Polishing machine or grinder…

[tmac1956]

All:

What do you use to polish things in your shop… and bench polishing machine, or a variable speed bench grinder with a buffing wheel?

Thanks!
tmac

[arutha]

I use a bench grinder converted to a polisher with “pigtails” which are a tight fit and also have a grub screw to fit. I use black nylon bristle brushes to polish clock plates with cut-outs and 4″ cotton mops (non stitched) for full plates. Three types of buffing wax, brown (tripoli) – which is coarse and good enough to remove lacquer and corrosion, blue – almost good enough for a final polish and red(rouge) – which gives an almost glass like final polish. Parafin comes in handy to put on the wheels to polish off any wax residue. You must make sure after polishing clock plates you peg the holes out very well otherwise the wax polish will help to grind away the pivots at an accelerated rate. After polishing the plates I run them through the ultrasonic to help give them a final clean, rinse with warm soapy water, then just rinse with warm water. Once dry I give them a final brush with chalk and clock brush (wear gloves so you dont leave any finger prints) and then if needed I apply shellac lacquer with a very fine and soft brush.
For polishing watch parts you will need someone elses help.
Paul.

[tmac1956]

@Arutha wrote:

I use a bench grinder converted to a polisher with “pigtails” which are a tight fit and also have a grub screw to fit. I use black nylon bristle brushes to polish clock plates with cut-outs and 4″ cotton mops (non stitched) for full plates. Three types of buffing wax, brown (tripoli) – which is coarse and good enough to remove lacquer and corrosion, blue – almost good enough for a final polish and red(rouge) – which gives an almost glass like final polish. Parafin comes in handy to put on the wheels to polish off any wax residue. You must make sure after polishing clock plates you peg the holes out very well otherwise the wax polish will help to grind away the pivots at an accelerated rate. After polishing the plates I run them through the ultrasonic to help give them a final clean, rinse with warm soapy water, then just rinse with warm water. Once dry I give them a final brush with chalk and clock brush (wear gloves so you dont leave any finger prints) and then if needed I apply shellac lacquer with a very fine and soft brush.
For polishing watch parts you will need someone elses help.
Paul.

Paul:

I need info from both camps, so this really helps.

Thanks!
tmac

[willofiam]

hey tmac, for me anything that turns a buffing wheel will buff, even buffing by hand with a cloth, dont forget the cheap easy methods like a fine buffstick and then a polishing paste with a small brush or pegwood, always be careful not to remove areas you want to keep intact, soon I imagine, if the weather doesnt warm up and I quit pulling my hair out I will be buffing the top of my head and I will have to be careful about going to far and increasing the surface area needing to be buffed (my head doesnt fit well under the buff wheel). if using buffing wheels try taking the stitch furthest out from center out will make for a softer buffing surface, buffing wheels are cheap, get one for each type of polish used, have fun, William

[david pierce]

You can also mount a buffing wheel on an arbor and put it in a drill press. It is not as convient as a horizontal buffer but it works.
david

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