I am looking for a good polishing paste. I would go through quite a bit of it so price is somewhat a factor. Looking to avoid CBN and diamond. ( I do love both tho ) hoping to find a variety of grits to go to a mirror polish. Preferably a silicon carbide, or aluminum oxide abrasive. Was actually looking a meguiars professional polishing compounds. But I am not sure of the abrasive and would hate to get something that doesn't work well on hardened steels.
Looking for a polishing paste
- Thread starter cap'njake
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- Apr 12, 2009
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What steels are you going to be polishing?
If most or all of them are middle-of-the-road low/mid-alloy stainless, up to something like ~ 154CM, VG-10 or D2, then pastes like Simichrome, Flitz, Mother's Mag can work pretty well, all of which are in aluminum oxide. Considering it's design usage (auto/wheel finishing), Mother's Mag might be a blend with something like silica abrasive, perhaps with a lower concentration of aluminum oxide than with Simichrome or Flitz. On a per-volume basis, the Mother's Mag paste would likely be the least expensive if you're going to be using a lot of it; about ~ $5 for a 5 oz. jar of it at someplace like Walmart. The smaller tubes of Simichrome or Flitz (1.76 oz is typical size) can last a very long time for hobbyist sharpening purposes, but they'll be pricier for the volume you get; probably $6 - $8 per tube, depending on where you buy it. In using both of these, my impression is that the Simichrome is a little more aggressive (faster) to polish and lasts a bit longer on a strop, while the Flitz polishes a little less aggressively (slower), and will need to be refreshed more frequently on the strop.
If you're polishing high-wear steels with a lot of vanadium content ( > 3% or so), you'd be better off sticking with diamond or CBN products for those.
If most or all of them are middle-of-the-road low/mid-alloy stainless, up to something like ~ 154CM, VG-10 or D2, then pastes like Simichrome, Flitz, Mother's Mag can work pretty well, all of which are in aluminum oxide. Considering it's design usage (auto/wheel finishing), Mother's Mag might be a blend with something like silica abrasive, perhaps with a lower concentration of aluminum oxide than with Simichrome or Flitz. On a per-volume basis, the Mother's Mag paste would likely be the least expensive if you're going to be using a lot of it; about ~ $5 for a 5 oz. jar of it at someplace like Walmart. The smaller tubes of Simichrome or Flitz (1.76 oz is typical size) can last a very long time for hobbyist sharpening purposes, but they'll be pricier for the volume you get; probably $6 - $8 per tube, depending on where you buy it. In using both of these, my impression is that the Simichrome is a little more aggressive (faster) to polish and lasts a bit longer on a strop, while the Flitz polishes a little less aggressively (slower), and will need to be refreshed more frequently on the strop.
If you're polishing high-wear steels with a lot of vanadium content ( > 3% or so), you'd be better off sticking with diamond or CBN products for those.
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