polishing brass and nickel

D

dannyvp1

Joined
Jun 20, 2007
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38
I have a couple knifes almost finished, and i need to polish the guards out. I dont have a buffer, but saw one at harbor freight. I do have a dremial tool though. How do i do this? I could also do it by hand i guess.
 
A HF 3400RPM buffer can be a very dangerous tool. Buffers account for a high percentage of shop injuries. There have been many threads on buffers, and the general consensus is that they are not for newer makers.

Brass and nickel both sand and polish easily by hand.

Stacy
 
Fine files my man, and abrasive paper. Cheap chinese needle files plus wet/dry silicon carbide abrasive paper under your finger tips , followed by steel wool will do nicely for the softer metals, such as brass. Electrically powered muslin buffs on brass end up with a washed out, greasy look. Brass + steel wool to hand finish.
 
Sand down to 600 grit sand paper, maybe a little finer, and follow with a buffing wheel and compound on the Dremel. I finished my first two knives this way, blades and all. I sanded to 1200 grit for the blade though. It's a little more tedious that way but it is safer and it sounds like you already have the tools. Have fun!

Rick
 
take it to a fine grit paper, 1000+ then hit it with brasso and a cotton ball, it'll be mirror in no time.
 
A Dremel is a terrible tool to polish anything larger than a wedding band. You can not get a consistent finish because the contact area is too small. Sand to the highest grit you can (at least 800 grit), buff with 0000 steel wool, and hand buff with Simichrome or similar polish (not Brasso!)
 
I've had good luck with Mother's mag polish. You can find that at the auto parts store, or if desperate, Wal-Mart.

Walter
 
Simichrome is available by searching on the Internet. Mothers polish and Flitz are also very good.
Brasso is a coarse polish. The residue get in cracks and crevices and is difficult to remove. When it dries it leaves a dirty white crust.
 
I have found that using a chamois on a hard surface with the simichrome will take out the last of the very fine microscratches in the soft brass and silver nickel. I use the edge of my oak workbench with the chamois hanging over the edge for both the final cleaning of the blade and for the final polish of the bolsters.

The simichrome goes a very long way.

I have to thank Bill DeShivs for recommending the simichrome to me as my shine has improved a bunch since I started using it....
 
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You can hand rub it out utilizing various grits of sandpaper. Work your way up through the grits til you get to about 1000 or 2000. Then you can apply the following polishing compound and read the instructions. I will say its going to be doing it the hard way but better than no way. Hope this was of help to you. Some one else may suggest a another method. Also, here is a link for you to check out, it may be of help as well. :D

Terry

http://www.knifeandgun.com

Polish.jpg
 
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