Polishing Metal

E

ErikB

Joined
Oct 23, 2007
Messages
42
Not sure where to post this...

I am trying to educate myself through experimentation on how to work with different metals and attachments on my dremmel (it's all I have at home to work with).

I have (had) a shiny stainless INOX opinel and I tried buffing out some scratches with a metal brush attachment. The blade is now very ugly with spears and scuff patterns and much darker (but works fine).

So, I'm wondering, how do I restore it to shiny and glossy with the dremmel?

I am actually asking because I have three different kits coming from France in the mail soon and I would like to figure out how to buff up the stainless steel, the brass, and eventually, how to make a nice satin/brushed steel on one of the kits.
 
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use those little white buffing wheels with some compound on them.:thumbup:
 
You can also get wet/dry paper, autobody finishing sandpaper, in fine grits, say, from 600 to 1500, and rub out the scars manually.

But the Dremel is best, as voppa says, with the buffing wheels.
 
Soft white buffing wheels?

Or the metal brushes? I've been playing with those and it's not quite coming along as I'd like. Makes clean spots but doesn't make it even. At least I haven't figured out how, yet.
 
Depends on how badly damaged the surface is. I'd go for the sandpaper if the buffing isn't working yet.
 
Buffing wheels loaded with progressively finer compounds should help. I'd go with black emery and then white diamond. Emery might actually be better on a sisal wheel. Scotch Brite wheels would do too as would hand-rubbing with Scotch Brite hand pads.

Wire wheels running at Dremel speeds really nick up metal surfaces. When I DuraCoat guns, I run them under a wire wheel on an angle grinder to give the surface some tooth.
 
For what it is worth, a dremel and a polish called MAAS you can buy at WalMart, (in the grocery side, near furniture polish) will get rid of most scratches that are not too deep. I use it a lot, on the Harley and my knives, and have had very good luck with it. It also is water soluble so it you get it someplace it shouldnt be, (like the front of your tee shirt) it washes right off. It also works on plastic wonderfully, and by accident today I found it refinishes stacked leather handles on my Schrade and Ulster hunters.
Hope this helps,
 
A Dremel will not properly polish a blade, nor was it designed to. Dremels are OK for polishing items no larger than the average ring.
Sanding is the proper method, then hand or machine polishing. Again-NOT with a Dremel.
Bill
 
600 grit wet/dry sandpaper works good, but I have had good luck with those soft, pliable nail boards as well. I use only the black ones ( silicon carbide, I think).They last a long time, and can be used for a buff up long after they are worn smooth. With the sandpaper, you sort of hold the knife and move the paper. With the nail file, you place the board on your bench, or table, and move the knife. You need about the same grit as the sandpaper.
With a nail board, you can control the pressure with a fingertip resting on the blade.
A hundred strokes on each side works wonders.
The advantage over a Dremel is not overheating the blade you are trying to polish.

-- Q
 
To get a good polish you will need to sand to at least 1000 grit, but to get scratches out I usually start at 320, then 400, 600 800 and finally 1000. The problem with the dremel for polishing is it has a very small surface and you can polish one small spot more than another. Use a very slow speed and keep the tool moving slowly. Sanding and polishing are a little easier if you go the same direction with all usually down the length of the blade. What ever you do, do not use the sanders that dremel provides, far to coarse and will make so very bad scratches.
 
I found if you run a medium speed with dremel, with those round sandpapers you can polish small thing very well, and you can probably cut round disk out of say 1500 grit sand paper for even finer polishing. My experience are with fairly small objects thou, so I don't know how well it'll work for a big knife.
 
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