Thread: Polishing

Maybe I am obsessing but.......... I have been using a buffing wheel to polish my blade with good results starting with black compound and going down a couple of grits to blue. Blue "doesn't cut but only polishes" but I can still see very fine lines and I can tell that the blue is cutting because if i polish on an angle the lines show up after buffing. What will it take to get rid of all lines?

Are you polishing or cutting with the blue rouge?

See here for details, the secion titled "cut and polish motions"
Introduction To Buffing and Polishing - Caswell Inc.


I normally finish on green compound, coloring motion.

What 'Dan the man' says..

Green is the way to go, blue doesn't do diddley squad imo and is pretty much a waste of time for razors. We all have our workflow so your results might be different.
A quality compound will make all the difference too.

I was aware of the motions and experimented with both and didn't see too much difference. Do you guys see much of a difference? You probably have way more experience than I do. I also did sort of notice green working a little better. What should be the last polish combination, compound type, wheel etc? What is a good brand of compound, I just went to Sears not knowing what to get.

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Chris

Originally Posted by radray5

I was aware of the motions and experimented with both and didn't see too much difference. Do you guys see much of a difference? You probably have way more experience than I do. I also did sort of notice green working a little better. What should be the last polish combination, compound type, wheel etc? What is a good brand of compound, I just went to Sears not knowing what to get.

I do note a major difference in the finer compounds between cutting and coloring. The link I provided accurately describes what I have observed.
The best combo of compounds is the one that gives you the results you want, with the least effort, time and money spent. For razors I use flapwheels and stones on a dremel like a dentist's drill to get the bad spots, then use:

80, 120, 220, 320 greaseless compounds on sisal
black emery on sisal
grey (stainless) on spiral cotton
green on spiral cotton
green on loose flanel

All my compunds come from Eastwood, except the green. I get my green compound from Canadian Tire (You wouldn't think they'd carry a quality compound, but they do!)

Thank you Dan for the details. I did notice a huge difference with the Sisal on black.

One other question. How mirrored should a mirror finish get?? I am getting shiny reflective "mirror" finishes but still see fine scratches and very subtle "orange peel" texture on the blade when looking with a 10x loupe. Am I obsessing or is it possible to get a glass finish?

___________
Chris

Originally Posted by radray5

Thank you Dan for the details. I did notice a huge difference with the Sisal on black.

One other question. How mirrored should a mirror finish get?? I am getting shiny reflective "mirror" finishes but still see fine scratches and very subtle "orange peel" texture on the blade when looking with a 10x loupe. Am I obsessing or is it possible to get a glass finish?

___________
Chris

A true mirror finish is possible but difficult to achieve and, according to some, undesireable.
Same as sanding, you have to ensure that you start with an even surface and progress from one grit to the next only when the scratches from the previous one are gone.
Some argue that a perfect mirror finish is too easy to mess up with tiny scratches to be a desireable target. These are normally the same people who argue against rocket cars because they are too fast and dangerous to be of any use... pffft.

P.S. if you go to your user cp (see options just below the logo at the top of the page) you can have your name added as a signature automatically to every post.

HAHAHAHAHA... Rocket cars. I love it.

Hello there,
The guys have done a fantastic job to go through their process with the different compounds and buffing wheels.
I must enphasise, what ever you do is clean,clean,clean between compounds, (use Acetone or break cleaner) and ensure you do not mix your wheels with different metals.
Rake and load your wheel regualarly.(Remember you need the heat generated to aplyy the compound correctly,About every 10 turns and re-load the wheel)
learn exactly where your danger point is on the wheel when cutting and polishing,coz the last thing you want especially with a loose wheel is a razor becoming a missile.
"orange Peel" in the polishing world is also called Gassing or outgassing, it is air bubbles in the metal when made or moreover in cast. Also it has been heard that if you remain at the same area when buffing for too long a time the generated heat and less compound will basically burn and tarnish the metal ,the same if you hold a flame to the metal.
In time you will be able to just look at the condition of the metal and then know whether you need to start up through the grit and maybe miss on the Black compound(Emery) on a Sisal and just use spiral with SS compound.
well done,not only are you enjoying the love of Straight Razors,Restoration & Metal polishing.
have fun,
Regards,
Brian