Mirror finish removal???

Will'em

Will'em

Joined
Jul 12, 2002
Messages
523
Ok being the dimwit I am, I got distracted and well a little cocky when sharpening my sculptura, long story short I screwed up the mirror finish… :rolleyes: Ok what’s the best method for applying a satin finish on a mirror finished blade? Would you advise using steel wool? What about wet/dry 1000 grit sandpaper? I never liked the finish anyways, and this seemed like the perfect excuse to change it… :D thanks for the advice…
 
1000 grit wet/dry will leave a finish thats still pretty close to mirror.
I'd go with 800 or less - although try the 1000 to see if you do like it, and work down from there if you wish.
Be careful not to cut yourself and just polish back and forth along the length of the blade - it shouldnt take long to go down from mirror to hand-rubbed satin.
 
I would start with 600 and oil, hand rubbed (make sure you go in one direction!) if the scratches are deep than 440, then down to 600. You can also use brasso (instead) as a lubricant while rubbing the finish. This will also help "smooth" the finish out.
 
In my opinion unless you have deeper scratches, you shouldn't need to go below 1000 grit. I do most of my hand satin finishes by mirror polishing the blade and then finishing with 1500 grit. The 1500 leaves a very definate satin finish, that looks nothing like a mirror polish. My advice, use whatever you have around. Steel wool works also, I like to use 0000 grade steel wool. Just make sure you are backing the sandpaper with something besides just your fingers.
Kyle Fuglesten
 
Originally posted by rev_jch
I would start with 600 and oil, hand rubbed (make sure you go in one direction!) if the scratches are deep than 440, then down to 600. You can also use brasso (instead) as a lubricant while rubbing the finish. This will also help "smooth" the finish out.
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would the brasso be better than the oil?:confused:
 
Try a 3M Scotch-Brite pad...The nice thing about those is that they won't leave a mess of grit behind that can mess up the "pivot action".
 
If you have access to a bead blaster, preferably one with a fine ceramic media, it will produce a very attractive result.
 
Originally posted by shootist16
Ditto on the scotchbrite. Leaves a nice, satin finish.
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Tried it, and guess what? Its the same finish as the knife already has... so I can take out the scratches and preserver the same finish :D
 
Originally posted by Will'em
Tried it, and guess what? Its the same finish as the knife already has... so I can take out the scratches and preserver the same finish :D
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Cool! That is one thing I like about the scotchbrite finish. It makes for easy touch ups.
 
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