Recommendation? Mirrior Finish Question

[Zachary Dunn]

N/A

 

[Bill DeShivs]

Any you recommend?

Gesswein brand.

 

[Mr.Wizard]

I think you need a compound after the 3000 grit paper.

As an example I recently polished up a pair a headlight housings and after 2000 grit 3M paper they were still very cloudy. Buffing with Mother's Mag & Aluminum Polish cleared them up nicely however; not quite like-new water clear, but functionally ample.

 

[kreisler]

Gesswein brand.

Gesswein's ruby benchstones are manufactured in gemani, the material being traded under the product name "DEGUSSIT DD57". The ownership of the manufacturer or the product has been changing and is confusing (FRIATEC, ALIAXIS, KYOCERA are companies, whereas FRIALIT and DEGUSSIT are product brands) but can be ignored. Gesswein does not sell the unglued 2-sided FINE/FINE 200x50x12mm (~8" x 2" x 4/8") ruby benchstone (manufacturer's sku: F 901-41 102-0 ©2005, A 901-41102-0 ©2015) which comes in a plastic container box and i would be interested in; that's about the size of the 302UF (205x50x12mm)!

There is conflicting information on the web about the comparable "grit rating" of the DD57FINE product (2000grit? 8000grit?), and one day i should experience it myself. I would love to know where in the following inequality the DD57FINE fits in (note: i can't tell for sure whether the 302UUF or the 204UF has the higher grit rating. EDIT: polishing with 204UF results in a clearly finer result than grinding with 302UUF!):

(lowest grit rating) RUBY3000 ≤ 302UF < 302UUF < 204UF (highest grit rating)

I am gonna call the geman company again in Jan and find out about about pricing and availability, and comparable grit rating. I could order a smaller DD57FINE stone from a local supplier first before special ordering the 8" benchstone (300EUR ouch). If i experienced that the DD57FINE is not finer than 204UF, then i wouldn't buy the geman RUBY.

Bill DeShivs , how does your Gesswein ruby compare to the Spyderco UF?

 

[Bill DeShivs]

I have a very old Spyderco ceramic stone that is about 1/8" X 6" X 1-1/2" that is extremely fine.
My Gesswein stone SEEMS a little finer. I use them for sharpening engraver's tools.
I have one of the smaller, pocket size Chinese ruby stones that works very well on knives.

 

[kreisler]

SEEMS a little finer.

Thanks for the info Bill DeShivs , appreciated! Yes it becomes difficult to tell which stone surface performs the finer job, the finer the stones are. But if you have the impression that your Gesswein seems finer, then this sounds promising and i am looking forward to testing the DD57FINE before ordering the full size 8" DEGUSSIT.

Assuming that all Chinese ruby stones are pretty much the same, i call them "RUBY3000", i have two small-sized ones from different CN sources. Wonderful inexpensive stuff, works for sharpening, deburring, and also early stage polishing. It's because of my very positive experience with RUBY3000 that i am interested now in checking out the DD57FINE too, especially since the manufacturer is based in gemani. Years ago i had considered also getting the RUBY3000 benchstone for 25-40 bucks but never went thru.