Polishing question...

BruiseLeee

BruiseLeee

Joined
Sep 7, 2001
Messages
5,946
What should I use to polish the small scratches out of a blade? I tried some "Brasso" but it seems to have softened the laha in the inlay work. Any suggestions?

:confused:

Should I try toothpaste? If I do, will the flouride make the blade harder and prevent cavities :)
 
NO Cavities :D Toothpaste might work - I've used it on plastics with some success, but on a blade jeweler's rouge is better. It doesn't have to be used on a buffing wheel. Roll a bit of brown grocery sack paper around your finger, rub the rouge on the paper and polish. If the scratches are too deep for this, use it on a softened ice cream stick. Most harsher abrasives will leave marks, sometimes just a "cloud" around the rubbed area, and then it should be buffed on a soft wheel.
If you hold the blade in the right light, you can see the marks made by the final buff at BirGorkha - whatever you use, try to keep your polishing stroke in the same direction as those from the kami's buffing.
 
You guys got me running all over town buying stuff I've never heard about before: Jeweler's rogue, hoof dressing, clove oil, heineken, etc. I remembered the what clove oil was when I smelled it. Memories of my dad tying fishing line to a tooth and playing outboard motor :p

Somehow I just can't put that stuff on my blades. Maybe I'll just use plain mineral oil :o
 
Try Flitz or simichrome. I use a couple different polishing pastes, but Ive heard good things about Flitz and Simichrome. Brasso is evil stuff. It can work on steel, but for brass its horrible. Ive used it primarily when I dont have anything else around, but I dont think Ill ever use it again.
 
...my bedtime makes for large gaps in what I should have said :( All the different things you might use for individual scratches will leave the magic stone finish marred, to some degree. While they will remove the scratch, they will still need a final rouge buffing to "even out" with the original finish, or perhaps a full buff on a wheel to restore the blade to "original". I use Flitz (no Simichrome available nearby) with a soft cloth, or fine steel wool on the _very_ light scratches and to remove rust spots. They are chemical pastes, and contain no abrasives. For shine, they beat Brasso by miles on non-ferrous metals, and on steel as well.
 
Well Keilbasa is my personal favorite...er...oh!, I thought this was a Polish thread..sorry;) :p :D

I have used Flitz to remove plant stains (tree sap etc..)and very fine scratches. Seems to bring mirror shine back to blades. In my limited experience.
 
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