Have a little dink on bolster.

[sunandsteel]

Can I use 1500 grit sandpaper on a dink that I have on a GEC #15 barlow bolster? Maybe it's my imagination, but I started to use it very lightly on the bolster and thought I saw some scratch starting.

 

[bpeezer]

1500 grit is not fine enough for finish work, you will definitely scratch it up with that. Do you have a picture of the bolster?

 

[Obsessed with Edges]

Can I use 1500 grit sandpaper on a dink that I have on a GEC #15 barlow bolster? Maybe it's my imagination, but I started to use it very lightly on the bolster and thought I saw some scratch starting.

On softer metals used for bolsters (like nickel or brass), a tight sequence of sanding grits from maybe 400/600 up through 2000+, plus polishing with paste like Flitz or Simichrome afterwards, works much better. Adjust the starting grit higher or lower, based on how bad/deep the dings are. Because the bolster material is quite soft, even 1500 grit will show some visible scratching. 2000 and above is usually where it'll start approaching a mirror-polished finish. A soft & flexible rubber eraser (see below, for the type I've used) works very well as a sanding block, with a small piece of the sandpaper wrapped around it. It does a better job cushioning the sanding and evenly distributing pressure and conforming to the contours, which translates to a more uniform scratch pattern and even finish when done.

David