on a blade, but I also sand higher than 600. I also always use the lowest dremel setting.

Are you sure the felt pad was clean of any stray particles? You might have put it down and it picked up a grit of something which then messed up your blade.

Upon further inspection and some investigation, I found that my TurtleWax compound had been previously used to polish my dad's chrome wheels (I thought it was unopened). Looking at the compund closely, I found that there was dirt, sand, grime, etc. in the polish.

So, for my next razor I will use my dremel on the lowest setting and buy some new polish. Hopefully this works, thanks guys.

I've also found that letting some of the turtle wax sit out for a few days until it becomes more of a paste is helpful. It's less messy and seems to work a bit better.

Originally Posted by Mike7120

I don't have my dremel here with me, but I looked on Lowe's website and found that the dremel I purchased has a low speed of 5,000 RPM and a high speed of 35,000 RPM. So I was using my dremel at 35,000 RPM.

Ouch.
Well, if the grit and sand wouldn't have destroyed your blade, the heat probably would have.
Stay below 10000 and the heat will dissipate fast enough not to be an issue if you don't hold it on the same spot for a very long time.

Originally Posted by Mike7120

Looking at the compound closely, I found that there was dirt, sand, grime, etc. in the polish.

So, for my next razor I will use my dremel on the lowest setting and buy some new polish. Hopefully this works, thanks guys.

That makes sense, as I've found Turtle Wax Rubbing Compound to be really fine and incapable of putting serious scratches in steel.

As to the heating problem, I'm too impatient to air-cool when polishing so I keep a cup of quench water handy. Swirl the blade in the water every 30 sec or a minute and go to town.

Same here. Lowest speed 5000 rpm dremel and Turtle wax rubbing compound works wonders. A dremel is a fine tool and has some limitations but if you're careful it's a great tool to use.