I TOTALLY support Peter Rowe's points
Thanks. (blush)…
regarding the 3M products that use micro graded abrasives. The
issue at the base of everyone's suggestions for doing away with
those tiny scratches that come up in the final polish is in effect
UNEVEN ABRASIVES--whether it is from poorly graded polishing
mediums or contamination of a wheel with even the slightest bits of
a coarser medium (from either not washing or not keeping buffs for
different pastes totally separate).
Yes, but. Please also read Leonids good description of “aggregation
and flow”. It IS possible to get surprise last minute scratches just
as you thought it almost polished, simply from this type of behavior
of even the correct choice in polishing compound. Gem cutters are
familiar with this as well, as some types of oxide polishes used in
facet cutting also have a hasty tendancy to do this, especially if
there is just a little bit too much compound, or the wrong level of
lubrication, etc.
And some of the problem is not the choice of abrasive, but rather
simply the techniques used. There is a reason why learning to polish
really well is one of those aspects of the trade that traditionally
was it’s own specialty. It’s not as simple as just using the right
stuff.
Some metals are also more tricky to get consistant perfect polishes
on, than others. Silver, for example, is often nastier to polish than
gold. I know some silversmiths who take great pains to store each
buff or wheel in it’s own plastic bag to avoid cross contamination.
Frankly, and I know some of you will gasp at this, but I don’t. Most
of my buffs and wheels are just on pegs on a peg board, and some of
the more commonly used ones never quite make it to the board, but
live in a jumbled pile next to the motor. Hardly the way to avoid
contamination. And yet, I have few problems with this. Occasionally I
do find a scratch at the last moment, but it’s also usually quickly
enough dealt with, usually with the same buff used a bit more lightly
and perhaps on one edge, without adding more compound. Small residues
of the coarser (tripoli, etc) compounds on a rouge buff seem to make
little difference, since the first couple passes over the buff and
the next application of the rouge pretty much overpowers any slight
effect a trace of tripoli might have. Now, notice that I’m usually
working with gold and platinum. With silver, I admit I am usually
more careful, and I do actually have one soft unstitched final rouge
buff that I too keep in a seperate bag. I save it for those larger
surfaces (vessels, etc) which need that perfect mirror shine. Most of
the jewelry scale items, even in silver, don’t require that buff to
get to a proper final polish.
For those of you who find it needed to be almost paranoid about
seperating buffs and washing everything totally before switching
compounds, I would say that if this is what works best for you, both
in the results and fitting your working style, then this is a good
thing, and works for you. But for those who don’t do this, and still
need to improve their polishing results, please be aware that there
are more ways than this, to learn to get great results. Polishing is
a process, but it’s also very much a skill. And I think that the
skill and technique involved is more important, than the
“procedures”: and cautions used.
But that’s me. I’m also not the guy to admire if you like a
workbench to look pristine and totally organized with every tool
always in it’s exact place. My bench pan is some weird variety of a
birds nest some times. That would not work for some people. It seems
to work for me. It does get cleaned out and organized from time to
time, but not nearly as often as some folks do it. If you’re working
method works for you, then don’t make too much of an effort to try
and emulate people who work totally differently from the way you find
comfortable, unless you’re finding aspects of your final results or
productivity levels suggest the need to so.
Cheers
Peter Rowe.
I