Thread: Polishing my ball peen hammer....

I know, I know... THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!

But seriously, what do you use to polish the head of the hammer? Sandpaper? What grit?

Abrasive paper works fine!
Any grit needed to remove dents/marks and then up to what you feel comfortable with.
I usually go from 220-600, on some of my goldsmiths hammers I go all the way up to .5 um.

Try some fine emery paper like they use in a machinery repair shop. Then buff it on a cloth wheel with rouge.

Jerry

Sit down and place a piece of dry wet / dry paper face up on your thigh. Hand sand with the paper between your leg and the peen. That gives a cushion to allow the hammer to be polished to curved face Start at 400 to get the shape by twisting the hammer as you sand. Take it up to as high a wet / dry grit as you have. After the 600 that is a champ to 2K. Talk to milady and get one of her 4 grit nail boards if you don't have a Dremel and rouge. Or get out the car / headlight polish and a piece of soft leather and have fun. After a high grit, it does not take long to get a polish. Just follow the grits as they are written on the abrasive pieces. You will get a nice polish!
~Richard

Originally Posted by Silents

I know, I know... THAT'S WHAT SHE SAID!

THAT'S WHAT SHE...beat me to it :[

Do as Richard says. They should be somewhat smooth but a high polish IMO is overkill.
I made two purpose built peening hammers,I oil hardend them, mirror finished the surfaces.If you use Nic rod with SS collers they will get dinged up in short order (from the collers) I Polish the pins after peening so the polished head is of no import to me.

I used sand paper 400-1500 , then some metal polish works well for me.
The flat part straight on the hones 1-5k
The anvil- Atoma 140 to flatten, then 400-10k on the hones , then metal polish. It just looks cool fully mirrored. Still have some small scratches here and there, but it don't bother me.

I used 400 then 600 and the Micro-Mesh system from 2400-12000 and then some Mother's Mag & Aluminum polish. Looks like chrome now.