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I have made scales before but never done a blade polishing so can someone please advise me on which is the best to finish polishing a blade with a polishing compound such as the red "jewellers rouge" or a liquid polisher such as autosol?
:hmmm:Thanks.
Are you hand finishing or using buffing wheels?
Another relevant question is: what kind of finish? High gloss, such as CA or matt - like tung oil?
The CA finish is taken through the normal high-grit regimen w/ the finishing sandpapers, then an automotive rubbing compound or 'cleaner wax' (thank you, Glen) brings a sweet shine that show the depth of the finish (4-5 coats if you're wanting the bling).
I like just highly finished sandpaper work on matt finishes. It can start to look like high gloss w/ the higher grit papers from micro mesh.
A quality green and some white rouges are perfect for final polishing a blade. If you don't have a buffer and want to do things by hands there's a few alternatives like Maas, Blue Magic, Green Turtle Rubbing, Compound,... There's a few others but those are the ones I use. Off course nothing beats a good old buffer.
I have a buffing wheel although i haven't used it yet!iI thought red was finer than green for polishing?
Red rouge is best for precious metals like Gold, Brass, Copper, Nickel, Chrome Plate... Green is best used on Stainless Steel as is white, black and blue. But a quality green or white gives the best end result. I've tried the blue (finest after red rouge) and pink too but don't see any major improvement.Quote:
Originally Posted by reggyboy
Rouge is not recommended for hard metals. As Max advised it's green for a high polish or white for a mirror like finish - although the pre-polishing has to be pretty good to achieve this.
Edit: Max beat me to it.
Thanks for the info fellas
Use separate wheels for different compounds & keep them stored in containers or large zip-loc bags. With my wax based compounds I use black, red, then white for finishing steel to a shine...but that is the progression with the mfg I bought mine from. Check the proper progression with the mfg of the compounds you are using.
I go white then green for most of my final gives a good finish. sometimes i just stay at the white all depends on what the blade tells me.
Great info fellas, especially the chart Max.i'll print that off and laminate it ready to hang up in my workshop.:D
I have got some great information from 'endless green' in the UK (that's where I got my buffing wax).
I use the green then white and then autosol for a mirror finish
Thanks for the tip looked him up on ebay and put into favourite sellers.Quote:
Originally Posted by Havachat45
The chart is pretty good but from experience I can tell you that white rouge does work very well with horn and acrylics too. Even wood can take white rouge. However horn, acrylics, wood,... need to be buffed on a very low speed/buffer (1100 RPM and lower) in order not to burn or overheat them. Since those are materials we tend to use a lot it's worth mentioning.
There are always going to be different qualities amongst rouges. I have tried at least 2 dozen different green rouges the past 5 years and it's amazing to see the huge difference between some. Same with white, black,... As mentioned before always dedicate one wheel per rouge and rake your wheels every so often. And most important, wear a dust mask at all times. Those tiny cotton fibers and compounds are airborne by the millions of particles as soon as that wheel starts spinning. If you start sneezing or feel some nasty stuff in your nose it means you forgot to wear your mask :D. I also make a habit of using eye protection cause those same particles make it in your eyes too.
