Satin finish (with no lines)

bennyb

bennyb

Joined
Mar 21, 2008
Messages
281
Im not sure if it is possible to apply a nice satin finish without seeing the lines that come from sanding in one direction. I've sanded up to 800, but it's not where I want it yet. Any suggestions or special techniques would be greatly appreciated.
 
Sand up to 1200 grit then come back with 800 grit new paper each stroke them polish with simichrome.
Stan
 
Get yourself a container of Mobil 1 motor oil. And I do mean this brand and use a few drops on the area you are hand sanding . Use the same sandpaper sizes and back up whatever it was. You can sand back and forth without getting fish hooks and streaks. It works particularly well on carbon steel, carbon Damascus and some stainless. It does work on 154CM pretty well. Frank
 
This is a good question. My knife has a 2000 grit finish, and I still see lines. I've wet sanded with the same strip of paper and CRT for about an hour, using unidirectional strokes, ricasso to tip, and I still have lines.

*edit* I've thought about picking up some Flitz, but not sure if it would be worth the extra work and money.
 
If you are sanding you will always see lines.
Bead blasting will give you a satin finish without lines. You can also use a wire wheel, but this takes lots of practice.
 
another option is to buff with a scotchbrite wheel/pad in the opposite direction of you last grit.....once you are high enough in grit (1000 or so) the scotchbrite will buff them out and still leave a satin.....try it out on a piece of scrap and see if you like it...you can usually find scotchbrite or similar type polishing wheels at most hardware stores
 
Garrett Schmidt said:
another option is to buff with a scotchbrite wheel/pad in the opposite direction of you last grit.....once you are high enough in grit (1000 or so) the scotchbrite will buff them out and still leave a satin.....try it out on a piece of scrap and see if you like it...you can usually find scotchbrite or similar type polishing wheels at most hardware stores
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Or, you could also use a Scotchbrite belt. I have a couple in 2x72 for my grinder. As long you want to finish horizontal it should work. It's a lot quicker than hand rubbing with pads and I've found that the belts are far cheaper than the wheels.
 
Agreed. I also had another thought, if you are sanding lengthwise, try letting the paper wear and load up without using any lube. As the paper wears and gets loaded up, it starts to polish but with 600 or 800 it won't quite mirror. I've never actally finished one this way but it happens occasionally when I'm hand finishing and I always thought it would look cool as a final fisish. It kinda looks like a milky mirror.
 
Garrett Schmidt said:
Agreed. I also had another thought, if you are sanding lengthwise, try letting the paper wear and load up without using any lube. As the paper wears and gets loaded up, it starts to polish but with 600 or 800 it won't quite mirror. I've never actally finished one this way but it happens occasionally when I'm hand finishing and I always thought it would look cool as a final fisish. It kinda looks like a milky mirror.
Click to expand...

Hmmm, that's not a bad idea either:thumbup: I'll give that a try on something just to see what you're talking about. Sounds nice. I'm not big on full polish, I have always loved satin finishes the best.
 
After sanding to 600-800, I've found the easiest way to get a great satin finish is to use a fine finish satin brite pad (not a belt). The one I use is brown, and I think I got it a home depot. If you want to brighten it up a bit without ruining to satin finish, you can use a 3M high grit polishing paper (they come in different grits/colors).

Dave
 
Hi guys,

I tried to make my first san mai blade, and it didn't work out. I sandwiched two peices of 15N20 (each was 1/16th) over a piece of 1095 (which was 3/16's), heated it up until it was orangy, and started hammering. I just could not make the metals to stick. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Dave
 
Satin without lines can be done by buffing out the lines followed by fine grit blasting. This is the finish that is applied to things like cream cheese lid injection molds. It is bright and shiny, almost mirror, but it glistens and isn't too bright.

Bright satin without directional lines (frost) can be done with a tumbler.
 
I found that sanding up to 1000 or so, then using a scotchbrite pad (like the kind you use for waching dishes) leave no lines or fishhooks. I also lubricate with WD-40.

Rick
 
Garrett Schmidt said:
Agreed. I also had another thought, if you are sanding lengthwise, try letting the paper wear and load up without using any lube. As the paper wears and gets loaded up, it starts to polish but with 600 or 800 it won't quite mirror. I've never actally finished one this way but it happens occasionally when I'm hand finishing and I always thought it would look cool as a final fisish. It kinda looks like a milky mirror.
Click to expand...

I recently discovered this. I noticed it while I was sanding at 1000 grit and so I decided to go to 1500.

IMAG0067+%202%20.jpg
 
Thanks for all the input guys. I think I'll stop at home depot and see if they have any very fine scotch-brite hand pads. Several of you recommended scotch-brite and its my cheapest option right now.
 
So some of you people are saying that you can't get a satin finish by hand sanding because you still get lines showing? HAGWASH. Frank
 
Well, I always thought a satin finish included the fine lines. I've been wrong before, though. Interesting thread... more than one way to skin a cat, as they say.
 
I'm saying that if you hand finish, you will have lines unless you mirror polish.A satin finish without lines can be done by tumbling or blasting or etching.
 
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