Another buffing thread.....

[DustinY]

Is there a day that goes by that i don't post or try to leech information - probably not. Quarantine has me feeling some type of way, and i'm really isolated out here in small town Arizona.

So, let's talk buffing, and i'll explain what i've done, the problems i've had, and what i'm thinking. Please chime in anywhere i'm making my life harder, all of your comments are appreciated.

Wheels & compounds - so i purchased a pretty massive selection of 6" wheels from trugrit - and some compounds from them. I went with the black (super abrasive from what i've read on it, wanted it just incase i tried cutting something a lot using the buffer or trying to every buff a blade out, which i probably won't), green (all around best starting point i've been told, can also use on my cork belts lol), white (light cut and polish), and a baby blue which i believe is 0 cut lot's of shine.

The wheels - so trugrit doesn't really specify stuff very well but they sell basically four types, and i purchased all of them to try except the loose buffs because i was terrified and had literally no experience. I combatted this by buying an 1800 rpm machine with only a 1/4 horse motor that's on it's own stand.

1. Sewn
2. Concentric Sewn
3. Spiral Sewn
4. Loose

Experience - first experience was trying to just buff the chamfer on the g10 bolsters setup that i had - ivory g10 with cherry red g10 liners. All the spiral and concentric sewn ones that i bought were sewn to aggressive (noted by the PLY number on trugrit - this indicates the distance between the stitching on the wheels - which i guess now i know hahaha!), except some concentric sewn ones that had PLY of 1" which left enough loose fabric to buff. I only had two of them, so i tried using the white compound on one after i used the green compound on a tighter concentric sewn wheel that didn't do much for me.

When i buffed the scales, i turned my second one into a wheel to be used with green compound ( i was trying to keep both for white compound on different materials), and this worked fantastic. I feel it was really easy to control at 1800 rpm, and that i could buy loose buffs and operate fine, so this is a giant win. Anything outside of sticking the thing into it and deliberately trying to get it caught, seems like i'm going to be fine. Again, i'm only doing handles, i take it very seriously, i'm focused with a firm grip, and i'm not downplaying anything around this machine, it's very serious, but so are most of the machines in the shop. I did take my headphones out for this task though. Audible feedback here is really helpful.

So here's the question and what i need help with:

1. The green compound impregnated itself in the work - isopropyl alcohol didn't get it out, but i need to reup on acetone and try that. If these don't work i've read smearing vegetable oil or peanut butter can break it up without ruining the piece or buffing with a clean buff & talc / cornstarch can remove it? Problem 1, any help is really appreciated.


2. There are still some scratches in the brass pins & i was struggling to get that final finish. It's really really good, but not perfect. I ordered some loose buffs, so i'm going to be going one more stage of blue compound on a loose buff to try that before i put a sealant wax on the blade and handle. (can also order compound if anyone has recommendations for getting the final scratches out and really making everything pop, also ordered more buffs like mentioned & some loose ones).

Here is the best picture i could get of the compound getting into the porous g10 - it being ivory doesn't help, but it makes everything look dirty. It's in a couple spots, so i need to figure this out.

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Scrub the handle with a thick paste made of Dawn, baking soda and a little water. Use your fingers and scrub it well.
Or, use a dab of Simichrome polish on a clean rag. Don't get near the metal, or your problem might get worse.
After either of the above put a coat of paste wax or neutral paste shoe polish on the handle, let dry, and polish with a soft cloth.

 

[Scaniaman]

I wouldn't use dark colored compounds on light stuff like ivory g10. Check out the Menzerna line of compounds. GW16 is a great allround finishing compound, their P175 for even more luster. Use loosefold mops. Great info on their webpage about polishing steps and what compunds to use for plastics, wood, metals etc.

 

[AVigil]

I only use the white compound now for handle materials.

If wd40 does not get out the green compound use carburetor spray cleaner, it will get that green right out.

 

[john april]

my particular 2 cents on buffing- i use the concentric sewn buffs. the sprials i had would continue to have the thread unravel and become too loose. loose floppy buffs are good for wood handles. a stiff buff will remove the softer parts of the wood and leave the harder parts standing proud if you apply too much pressure. i have tried so many compounds. i tried the pink scratchless, the new blue... nope. the best is still white HF1 by matchless, available at pops. if i want to go higher than that, go with red jewelers rouge. personally i finish with the white. the higher you hand sand, the less you need to buff, and the cleaner the finish comes out. i used to hand sand blades to 2000 grit and buff. the buffing took about 13 minutes. now i hand sand blades to 3000 and the buffing only takes 5 minutes, and it looks nicer. if i press too hard while buffing i get a kind of orange peel texture. your questions: if oil or wd40 will not remove the compound, rubbing alcohol will break down the grease and you can wipe it off. a clean 1000 grit finish is high enough to easily buff brass to a mirror finish.

