clouding on bffed blades

alex shunnarah

alex shunnarah

Joined
Jul 24, 2008
Messages
64
i am new on the polishing and buffing. all of the knives that i am doing for blade is shinny ,i am haveing some trouble getting the clouding out and also light orange peel. any help would be apreciated

alex
 
I used to get rid of cloudiness with green rouge on a loose wheel. Have no idea on the orange peel, but I am seeing it in a 440C blade I am working on now. I wonder if it is an issue with the steel itself?
You can bet I will be watching this thread in hopes of finding out.
 
Orange peel is caused by over buffing, most metals have hard and soft spots, if you try and buff out scratches you will get the orange peel look because the soft spots are wearing quicker than the hard ones.Sand the blade right down to 600 grit or even 1200 then all you will need is a few min on the buff, you can finish off with a soft buff or liquid polish by hand.

Richard
 
Only orange peel I've ever seen was on D2, if that's what you have there's no way to get it out. Pointless to go above 600 on D2. also another attractive finish option is sand blasting.

Jason
 
When I first started making knives I had the same problem on stainless fittings mainly 316, thought I would just buff out the scratches but ended up with a orange peel finishe and had to sand it all out again.
Richard
 
Orange Peel, except with D2, is usually caused by getting the steel too hot while buffing.

Some D2 is made for easy machining. It has lead and sulfer in it. When buffing, you pull out the soft lead and sulfer deposits. Do not use free machining steel for knives.

Buff and dip in water bucket every few seconds. Leave the few drops of water on the blade after dipping.
 
I have the same original question about the cloudiness. I just bought a buffer and am working on my 1st attempt at a nice shiny finish. I don't really care if its "mirror quality" or not, but this clouding in the steel looks terrible. Im using the green rouge on a loose wheel. The steel is a 10" X 1.5" Nicholson flat bastard file. I'm willing to learn if someone has a technique to share.

Thanks guys!
 
HopeGail said:
Orange Peel, except with D2, is usually caused by getting the steel too hot while buffing.

Some D2 is made for easy machining. It has lead and sulfer in it. When buffing, you pull out the soft lead and sulfer deposits. Do not use free machining steel for knives.

Buff and dip in water bucket every few seconds. Leave the few drops of water on the blade after dipping.
Click to expand...

You couldn't be more wrong about this. You couldn't get steel that hot by buffing!
 
Here is something to try- give your buff a squirt of WD 40 before buffing. You might also try putting a little WD 40 on the blade before buffing.
This helps the compound cut more evenly and aggressively.
If that doesn't work, flat sand to 1000 grit, then buff at 45 degree angles to your sanding marks. Use WD 40.
I use green compound and seldom need to go with a coarser compound using the above method.
Loose buffs are for final finishing. Use sewn muslin for the initial polishing.
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Here is something to try- give your buff a squirt of WD 40 before buffing. You might also try putting a little WD 40 on the blade before buffing.
This helps the compound cut more evenly and aggressively.
Click to expand...

Hmmm... I just may have to try this!
 
SixTwelve said:
I have the same original question about the cloudiness. I just bought a buffer and am working on my 1st attempt at a nice shiny finish. I don't really care if its "mirror quality" or not, but this clouding in the steel looks terrible. Im using the green rouge on a loose wheel. The steel is a 10" X 1.5" Nicholson flat bastard file. I'm willing to learn if someone has a technique to share.

Thanks guys!
Click to expand...

6yr old thread is 6yrs old...
 
Well, I for one am glad it was resurrected, if only to hear Bill's tip on the WD-40. I used a similar aerosol solvent that I had laying around, and spritzed a little on the blade before buffing, and I must say, it made a noticeable different. The buff came out much cleaner, much more consistent, and seemed to do a much better job over all.

Thanks Bill!
 
Yeah ditto, I've come to utilize the buffer more and more, and it's definitely something I'll take all the tips and tricks I can get with.
 
A point worth noting is considering the buffer as a super high grit belt sander helps a lot in knowing how to better use it (just no edge leading, please!!!!).
Very high grit with soft backing! We wouldn't push so hard on an high grit belt with a leather backup platen, and we won't skip grits either before using the higher grits; the same with the buffer: better the light touch with the already scratchless workpiece, also lube is as helpful as in high grit hand sanding, for the same reasons.

Just felt like pointing the obvious LOL ;)
 
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