Mirror finish or bust!

I have been sanding these blades for some time now and am getting quite frustrated. I have been doing it by hand and can't help but wonder what the alternatives are, something cheap hopefully.

I found these buffing wheels ( Jeweler's Rouge & Buffing Wheels ) and was wondering if I could use them to finish the blades. The scratch lines are still pretty visible, what do you all think?

Also any other suggestions aside from the hand sanding would be greatly appreciated.

By the way I started with 180 then 220,320,400,600,1500.

Thanks

Michael

p.s. I used baby oil from 400 up

Forget jewelers rouge. It doesn't do squad. Get some white or green compound.
But it seems the scratches are still visble you say. Then you'll need black or SS compounds first and work your way up.
Hand sanding to a mirror polish is a lifetime nightmare and work involved if done by hand. :D
Make use of a buffer with the right compounds and as always safety first, even with the dremel!
It takes some learning, knowing what to use and how to polish. Your blade will get hot and you'll need to be very carefull not to detroy the temper.

Yes, be extremely careful of overheating the blade!


I recieved a EBay razor recently, and it would not take an edge, because the previous owner had at it with the dremel to make th erazor look nice for selling.

Now, complete garbage....:td

Dremels can harm as well as help.

When I buff usingh my dremel, I lay the razor down on top of some soaking wet paper towels to help with heat dissapation. Buffing creates alot of heat--FAST.

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Originally Posted by Maximilian

Get some white or green compound.
But it seems the scratches are still visble you say. Then you'll need black or SS compounds first and work your way up.
.

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what is ss compound and from where we can buy it?thank you

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Originally Posted by hi_bud_gl

what is ss compound and from where we can buy it?thank you

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SS compound is refered to as Stainless Steel compound. There's several places that sells them and Caswell comes to mind. These are FORMAX compounds and are very good.

Brownells - World's Largest Supplier of Firearm Accessories, Gun Parts and Gunsmithing Tools
Bob Brownell was one of America's finest gunsmiths and his catalog has perhaps the most complete selection of polishing materials anywhere.

So how hot would the blade have to get to loose the temper? If you lost the temper, could it be reset?

I'm definately taking notes here, thanks guys. I will start with the black and ss compounds. How about the two compounds that come with the buffing bits, I guess use as finishing. Also are those bits worth buying, I have a drill so it may be cheaper for me. Thanks again everyone! If anyone has any other ideas let me know!!

The dremel is attractive for using with sanding, so Max would the compounds you mentioned in conjunction with the buffing wheels completely take the place of sanding?

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Originally Posted by raghur

So how hot would the blade have to get to loose the temper? If you lost the temper, could it be reset?

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It would have to get pretty hot, but its a lot easier than you think. Hot to the touch and its time to stop. Yes, you could reharden the razor, but... that costs more money than its worth. Just don't do it in the first place.

@ Flampen

No. Polishing is for polishing, sanding is for sanding. Sanding gets out rust, pits, and other sanding lines. Polishing makes it shiny.

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Originally Posted by flampen85

so Max would the compounds you mentioned in conjunction with the buffing wheels completely take the place of sanding?

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No, they wont. In order to replace part of sanding you would need to use coarser compounds. The only compounds would be the greasless compounds that range frm 60 grit up to 600 grit. I've once seen 800 grit but can't recall where.

Also the grit size is not the equivalent of sandpaper. A 220 grit greaseless compound is more the equivalent of 400 grit hand sanding. But the 60 or 80 grit greaseless compound does an excellent job at replacing a coarser hand sanding.

The dryer compounds like the Black emery os SS ones are used after the higher grits. If you have hand sanded up to 400 -600 grit and it's properly done you can get away with black emery followed by SS compound, white and then green (at least the compounds I use), and work your way up. But 600-800 grit would be better.

Here is another source for metal polish that forum member The Topher uses for his restos.

Can anyone recommend a brand for these greaseless compounds and where to pick em up?

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Originally Posted by kenneyty

Can anyone recommend a brand for these greaseless compounds and where to pick em up?

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The link that Jimmy posted is one (except I get the same dry compounds at Caswell since these are FORMAX compounds and I order many other items from Caswell. They sell greaseless too.

Eastwood is another great source.

Don't be surprised when you receive those compounds. They are as big as a salami. :D

I like the greaseless compounds too....... Don't forget to get the pre-treat for your buffs.

