Flex-shaft Accesories

Hi everyone,

Thanks to all of the wonderful input I received about my
hand-polishing delimma (as well as my liver of sulphur questions), I
am now the proud owner of a black & decker rotary tool with
flex-shaft. Now I am faced with the overwhelming choice of buffs,
discs, etc. made for polishing and I was wondering if anyone can give
me advice to get started. I work with silver for the most part and
would like input as to the various buffs - what type do you recommend
for using with a tripoli compound, with rouge? What other polishing
accessories do you recommend? I want to purchase enough to get me
started experimenting with the basics. Also, what steps do you
normally go through when finishing a piece (i.e. files, papers,
tripoli, rouge or any variations). Having never actually seen anyone
finishing a piece in person (I have seen one or two projects finished
in videos, but these are tailored to indiviual pieces) I am a little
overwhelmed by the choices available. I understand that a lot will be
trial and error, but having a starting part would be exremely helpful.
Your opinions and experience are greatly appreciated!

Carrie Otterson
@Carrie_Otterson

The basic thing to remember is to work from coarse to fine. Whatever
you buy from a store or catalog, be clear as to this basic info about
the item. Work from files (which come in different degrees of
fineness) to sandpaper such as wet/dry 320 to 500 grit, to buffing
with bobbing compound, tripoli, and rouge or Zam, my choice. There
are also some nice silicon polishing disks for the flexshaft. A big
plain surface will probably require more attention than a small
complex one. Texture will hide more imperfections than a mirror
finish. I don’t like to buff with a flexshaft. I get surface ripples.

Marilyn Smith