Machine Buffing

[clarkecombi]

I took my grinder and applied a firm and medium pad and got some Number 5 Metal Cleaner and 1 high gloss metal polish. Ive been taking and using the cleaner with the yellow firm pad and polishing with 1 and the white(medium) pad and its been doing a good job,but it isnt getting out water spots or the corrded little cirle spots. Exactly whats the proper way to get those out

 

[crevicetool]

David,

Some won't agree with me on this, but I've had pretty good luck so far. I will sometimes wet sand a piece of cast aluminum in varying grits starting with 320, and ending with 1500. Sometimes you just have to take out the scratches and "oldness" associated with old vacuums. Then I buff the heck out of it with the buffer. I will sometimes heat the item in an oven, handling the piece with gloves so that the compound doesn't come off onto the piece, but stays on the buffing wheel. I always follow up with hand buffing then. I will use either Maas, (comes in a tube), or Flitz. Then polish with a clean dry terry cloth.

Rick

 

[jdinstl]

Machine buffing and polishing...

Dave,

Lessee if I have this right...#1 is emery compound, #5 is a green compound -- which is best used with stainless steel. You might want to drop back from the #5 to #4, which is white compound.

2 things I would add to your regimen: #3, tripoli brown compound, most definitely. The emery (#1) does your major cutting, tripoli #3 does a lesser cutting and more polishing, and #4 does still yet less cutting and more polishing. #5 is a polish only type, no cutting -- but for harder metals.

Firm pad for the emery -- in fact, I'd suggest a sisal wheel if using a bench grinder. Sisal is yellow-ish stuff use on cat scratching posts). Medium (spiral-sewn if benchtop buffer) for the tripoli, and a soft or "loose" for the #4 or or white.

Benchtop: Your wheels spin towards you. This is important because what you are basically going to use is 1/4th of the area. If you were facing the side of the wheel, with it spinning clockwise (front of machine to your right) the area you use is about between 2 and 3 o'clock to between 7 and 8 o'clock.


What you want to do is "cut" then "polish" (or "buff"). On a benchtop job, cutting is done by pressing the work into the wheel, and pulling it from 7 o'clock to 3 o'clock. The polish or buff is the opposite, you press into the wheel, and push it from 3 o'clock to 7 o'clock.

If it's a hand/angle grinder, you want to work right to left for the cut, and left to right for the polish and buff. Against the spin for the cut, with the spin for the polish.

In both cases, you work against the wheel to cut, which removes blemishes, scratches, etc. You work with the wheel to polish and add lustre.

Something I do is wet sand with 400 then 600 grit sandpaper before doing anything on the buffer. Sometimes, I have to drop back to 320, or even 200, depending on the condition of the item. If it's really bad, like gouges or deep flaws, I use the Dremel to widen and spread the damage, then work the area with successive sandings before going to the wheel and the compounds.

And I also can get long-winded. Sorry about that! But hope this helps. I'd like to hear other opinions and advice as well. I'm glad you opened this topic!

Cheers!

John

Below: Sanitronic VII housing after sanding and initial cut with emery compound. Tripoli cut and polish comes next.

 

[crevicetool]

Skip whatever I said....

just read what John said if you want to do it right!

 

[jdinstl]

Uhmm...no...read what Rick said too!

Coz that's actually an excellent way to do it!

And Rick...thanks for the reminder about the heat...the oven is a good idea. Because, as I was taught, if you can touch the part without gloves -- it's not hot enough. And bringing it up to heat using the wheel wastes your compound, leaving a waxy film on the work.

Also, by using your method of sanding to 1500 grit, you can toss aside the emery compound. That's a good thing, because emery, if not followed with a looooong session of cutting with tripoli, can cause the outcome to appear hazy.

When I first started polishing these things up (learning from all you folks in the Super Forum at automaticwasher.org) I used Maas on a 3" buff wheel hitched to a handi-butler on a Kirby Classic Omega. With this rig, I polished up a really skanky Premier Duplex.

The result: It looked like I sent it out to be chromed! I've gotta find those pics!

John