Which buffing compound
- Thread starter Younggun
- Start date
The #1 community for Gun Owners in Texas
Member Benefits:
Fewer Ads! Discuss all aspects of firearm ownership Discuss anti-gun legislation Buy, sell, and trade in the classified section Chat with Local gun shops, ranges, trainers & other businesses Discover free outdoor shooting areas View up to date on firearm-related events Share photos & video with other members ...and so much more!
Member Benefits:
Dremel? For polishing?? Ohhhh, that can be a BIG mistake! I spent a lot of hours trying to clean up a "polishing" job that a neighbor of mine did with a Dremel. Dremel works great for very small items, but on a large surface (like a gun) it will vibrate and leave all sorts of marks. If you're using it to polish a feed ramp or something, be careful that you don't remove too much metal.
I use the finest triple ought steel wool + the finest automotive polishing compound I can find.
Go slow. Speed makes swirls. Try to follow the grain of the metal, and go back-and-forth, instead of rubbing in circles.
Good luck & be well.
Go slow. Speed makes swirls. Try to follow the grain of the metal, and go back-and-forth, instead of rubbing in circles.
Good luck & be well.
Well, my test run is complete. I ran the dremel at the lowest speed and tested by polishing the safety on my Neos, and since it is my cheapest gun with the worst trigger I polished the sear and catch on the firing pin, I did intentionally take some metal off the pin because I didn't like the trigger pull but this had been an ongoing project and only needed to be finished up. All went well, I now have a neos that will be at least alittle different than everybody elses and a much better trigger. The rouge I ordered is made for polishing jewelry and precious metals, I was looking for the finest grit possible and this was what they recommended.
BTW, I hope no one thought I had any intentions of using the polishing stones, only the felt attachments.
BTW, I hope no one thought I had any intentions of using the polishing stones, only the felt attachments.
Here is a before shot
Heres what I have now
I also put a shine on the rear of the fireing pin
The gun makes them look darker, maybe I can get some better pictures tomorrow in sunlight.
Heres what I have now
I also put a shine on the rear of the fireing pin
The gun makes them look darker, maybe I can get some better pictures tomorrow in sunlight.
Not sure of the cicumstances, and maybe alittle overconfident, but my first run went very well. Using fine white rouge I was able to get a very nice polish. I am learning as I go and may make a mistake, but if your gonna learn something new you gotta start somewhere. Do you have more details on what your friend was doing, I guess saying larger jobs may have given the wrong idea also. Thanks for you advise, and any tips are still welcome.
Younggun, I have been making custom jewelry for 6 years. Polishing is a process. Depending on the desired results there are different steps.
The steps are basically the same for most metals, just different abrasives.
All polishing is a process of removing material with a harder abrasive. The usual first step is a file or rough grit sand paper to remove surface imperfections. If deep scratches, pits, or machining marks are not removed first no amount of polishing compound will ever remove them. Leave deep marks in the first step and you will have shiny scratches. After you have a uniform surface with sand paper or file switch to a finer sand paper. Use the finer paper to remove all the scratches from the rough paper. Depending on the metal, you will want to use 3 or more grades of sanding-polishing paper. The last step is the polishing compound, I use two compounds triple-E (fast cutting compound) first and then red, green or white rouge depending on the metal.
For firearms and jewelry I use 3M micro finishing film, it is available in 60 micron (220 grit) down to 9 micron (1200 grit). The 9 micron film leaves almost a mirror finish, for some parts no polishing compound is needed at all. It is more expensive but it last a LONG time. I have used the same pieces of film every day for six months or more.
There are many reasons you would not want to start with polishing compound. Polishing compound alone will make flat surfaces curved and wavy. With proper filing and sanding you will remove LESS material than compound alone. Time, the extra steps can save a lot of it, five minutes of light sanding can save thirty or more with compound alone.
In some cases you can cheat and use only compound, small parts that are already free of casting and machining marks will turn out fine. Once you get to larger parts like bolts and slides they extra steps really pay off in time and quality.
Extra tips-
Glue the micro finishing film to strips of wood (like paint stirrer sticks) for flat surfaces
Dowel rods for curved surfaces
for flexible but firm sanding glue the finishing film to rubber tool box liner (use both sides with different grades of film) cut to squares, triangles, circles, ect. to fit your needs.
rubber cement works the best.
If done well polished steel is quite corrosion resistant. A good mirror polish will bead up and shed water like a good wax job on a car.
Anyway, have fun making stuff shiny! Feel free to ask questions. Oh and RioGrande has a great selection of polishing supplies!
The steps are basically the same for most metals, just different abrasives.
All polishing is a process of removing material with a harder abrasive. The usual first step is a file or rough grit sand paper to remove surface imperfections. If deep scratches, pits, or machining marks are not removed first no amount of polishing compound will ever remove them. Leave deep marks in the first step and you will have shiny scratches. After you have a uniform surface with sand paper or file switch to a finer sand paper. Use the finer paper to remove all the scratches from the rough paper. Depending on the metal, you will want to use 3 or more grades of sanding-polishing paper. The last step is the polishing compound, I use two compounds triple-E (fast cutting compound) first and then red, green or white rouge depending on the metal.
For firearms and jewelry I use 3M micro finishing film, it is available in 60 micron (220 grit) down to 9 micron (1200 grit). The 9 micron film leaves almost a mirror finish, for some parts no polishing compound is needed at all. It is more expensive but it last a LONG time. I have used the same pieces of film every day for six months or more.
There are many reasons you would not want to start with polishing compound. Polishing compound alone will make flat surfaces curved and wavy. With proper filing and sanding you will remove LESS material than compound alone. Time, the extra steps can save a lot of it, five minutes of light sanding can save thirty or more with compound alone.
In some cases you can cheat and use only compound, small parts that are already free of casting and machining marks will turn out fine. Once you get to larger parts like bolts and slides they extra steps really pay off in time and quality.
Extra tips-
Glue the micro finishing film to strips of wood (like paint stirrer sticks) for flat surfaces
Dowel rods for curved surfaces
for flexible but firm sanding glue the finishing film to rubber tool box liner (use both sides with different grades of film) cut to squares, triangles, circles, ect. to fit your needs.
rubber cement works the best.
If done well polished steel is quite corrosion resistant. A good mirror polish will bead up and shed water like a good wax job on a car.
Anyway, have fun making stuff shiny! Feel free to ask questions. Oh and RioGrande has a great selection of polishing supplies!
