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Very Interesting Video - Polishing

PeterGe
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anilv Distinguished Member

anilv

Posted
Posted

I've had some bad experience with buffing wheels when the wheel grabbed the part and tore it out of my hands.

 

Thats why I use gloves and eye protection... watching this makes me queasy..

 

Is it only me?

 

Anil

ro63rto Distinguished Member

ro63rto

Posted
Posted

I've had some bad experience with buffing wheels when the wheel grabbed the part and tore it out of my hands.

Thats why I use gloves and eye protection... watching this makes me queasy..

Is it only me?

Anil

Nope. Me too. Back in school many moons ago I and 2 friends set up a "business" making acrylic wall clocks. While polishing a piece, the wheel grabbed it and flung it into the rear guard, shattering it. Scared the bejeezus out of me! To this day I still hate those machines [emoji20] .

  • 1 month later...
Ishima Super WRT Addict

Ishima

Posted
Posted

Sorry that I'm a little late to the party on this thread, excellent video, great to hear more about how it works, what's happening to the metal, the theory and the technique. 

Currently teaching myself case/bracelet refurbishment with a pendant motor/emery paper/what have you.
I still can't quite get the process down even after all of the improvements I've made, good, clear information on the subject is hard to come by, so it's mostly trial and error and a growing list of supplies I keep burning money on.
I can get major scratches out and make it shiny as you like, no problem. But I'm vexed by smaller streaks and lines made apparent after the polishing stage, mostly only visable if they catch the light at an angle. These artifacts of the process I can't seem to quite banish. This gives me a lot of food for thought, Time to rethink my approach, again.

ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

Posted
Posted

I had seen this video a while back and it really helped me present much nicer finishes . I found out I was trying to do this task all wrong . I especially learned quite a bit on the Buffing part . I've since bought the right hard felt buffing wheels and the proper rouges and compounds to remove nicks and maintain clean lines on the cases .  Also I was definitely over polishing and probably overheating my parts .

Thanks for sharing this link  .

Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted

Very true Ricardo - using the correct, quality compound makes the world of difference. Never dig deep and always take your time.

I made the mistake of buying a few huge blocks of cheaper polishing compound once thinking it would save money - they were rubbish and still sit in the bottom of my polishing box :)

Ishima Super WRT Addict

Ishima

Posted
Posted

Mark, I'd love your full input. What specifically you use, when, and how eceterra. 
A full tutorial video on your channel would be glorious, but I'll happily settle for some pointers. 

DJT2 WRT Addict

DJT2

Posted
Posted

Mark, I'd love your full input. What specifically you use, when, and how eceterra.

A full tutorial video on your channel would be glorious, but I'll happily settle for some pointers.

+1 to that
Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted

I am not sure if I can add to anything perplxr has demonstrated in their video - it is an excellent tutorial to be fair.

 

I use Dialux compounds, which do the job just fine. I mainly use Grey and Blue and Green (sometimes Red).

 

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/dialux-rouges

 

I have separate Mops and Wheels for the different compounds.

 

Once polished I mask out the areas which are to stay polished and I use an abrasive wheel to grain any areas that need it.

https://www.cousinsuk.com/product/protection-tape-for-polishing-bracelets-watch-cases-cousins

Ishima Super WRT Addict

Ishima

Posted
Posted

Ah yeah, dialux green has proven to be excellent, (paired with a chamois wheel in my case) I was going to get some grey with my next order.
Do you use blue on steel then? Or just on gold, silver, copper and brass as recommended?

Going to try pairing grey Dialux with calico at some stage before my green chamois polish, I'm optimistic about the grey rouge, but no real way to know if I'm using the right sort of material with it.

More trial and error will eventually see me through.

PeterGe WRT Addict

PeterGe

Posted
  • Author
Posted

in the video, they make a difference between the buffing compound & the polishing compounds.

If I understand correctly the grey dialux should be considered as the buffing compound?

Robin New Member

Robin

Posted
Posted

Hi, I would also like to know what buffing compound he is using, because his distinction between polishing and buffing. Does anybody know?

Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted

If you have a look on the page linked to above showing the Dialux compounds, the recommended usage is specified for each of the choices. The Dialux compounds are an excellent choice, I have used them for years.

Robin New Member

Robin

Posted
Posted

Thank you for your answer. What I am confused about is that Dialux doesn't use the term "buffing". They use the terms "cutting", "polishing" and "final finish". The great thing about the video posted was that when buffing you don't "cut" or "polish" any material away. Just moving it around. So the buffing compound should just be stick I think? To generate heat and not cut. 

 

This is just my thoughts, and I may of course be wrong and is open for your input  :)

ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

Posted
Posted

Thank you for your answer. What I am confused about is that Dialux doesn't use the term "buffing". They use the terms "cutting", "polishing" and "final finish". The great thing about the video posted was that when buffing you don't "cut" or "polish" any material away. Just moving it around. So the buffing compound should just be stick I think? To generate heat and not cut. 

 

This is just my thoughts, and I may of course be wrong and is open for your input  :)

 

I think you are right . The big thing I got out of the video was the generate heat and move things around part . I used to use a small jewelers file and Ladies emory boards to smooth nicks before I would polish them . Since watching the video I don't do that anymore,  although I do have a solid smooth burnishing tool that I may use on the nicks to get the molecules moving and possibly fold the nick over on itself before I start to use the buffing wheel and compound . 

  Also I bought a hard felt buffing wheel made for that purpose .  There is a follow up video by the same presenter  perplxr , that shows how to clean and maintain the buffing and polishing wheels .

Mark Distinguished Member

Mark

Posted
Posted

Another point to make here is that I would encourage you to grab some of the compounds, wheels and mops and simply practice. You will develop technique by trial and error. Practice on old watch cases if you can. This way you will get a true feel for what effect each compound has, and experiment with different types of wheels and mops. Get some of the tape as well and practice graining.

 

This is the ONLY way you will become a competent polisher, even with the fantastic advice from the above video and the advice from our esteemed members here.

 

When I first started polishing I used to push the work in and cause the kind of damage perplxr was talking about, it took me lots of practice to develop my style of polishing which gets me by, and I am by no means a professional polisher. These days I get great results by using quality compounds and almost tickling the workpiece against the wheel to get rid of scratches.

 

The same old mantra applies practice, practice and practice.

 

:) 

  • Like 1
ricardopalamino Distinguished Member

ricardopalamino

Posted
Posted

Aloha Mark , ...You mentioned to practice graining . That part is fun but does take practice , practice , etc. On some watches , they are highly polished on the sides and back , but have some kind of "grain" on the face which could even have a pattern . For instance I polished a watch the other day that had a high polish on the sides , then I used a fine emory board to add a "grain " on the face pulling from the center out and slowly turning the watch leaving a sort of "sunburst pattern you see on a lot of vintage watches .

  Sometimes I will use a brass wheel in my dremel  for a brushed look , or my favorite , a scotchbrite wheel for a satin look , and doing something on a stainless bracelet to compliment the watch.....maybe just the clasp .

  As you have mentioned ,.....be patient and "tickle" the work piece .

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