Metal Polishing Question.

[jimcor]

So I picked up a hand held drill polishing kit from Sears' Robots and sure enough no instructions came with it. My question is: the cake of white polishing compound, how is it applied to the buffing wheel?

You gotta figure they think "everybody knows this" so no instructions needed. :roll:

[MichaelHoward]

The type I had Jim was just a long block of compound. I just held the pad against it and ran the drill till it covered the pad and then started putting it on the metal.

[dgeorge]

0. Open beer
1. put buffing wheel in drill chuck and tighten
1.5 take drink from beer
2. turn drill on
3. hold polishing compound to buffing wheel while wheel is runnin
4. coat buffing wheel with compound
5. turn drill off
6. put polishing compound down
6.5 take drink from beer
7. turn drill back on
8. hold buffing wheel to piece to be polished.
9. say to Heck with it and repeat steps 1.5 and 6.5 until it looks better

[jimcor]

Thank you Michael, that's what I thought...but I've been wrong before 8O so I thought I'd ask.

[MichaelHoward]

No Problem!!!! Just finally glad to be able to answer one!!

[Anonymous]

Some of the best kit I have found for keeping the shine after you have done the hard work with the polish kit/mops etc is Windowlene. Not the new stuff that looks like water but the original stuff that is a thick pink cream. It is kinder to aluminium as it is non abrasive, good for paintwork and also good on the plastics. It is a dam sight cheaper than all the specialist polishes the manufacturers tell you that you need, 1 sort for this, 1 sort for this etc. You but one bottle and it does the lot ! around 2 quid a bottle.

[wrench]

Jim another thing when using a buffing wheel is dont apply to much pressure, you can burn the buffing wheel, ask me how i know

Also to much pressure can cause waves in the metal, meaning it wont look smooth

[duaneage]

1. put buffing wheel in drill chuck and tighten
2. turn drill on
3. hold polishing compound to buffing wheel while wheel is runnin
4. coat buffing wheel with compound
5. turn drill off
6. put polishing compound down
7. turn drill back on
8. hold buffing wheel to piece to be polished.

You forgot to insert
6.5 Drink from beer can

[Jethro]

You but one bottle and it does the lot ! around 2 quid a bottle.

2 squid a bottle! Now if I can only find 2 squids... money would seem easier.

[duaneage]

Much better dgeorge. I think that is how I polished my forks <hic>

[dgeorge]

I'm glad someone around here appriciates my humor.

[jonr]

Jim,

The advice on not pressing too hard is good advice. Also you will notice pretty quick that your buff is not polishing very fast. That's when you know it's time to re-apply polish. Another thing you can do to keep your buff in good shape should the surface get somewhat burned or too slick is to make a dressing tool. This is a similar concept to a dressing tool for a bench grinder. All you need is a piece of wood about 10" long and 1.5" wide and maybe .75" thick. On the last inch of the stick, drive several small nails through the stick as if you were making a toothbrush with nails.

While your buff is spinning, tap the nail "bristles" against your buff to free up the fabric and break free any melted parts or clumped polish.

If you want a picture, I can send you one the next time I go to my studio. Be careful not to press the toothbrush against the buff too hard or things will start flying! Always where safety glasses when buffing! Take from someone who has caught a few things in the face!

-Jon

[Anonymous]

Polish Hmm!
White is for stainless steel.
Black is course for aluninum.
Red is fine for aluminum and other soft metals.
The white will leave black streeks that will be hard to polish out, use a tool that will spin at 2,500 rpm or more for best results and it will come out like chrome. I use the black polish block first and then the red for a final polish and remember to use different wheels or clean them between colors of polish.
good luck Archie

[gremlin]

use a striper to take off the clear coat befor buffing.

found a product that will keep you from cleaning the aluninum every other week end. shark hide its for boats to keep the aluninum brite. you will need to check the boat shops in your area to see if thay have it.

[KEITH KRAUSE]

Re: Metal Polishing Question.

So I picked up a hand held drill polishing kit from Sears' Robots and sure enough no instructions came with it. My question is: the cake of white polishing compound, how is it applied to the buffing wheel?

You gotta figure they think "everybody knows this" so no instructions needed. :roll:

For a mirror finish, you want to use white rouge and a loose sewn buff.
Hold the compound against the buff without pushing too hard. You want the buff to flare a little. The heat from the buff will start to melt the compound. Get a light even coat on. Too much makes black streaks on the work. So does too much speed at the buff. Apply the buff to the work with generally a couple pounds of force. Make one pass, then MAKE THE NEXT PASS at 90 degrees to the previous pass, on and on. This avoids scratching too deep. Keep the buff clean. If you see too much silver (aluminum) on the buff, clean it off with a buff rake. You can make a decent buff rake from a hack saw blade with medium teeth with taped ends to hold on to. Don't clean the buff too hard. A rake is better.
It takes practice. The correct speed, amount of compound, type of buff, condition of buff, etc, all are important. Check out www.eastwood.com
They have everything you need and will answer questions. I've bought several of their buffs, etc, and have had good results.