Lynn

Keep a glass of ice water on hand. When the blade starts to get warm, just dip it in the water for a few minutes to quench the blade. Works great. Just don't drink the water!

Thanks a lot for all the help guys! I am not sure exactly where I am going with this from here, my brother may be sending me a dremel. I will be waiting to see what kind of equipment I can get my hands on. I can't wait to post more questions when I finally get something.

Thanks!

Hello gentlemen,

I am in college right now, and my transportation is limited. I do however go to walmart to pick up supplies when needed. I hope this doesn't insult anyone, but would there happen to be any compounds etc. that walmart may sell that I could pick up to polish my razors? Thank you all for your time and for a great site.


-Pete

I saw that pre-treating compound on the Caswell site. Looks like a good way to start. Do you guys use a different Dremel felt wheel for each compound, or do you use 1 wheel and swap through the compounds?

Mirror polishes are not easy to do. manufacturers have high speed laps that can do it very quickly. I've been working on an old vintage Japanese razor and it took me months of on and off hand sanding. I finished up on 2000 grit wet dry sandpaper. You can use rouge and a dremmel but it has to be rouge designed for hard steel like a green rouge. Either way its a slow process.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by kenneyty

I saw that pre-treating compound on the Caswell site. Looks like a good way to start. Do you guys use a different Dremel felt wheel for each compound, or do you use 1 wheel and swap through the compounds?

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You never mix compounds so if using a Dremel get several mandrels and use each wheel with a different compound on a seperate felt or other wheel you want to use.

With a buffing machine and larger wheels you could rake between compounds but again, you would use a different wheel per compound. You would only rake when you want to remove some excess compound that has turned black.

Don't underestimate using any of those tools for polishing ang buffing. Not only the safety involved but using the right compounds, wheels + speed involved and you should be aware that you will heat up that blade in a split second so extra care should be taken.

Some of us can do miracles with the tools we use. These are all the same tools anyone can purchase and use. It's not a hidden secret.

The difference will be the person sitting behind those tools. It takes experience and some time to learn what works best. I always say, every tool can be awesome if used correctly by the right person.

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Originally Posted by Maximilian

It takes experience and some time to learn what works best. I always say, every tool can be awesome if used correctly by the right person.

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You forgot money. It takes some money too.
It's a real shame some of the coolest tools cost a small fortune.

So no word on any new equipment yet. Bummer. But I have trying a method thats new to me. I am posting this cause I would like to hear some opinions on this. I have been using a bit of MAAS with the 1500 grit paper and it seems to really speed things up. It got some tough sanding marks out real quick.

But now where do I go from here? Whats the best way to finish the blade? Again very limited financially so keep that in mind.

I plan on going back over the blade with a fresh piece of 1500 and then polishing it up with MAAS. Will that finish the job?

Thanks again for everyones help!

MIchael

I thought just for fun I would also post a picture of the project. I love that I bought for $14. Also there is some very minor pitting around the E and the x in the word Extra. And a small spot just below the w and G. I dont think I want to keep sanding cause I don't want to wear the etching too thin. It has already come out a little bit. What do you guys think?

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Originally Posted by flampen85

I thought just for fun I would also post a picture of the project. I love that I bought for $14. Also there is some very minor pitting around the E and the x in the word Extra. And a small spot just below the w and G. I dont think I want to keep sanding cause I don't want to wear the etching too thin. It has already come out a little bit. What do you guys think?

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That looks very nice. I would leave as is... Maybe just polish it up with some green compound if you had any but some Maas would be good too.

:tu

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Originally Posted by Seraphim

Yes, be extremely careful of overheating the blade!


I recieved a EBay razor recently, and it would not take an edge, because the previous owner had at it with the dremel to make th erazor look nice for selling.

Now, complete garbage....:td

Dremels can harm as well as help.

When I buff usingh my dremel, I lay the razor down on top of some soaking wet paper towels to help with heat dissapation. Buffing creates alot of heat--FAST.

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When you polish with a dremel, what # buffing wheel do you use?

Quote:

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Originally Posted by captenicon

Hello gentlemen,

I am in college right now, and my transportation is limited. I do however go to walmart to pick up supplies when needed. I hope this doesn't insult anyone, but would there happen to be any compounds etc. that walmart may sell that I could pick up to polish my razors? Thank you all for your time and for a great site.


-Pete

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The red stuff that comes in Dremel polishing kits is usually find-able at Walmart and it works pretty good.