Background:
Back in high school I was very advanced in Jewelry, I got a couple scholarships to art schools. When I first started I was taught a set of ways to prep the metal and work the metal. As I advanced, so did my techniques to achieving a better shine, durability and overall appearance. But I wouldn’t discredit the techniques I was initially taught when I started.
There is not a right or a wrong way to polish metal since there are many ways to polish something. Some things are much too difficult to elaborate on because it all comes down to the look you want achieve and the condition of the metal when you begin. You must practice and not be afraid to try things.
Identifying the type of metal:
You must identify with what metal you are going to polish. Will the metal be ferrous (contains iron) or non ferrous such an aluminum, silver, gold, etc… Easy way to tell is to do the magnet test. If the magnet sticks, then it is ferrous. I bring this up because from my own experience non ferrous metals are softer and a lot easier to polish. If you plan to polish both types, then use different buffing wheels for each. You don’t want to use your felt buffing wheel for aluminum to polish some stainless steel.
Beginning:
If you start with a non ferrous metal such as aluminum that is super smooth then you could most likely use a high luster polishing compound on a soft buffing wheel. If the condition of the metal is bad, then you need to progress your way up from sanding to using a more course buffing compound to finishing with a higher luster compound. For my motor mount I prepped the metal then gave it a quick buff so that I could see any imperfections in the metal. Polishing is just redirecting where the light shines. So a deep scratch in the metal is only going to direct the light reflection in a different way than the rest of the surface is reflecting it. So limit the deep scratches.
I thought I would bore you all with some background knowledge. It is part of the process I think of before and during polishing.
Metal Preparation Materials
- Sand paper (200, 300, 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200 grit)
- Wire wheels
Polishing Materials
- Goggles/ full face mask
- Nose and mouth mask
- Table-top buffer with tapered spindle
- Dremel (for all the hard to reach places)
- Fabuluster buffing compound
- Tripoli buffing compound
- Flannel buffing wheels
- Felt buffing wheels
Post Polishing Materials
- Soft towels (micro fiber works best)
- Q-tips
-I bought a table top buffer to help polish. I started out sanding by hand, starting with a 200 grit and moving up to like 1200 grit. Eventually, you'll find out that with most surfaces 200 grit is too tough and will leave deep scratches other sand papers can’t even get out or even the buffing wheel. Wet sanding works really well too, but gets messy.
Buffing compound:
Fabuluster: I use this stuff to polish rings to an amazing shine. This compound should be used for metal that is very well prepped, and can be used as the last compound you use.
Tripoli: I use this at first. It is more rough and will really get in there and start polishing. You will easily tell that it won’t produce a high shine like Fabuluster does, so end with Fabuluster.
Buffing wheels: Buy a couple wheels because you can't mix buffing compounds or you will contaminate them. Also you can't use the same buffing wheel for ferrous and non ferrous metals. There are hard buffing wheels and soft ones. Each produces a different shine and should be used for different situations.
Flannel: the softer of the two. This will produce a nice shine.
Felt: Much harder and will get in the cracks. I use the felt buffing wheels to start with and then I end with the flannel wheels coupled with Fabuluster.
Dremel: Will get in the tight spaces.
Q-tips: Get the buffing compound out of the cracks when you’re done.
Micro-fiber rags: I feel like regular rags scratch the metal after buffing. Micro-fiber rags are much more gentle.
There are many ways to polish something. There is no right way or a wrong way. There are some things I can't elaborate much on because it all comes down to the look you want and the condition of the metal.
Links:
Lapidary Polishing Compounds, Rouge, Tripoli and Polish Accessories
FABULUSTER [50-6825 - FABULUSTER 1/4 LB] - $14.00 : Island WoodCraft Supply, Complete Woodworking Solutions
