Please help me refine my mirror edge.

S

Stwida

Joined
Feb 12, 2020
Messages
27
Here's what I'm working with. From a distance, the reflection is good... but up close, scratch city.

I just cant figure out where I'm going wrong, and I'm willing to bet it's related to my technique.

https://imgur.com/a/l1L694H

l1L694H


My grit progression is 140, 300, 600, 1500, 3000, 6000, 14000, 50000, 100000, 200000.

I polish using compound-loaded basswood.

I feel like I stop making progress with the scratches around the 1500-3000 mark. The good looking areas get better, but the scratched ones stay scratched.

Is there a "hand polishing for dummies" guide out there for this process? I am guessing that it has something to do with my technique, not my materials used.

I have tried:
- only going in straight lines
- only going in diagonal lines
- criss-crossing
- circular motions
- countless combinations of the above

I'm thinking there's some kind of fundamental "scratch pattern" knowledge that I'm missing.

Thank you very much.
 
By "criss-crossing" do you mean making aligned linear scratches with one grit, then turning 45 to 90 degrees and removing these scratches with the next grit, again using aligned linear scratches? Because crossing out scratches at every step like this should prevent the problem you're describing, or at least reveal the step where the compound fails to fully remove the scratches from the previous step.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
By "criss-crossing" do you mean making aligned linear scratches with one grit, then turning 45 to 90 degrees and removing these scratches with the next grit, again using aligned linear scratches? Because crossing out scratches at every step like this should prevent the problem you're describing, or at least reveal the step where the compound fails to fully remove the scratches from the previous step.
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I meant criss-crossing with the same grit out of desperation. So you're saying I'm suppose to stick to one angle with one grit (until scratches are aligned) and then move onto the opposite angle with the next-step-up-grit?
 
Mr.Wizard said:
Yes! That's going to work much better. Try it. :)
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Understood. In terms of substrates - after 1500 I move from a 1500 diamond stone to 3000 diamond compound on basswood. I noticed this is where my progress seems to slow. Should I apply the compound to a hard substrate to make the transition more successfully?
 
Stwida said:
after 1500 I move from a 1500 diamond stone to 3000 diamond compound on basswood. I noticed this is where my progress seems to slow.
Click to expand...

I am not surprised. You probably need a much coarser compound than you're using to follow the diamond plate. I'll find a recent thread on this and link it here in a few minutes. A harder substrate may help (at the 3000 level) but basswood should be pretty appropriate for that compound from what I understand. A coarser compound (1200 grit or 15µ) would probably be better on hard hardwood.
 
Okay, a little awkward, but the thread I was thinking of is your own: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...with-leather-strops-diamond-compound.1712120/

Anyway I suggest you read it again as there's lots of good information. In post #6 I had already remarked "What do you mean by scratch patterns aligned? You want to change the angle of the scratches by at least 45° between each grit to make sure you are getting out all the scratches from the former step."
 
Mr.Wizard said:
Okay, a little awkward, but the thread I was thinking of is your own: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...with-leather-strops-diamond-compound.1712120/

Anyway I suggest you read it again as there's lots of good information. In post #6 I had already remarked "What do you mean by scratch patterns aligned? You want to change the angle of the scratches by at least 45° between each grit to make sure you are getting out all the scratches from the former step."
Click to expand...
Yeah - I thought I understood the scratch pattern thing, but when I tried it, it wasn't working.bprobably because if the substrate issue.

I think my problem is that I thought everything with the substrate was right - so I assumed my technique was wrong. Sounds like it may be my substrate transition after all, though.

I've also got 1500 paste. I'll give that a try on basswood and see if that works.
 
Mr.Wizard said:
Okay, a little awkward, but the thread I was thinking of is your own: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...with-leather-strops-diamond-compound.1712120/

Anyway I suggest you read it again as there's lots of good information. In post #6 I had already remarked "What do you mean by scratch patterns aligned? You want to change the angle of the scratches by at least 45° between each grit to make sure you are getting out all the scratches from the former step."
Click to expand...
And yes - that was my thread. At that point in time I had NO mirror. Now, I'm 95% of the way there, and I'm just trying to figure out what's going wrong somewhere in the middle for that last 5%.
 
You scratch marks are left behind from one of your course stones. You’ll never polish them out without getting rid of them with a medium grit stone. Try going back to the 600. Very light on the pressure and get everything evened out.

The scratches are below the surface of the smooth steel. Polishing will only reveal them more.
 
S Stwida What concentration is your diamond paste's,a lot of diamond paste's from 3 micron and lower are only 4 carat concentration per 40 grams,I have used a 10 and now a 20 carat diamond paste that works extremely well.

As far as the best way to strop I find doing criss cross get's the scratch's out faster for me,are you using diamond stones if so that will leave bigger scratch's that are harder to get out.
 
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