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I was polishing the spud on an expander die the other night and noticed that the scratches don't really come out, they just get shinny. This makes me wonder if Mother's is an abrasive at all or just some kind of chemical polish with a wax. Clearly it is doing something more than turtle wax because of the blackened cloth. To my totally untrained eye it looks like some kind of chemical interaction perhaps striping off oxidation. Anyway,it made me curious and I thought I would ask.
Ben
It is a polish, of about 3-4000 grit. Also has a lot of amoinia and silicone in it. About the same product but i prefer BLUE MAGIC brand.
I don't know exactly what it is, but I have used it on the aluminum grip frame of a Blackhawk (finish removed) and you can almost see your reflection in it. I have also used it to polish stainless revolvers and it seems to do a nice job there as well. But of course, I don't see as well as I once did. Easy to use as well.
Thanks Auto. I was not sure if it was an abrasive or not. Sure shines the stainless whatever it is. I will look for the Blue Magic and give it a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by autofix4u
If your trying to get scratches out, your probably better off using 400 to 600 wet/dry paper with part chucked up in a lathe or drill press. The 600 paper will give you a mirror finish.
I have a few cannon shell casings and with some effort will clean up the tarnish very well. Some of the members of the S&W forum use it to clean up stainless steel revolvers that over the years have accumulated scratches. The before and after pics have to be seen to be believed. Frank
Vogironface,Quote:
Originally Posted by vogironface
You're learning a hard lesson of polishing... to get out a scratch, you have to start with an abrasive of nearly the same grit as the depth of the scratch. Then work your way up to the finer abrasives, switching directions each time, and finally to the polish... I rarely bother with the polish because I usually prefer more of a matte finish then a mirror shine.
Most people refuse to use the required grit to truly remove a scratch because they don't want to mess up the finish around it, which is "good".
Another mistake people make is to use a polishing wheel and very fine grit polish and keep working at a scratch until they succeed in polishing it out. Then they have a shiny dished spot that really makes its presence known. The way to deal with this correctly is to polish the entire side or facet of the metal, again with rougher grits and working your way finer. It is easier to "blend" a finish on a radius or corner then in the middle of a flat.
I read all this stuff in shop books, then had to make all the mistakes myself until I figured out what I had already "learned".
HF
Thanks HF.Quote:
Originally Posted by HangFireW8
I am undecided if I want to try and remove the scratches or not. For the most part I was trying to make the spud a little slicker since I use it on 9mm when it was intended for 38. I will take your words to heart though since I purchased a SW 686 a few months ago used. The gun shoots well but has been used and has the scuffs to prove it. I have been kicking around the idea of polishing those out. I used the Mothers on it and it did indeed polish nicely but under the light you can see the scratches nice and shiny like the rest of the stainless. If I tackle that project I will take your advice start with some wet/dry in 4-600.
Remember , if your taking the scraches out, your making it smaller.
I use Never dull wadding cloth, a wool type material with something in it. Simichrome a white paste you supply the medium/cloth. Buffing rouge can be used by hand.
I also have a small assortment of diamond lapping compounds that can and will do a fine job.
Another good polishing tool is the die makers stones, these are a very soft abrasive and bond break down fast and form to the shape used with oil water or lightly diluted dish soap they form a slurry that breaks down to finer finishes. I normally have an assortment of these in various abrasive and grits. I prefer them to sand paper for most work.
One trick to a fine polished finish is to work in several different directions with the last finishing in the right direction and no off pattern showing. Backing the medium with a stiffer flexible material. The lightly diluted dish soap does good and if the paper or stone loads a little water and brush cleans it right up
I would suggest using a lubed burnishing tool on the edges of the scratch first. Then go sanding routine.
Polishing compound . Sold under many names , Mothers is just one of them . I like Flitz better but have used both .
Use lapping compound. You won't remove material with it.