 

[REK Knives]

I have found pink and white still leave scratches. If you want a true scratch free finish on something, get the orange compound by Merard (Luxor). It's expensive, but worth it. Abrasive size is .1 micron.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

There are several things that cause the scratches on soft metal, like brass pins.
1) Not being sanded enough to start with. The small grooves from sanding at lower grits may not be very visible until they are buffed and become wider and more reflective. Remember - buffing is not a replacement for sanding. You need to fully sand out all scratches from lower grits and get a perfect satin finish at 800 grit ( or more) before sanding.
2) Too much compound - the wrong compound - contaminated wheel. Any of these is a problem that can cause poor buffing results and streaks/scratches.
Use only a light charge on the wheel. Use the right grit size and color type for the job (I use matchless pink and matchless while for most buffing).
Use a wheel for only one type of polish. Switch wheels when you switch polish.
If the buffer is in an area of the shop where the belt grinder is, put a large storage bin over it or cover it with a BBQ grill cover. At a minimum, put gallon zip-lock bags over the buffs. Store buffs and the polish used on them in sealed zip-lock bags.
3) Over buffing. As you buff, and especially if you press hard against the wheel, the string/threads of the buff will cut shallow grooves in the pins or bolsters.When this happens, re-sand by hand until smooth, clean the buff of any caked on compound, and re-buff more gently.

 

[Ken H>]

especially if you press hard against the wheel, the string/threads of the buff will cut shallow grooves

That for sure. Buffing should be done very lightly, just to polish the sanded handle. the handle really needs to be sanded to at least 1,000 grit before buffing. Just a very light touch with the buffing wheel. Buffing a handle is NOT to remove scratches or anything, just to put a "shine" on the wood.

 

[DustinY]

I only use the white compound now for handle materials.

If wd40 does not get out the green compound use carburetor spray cleaner, it will get that green right out.

Great idea, when i go to get acetone, i'll snag more wd40 and carb cleaner to test. Wasn't able to get it out with veg oil oir a soft bristle toothbrush last night. Might have sanded inconsistently and left some areas more porous than others.

I have found pink and white still leave scratches. If you want a true scratch free finish on something, get the orange compound by Merard (Luxor). It's expensive, but worth it. Abrasive size is .1 micron.

I purchased both their white and orange, thanks for these tips brother. Will reply here with results. Stullers had some other buffs i want to test as well, appreciate it.

 

[REK Knives]

Great idea, when i go to get acetone, i'll snag more wd40 and carb cleaner to test. Wasn't able to get it out with veg oil oir a soft bristle toothbrush last night. Might have sanded inconsistently and left some areas more porous than others.



I purchased both their white and orange, thanks for these tips brother. Will reply here with results. Stullers had some other buffs i want to test as well, appreciate it.

I learned about it from Kyle Royer so I wanted to pass it on! You will love it... Very high concentration of high quality abrasives in it

 

[Scaniaman]

Don't know if you can get this in the US. But it is some quality stuff. I use their GW16 after 800 grit as a standard finish, it's enough. P175 gives you that extra shine. If I start really coarse I use their 113GZ first, it's like brown Tripoli, instead of GW18.

 

[Howard1]

There are several things that cause the scratches on soft metal, like brass pins.
1) Not being sanded enough to start with. The small grooves from sanding at lower grits may not be very visible until they are buffed and become wider and more reflective. Remember - buffing is not a replacement for sanding. You need to fully sand out all scratches from lower grits and get a perfect satin finish at 800 grit ( or more) before sanding.
2) Too much compound - the wrong compound - contaminated wheel. Any of these is a problem that can cause poor buffing results and streaks/scratches.
Use only a light charge on the wheel. Use the right grit size and color type for the job (I use matchless pink and matchless while for most buffing).
Use a wheel for only one type of polish. Switch wheels when you switch polish.
If the buffer is in an area of the shop where the belt grinder is, put a large storage bin over it or cover it with a BBQ grill cover. At a minimum, put gallon zip-lock bags over the buffs. Store buffs and the polish used on them in sealed zip-lock bags.
3) Over buffing. As you buff, and especially if you press hard against the wheel, the string/threads of the buff will cut shallow grooves in the pins or bolsters.When this happens, re-sand by hand until smooth, clean the buff of any caked on compound, and re-buff more gently.

Good tip on the separate bags Stacy as always. Took me a while to figure that one out.