Ryobi Compounds---Attempting a List

AFAustin

AFAustin

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Jun 8, 2004
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I enjoy trying new things to improve my sharpening results, and it got my attention when David (Obsessed with Edges) described the great results he gets when finishing with Ryobi "H" white rouge compound. He said he had bought it some time ago at Home Depot, and alas, it appears that HD now carries a different flavor, Ryobi "E", rather than the "H". I did manage to find some of the "H" on the well known auction site and bought it. I've only just begun to play with it, but my early results have been encouraging, especially on a small wooden paint stick strop covered with a single layer of denim (my results with paper on wood haven't been as good, but that could easily be due to imperfect technique).

As I searched around for the apparently discontinued Ryobi "H", I came across several more letter varieties, all packaged in the same 4 oz. red/blue/black/white/yellow plastic cylinders, as such:

RyobiH_zpsee7ab8d4.jpg


I decided to try to put together a list of the different ones, along with their product numbers and micron particle size. I started by contacting Ryobi for the information, but got a very general reply:

Andrew,

The only information available on the compounds is listed below.

E is a stainless steel buffing compound for cleaning hard metals such as nickel and chrome, and shining soft metals as steel, brass, and copper.

F is a plastic rouge buffing compound for cleaning soft metals and plastic.

G is a jewelers rouge buffing compound for gold, silver, and platinum.

H is a white rouge buffing compound used for hard/soft metals, chrome, and plastic.


I wrote back to see if they could provide product #s and micron size. Their reply simply said:


I apologize for the delay. I was waiting for a response on the issue. The items were produced by a vendor that we no longer use. Unfortunately we do not have that information available.


So, since the horse's mouth wasn't yielding much, I spent a few minutes on the web and this is what I cobbled together, combined with the descriptions above:


"C": 1-3 micron. #AO1AG11. Emery buffing compound for coarse buffing.

"E": 4-7 micron. #A01AG15. Stainless steel buffing compound for cleaning hard metals such as nickel and chrome, and shining soft metals as steel, brass, and copper.

"F": 6-10 micron. #A01AG16. Plastic rouge buffing compound for cleaning soft metals and plastic.

"G": 6-10 micron. #A01AG17. Jewelers rouge buffing compound for gold, silver, and platinum.

"H": 2-5 micron. #A01AG09. White rouge buffing compound used for hard/soft metals, chrome, and plastic.


Hope this is of some help to anyone trying to sort out the Ryobi alphabet soup. And if I have anything wrong, or anyone has further info. or additions, please post them.

Andrew
 
i have these. the no. 6 is a green compound craftsman brand theres a white vlock compound and a green block compound i have no idea what the microns or grit sizes are. so if anyone knows please do tell or pm me or both lol

 
Thanks Andrew for clearing this up and summarizing it. I have not used the Rouby compounds yet but the white from BRKT as well as the bulk white from USA knifemaker. I can't really tell a difference I don't think between those two although the USA knifemaker bulk white seems to be a bit coarser.
 
The Ryobi stuff I have is from one of the multi packs with the smaller bars. The white is closer to .5-1 micron and the black runs between 15 and 30 micron.

Black
Ryobi_Black_100x_Markedup_zps6e84c8d4.jpg


White
RYOBI_W_Calibrated_zpsbc648e9e.jpg
 
Hey Andrew,

It's good to hear you've gotten similar encouraging results with the Ryobi 'H' white rouge I've liked so much. I've also got the 'C' Emery compound, which is a very aggressive polisher; sometimes maybe more so than I'd prefer, especially if used on more forgiving backing like leather. I've noticed it can quickly strip the bite out of softer/simpler steels on a softish strop. I'm going to have to experiment with it a bit more, to see if it works better on other backings.

I did pick up a small 'kit' of Ryobi's latest offering at Home Depot; pretty sure it's the same packaging as Martin (HH) found. Haven't had a chance to compare it with the older versions yet. I was disappointed to see how small the new 'sticks' of compound are, in their current package (that was a bit of a shock, actually).


David
 
Thanks for your comments, gents. Could someone please enlighten me on the relationship between micron particle size, chemical composition, etc.? Obviously, one of the things I didn't put in my list is the chemical composition of the various compounds, because I don't have that info.

When the "C" emery compound is described as for "coarse buffing", but has a micron size of 1-3, that gets a little confusing.

Thanks,

Andrew
 
AFAustin said:
Thanks for your comments, gents. Could someone please enlighten me on the relationship between micron particle size, chemical composition, etc.? Obviously, one of the things I didn't put in my list is the chemical composition of the various compounds, because I don't have that info.

When the "C" emery compound is described as for "coarse buffing", but has a micron size of 1-3, that gets a little confusing.

Thanks,

Andrew
Click to expand...

That 'coarse buffing' description actually sounds about right. I described it as an 'aggressive polisher', in that the abrasive seems to work very, very quickly ('coarse' or 'aggressive' in speed) for it's small size (which does the polishing). The 'emery' description has originally applied to aluminum oxide; often applied to 'corundum', which is naturally-occurring aluminum oxide. These days, the 'emery' term seems to be applied more loosely to any black, hard abrasive. I've even seen an online description for some 'silicon carbide emery cloth' which is somewhat ambiguous. Either way, both the AlOx and SiC abrasives are very hard as compared to steel, which is why they can perform so aggressively at any particle size. Only difference will be in the width & depth of the scratches left behind, with the narrower and shallower scratches obviously producing more of a polishing or buffing effect.


David
 
AFAustin said:
Thanks for your comments, gents. Could someone please enlighten me on the relationship between micron particle size, chemical composition, etc.? Obviously, one of the things I didn't put in my list is the chemical composition of the various compounds, because I don't have that info.

When the "C" emery compound is described as for "coarse buffing", but has a micron size of 1-3, that gets a little confusing.

Thanks,

Andrew
Click to expand...


The majority of steel buffing compounds use a vegetable tallow called stearin or stearic acid as a binder, and aluminum oxide as the abrasive. AlumOx comes in a variety of toughness, some break down readily, some are very durable. Between the alumox variations, and tweaks to the stearin, you can get a lot of variation for different applications.

When you get into green compounds they tend to use chromium oxide, and the jewelers rouge is usually iron oxide. Not many manufacturers will tell you what the abrasive size is, exact binder preparation etc. In most cases they probably don't know, and contract it out by description - "coarse buffing, scale and rust removal from cast iron" "fine luster on stainless and other hard ferrous metals" etc. The folks that make it in house or have it made to specs (Flexcut Gold) aren't likely to divulge too much either as its part of their product brand.

The only way to really tell what's in there in terms of particle size is to break it down into suspension and look at it with a microscope. Using it on a hardwood lapping board can give you a bit more insight as well, but only comparatively.
 
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