How to Remove Ceramic Finish

B

bleach

Joined
Apr 6, 2006
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15
Hi. I recently Purchased a Emerson CQC-8 Plain Edge Satin Finish. I love everything about the knife, except the Ceramic Finish. I tried to polish it off using toothpaste and elbow grease, and was only able to turn the finish a darker color. So my question to you fellow Emersonite's is what is the easiest way to remove the ceramic finish revealing the beauty of the steel?
 
Thanks for the response. Where is the best place to find one of those and how much $ is it gonna run me. Again thanks.
 
I 've had it done locally before but that place is no longer in business, I'm sure there's a company that you could find on the net and do it through the mail. shoulden't be very expensive because it's such a small job. Guys have individual parts for cars bead blasted all the time so it shoulden't be too much of a hastle for you to get it done. good luck, be sure to post pics when it's complete.
 
If you bead blast the finish off, you will still have a similar finish. If you are looking for a satin finish or a mirror finish, I recommend that you use an old Scotch Brite initially to smooth out the finish. If the Scotch Brite is too new, it will make really deep scratches rather than smoothing out the finish. Then use a polish like MAAS or Flitz to bring it to a satin finish. If you want to bring it to a mirror finish, then will keep on polishing for hours to get it.
 
GBeninati said:
sounds like fun , what about a dremmel???
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I never tried to dremel an entire blade before. I have dremeled my Emerson with a polishing wheel and polishing compound at the pivot point of the blade to smoothen out the action.
I have read some mixed posts regarding the use of a dremel when polishing the blade. Most posts I have read do not recommend using a dremel because it takes the finish off too quickly causing a very uneven finish.
And Guyakomis, that is a can be a good idea if that is what he wants to do. Here are a few things to take into consideration when bead blasting the blade. Bead blasted finishes are actually not very durable finishes. Any scratches shows up very easily. If you bead blast it again, it will look like the original finish, but after a couple of uses, you will be back to your original problem. Also, if you bead blast your blade, your blade will be dulled, and will have to be resharpened which can be a whole different problem. It can be a pain to sharpen a totally dull blade.
But if you want to bead blast your blade, I would recommend sending it to STR (Steve). He can get it done in no time and what he charges is a fair price. I had the handles of my Camillus Maxx bead blasted from STR. Ane it came out perfect. Here are some pics.
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your maxx looks great, I have tried a dremmel for polishing and would not recommend you try that. It takes soooo long to do and for me at least it didn't come out with a uniform finish. I ended up having it polished professionally to fix my work. the dremmel is best suited for very small projects in my opinion.
 
i would not use a dremel myself, i tried that once and it wasnt pretty lol, the sanding drums are just too small, & like stated above the results were very UN-uniform looking, spend a few dollars and get it bead blasted, or just learn to live with it imho.
 
Thanks for all the responses. I cant just learn to live with it at this point, cuz i already kinda screwed up the finish by polishing with toothpaste. I understand the problems with beadblasting, so im a little aprehensive. My friend told me about a chemical called Tail Strip Remover, that you can get at car shops. He said if i soak it in that, the coating should wipe right off, and all i would have to do is polish (im looking to get it mirror finished). Still considering my options.
 
I have read multiple forums, and with the tools at my dispense, i think the best method for this task will be as follows. I will by sand paper of increasing intervals 400 then 600, and so on up to 5000 or so, and slowly remove the finish. When all the finish is gone and i have sanded up to the finest grain i will polish the blade. What do you guys think.
 
I've read that too and it seems like a sound plan. Top it off with a quality polish and you are good to go. Be sure to set aside a goo part of your day working on it. Also, once yous start, there is no going back.
 
my karambit blade is pretty worn from carrying , cutting and handling...I was thinking of doing something like this also, but it looks cool as it is now...kind of like an old pair of jeans.
 
Ok, im gonna go the sanding route. I will do it on wednesday and hopefully be able to post my results not to far after. Thanks for all the help.

Bleach
 
I use a spray on epoxy/paint remover by Jasco. Can be found in any Home Depot, Lowe's etc. Spray it on, leave for ten minutes, then use a platic putty knife and some fine steel wool to scrape it right off. Then I finish up with severeal grits of wet/dry sandpaper and WD-40. If you want a satin finish, it will take some time and elbow grease. I usually stop when it has a nice patina, like a gunmetal finish. Total time, under 30 min.
 
Couldn't you use an electric sander, the handheld type, with a fine grit, as long as you ran it on a low setting and were able to secure the blade?
I'd figure as long as you weren't pressing overly hard on the blade, it shouldn't be a problem to maintain a uniform finish, then do the remainder by hand if need be.
 
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