Buffing Compounds

[rogerwalco]

Hi-

Hope all are doing well!
I learned to 'smith from Martin Kruse back in the day, and have a few questions on buffing compounds. I traditionally do most of my polish by hand / on stones so don't tend to use them much.

Lately, I've the need--plus I like using them as strop compounds. Tell me which ones you love or hate, pretty please...and any idea what the approx micron size is for some of these? Here is what I have laying around from 25 years ago.

I do realize that grits vary from brand to brand--but these are the typical big stick types I prolly got from Bob Engnath etc.

1. Rough Compound--black lookin' stuff that seems to take quite a cut. More like a shaping compound than polish.

2. White--? I've never figured out where this one fits or what it is for.

3. Green-- a semi fine polish, i think

4. red rouge (small tube)--I used to think this was finer than the green, but when using a microscope and stropping straight razors--i'm actually feeling like it is coarser than the green!!

5. Black Magic-I had thought this to be coarser, but trying to place it before or after the green. Need more tests.


other suggestions welcome--tell me what i SHOULD be using. and big Thanks!

Roger

 

[HSC ///]

I don't know too much, but I use pink for wood handles, and I use green on the blade after 320 flap sanding

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

The polishes should come with a particle size. If not, contact the manufacturer and ask what size grit the compound is equivalent to. Different companies color them different colors and have different grades than others for the same color.

The black is a rough pre-polish. The agent is emery.

Green is a fine polish. Many use it for a final high polish on stainless steel. The agent is chromium oxide.

White can be a variety of grits. The agent is aluminum oxide with tin oxide often added for the finishing grades. It is usually a medium grit. The white used as a final polish is usually designated as final white or matchless white. Matchless company makes theirs pink so you don't get confused with the various white compounds.

Rouge is a final polish and cuts very aggressively on carbon steel. The agent is iron oxide.

The "pink" polish is a fine grade of aluminum oxide with a touch of rouge added.

Here is the chart for Matchless compounds, which I highly recommend. A set of six one pound bars will last many years and do nearly every metal you need to polish:
http://www.matchlessmetal.com/compounds.php

I would suggest :
Black emery - coarse - SS9-105
Gray - medium - V410
Green - fine - 11B81
White Diamond rouge - finish and ivory handles - 3XXX
Red rouge - super fine - 7Ws
Acrylic White - for stabilized wood, plastics and acrylics, and ivory - 205W ( for darker wood, the tan or brown acrylic polish is good - 327C and 321C )

You need separate wheels for each polish, BTW. Cross contamination is the number one reason some new makers can't get a good polish. If you only have two wheels use black emery and green chrome. If only one wheel, sand to at least 1000 grit and use green chrome polish.



NOTE -
In metal working the word "color" and "cut" refer to the stages in polishing. Cut is the stages that are removing minute amounts of metal and are removing scratches and making the surface smoother. Color is done after all scratches are removed and is the process of bringing the surface up to a shine. Different polishes can give different polished looks. For example, red rouge will make a darker shine and white rouge will make a brighter mirror shine. In the ratings 0 is the least cut or color and 10 is the maximum. Black emery is 9 cut and 6 color. Red rouge has 0 cut but 10 polish. Green rouge is the same. Green chrome polish is 7 cut and 8 polish ( which is why it is popular for stainless steel).