polishing tools

intron12 · Sun Jul 06, 2014 11:53 pm

Hi Guys,

I'm not sure if I am in the right area, but can you help me list all of the polishing tools that a fabricator should have?
we are having trouble on some areas that we cant fully polish.(hard to reach areas, narrow, reversed corner)

thanks!

TamJeff · Mon Jul 07, 2014 2:31 am

I don't know if I should have them but I have quite an extensive collection of buffing and polishing tools and compounds, and grits of wet/dry sandpaper ranging from 320-2500. I work with anodized aluminum mostly, so whenever I cut a piece of stock, I sand them on a couple stationary belt sanders, one which has tired 120 grit charged with bar soap, and then on to the buffer with brown tripoli so that it somewhat matches the polished anodized surfaces.

I also have buffs that fit my drill, and smaller ones for the dremel, along with an assortment of scotchbrite wheels/pads. I also keep cotton rags that I can make my own buffs to fit certain profiles, or to polish the ID of drilled holes and tubes for extra detail on some parts.

I just collect them when I think of it a little at a time. I also keep a bottle of watered down automotive buffing compound handy to remove stains/smoke etc. Also have a few rakes for the buffs to keep them clean.

Mon Jul 07, 2014 6:06 pm

A dynafile is an awesome tool for those tight reverse corners...

Dynabrade has tons of products for your purpose... Have a review if their site:

http://www.dynabrade.com/dyn10/index.php

I am not affiliated with them; I've just used a few of their tools with great success.

I'm not sure how fine a grit is available for the belts, but I used them a lot building SS handrail. They also have polishing products and tools for tight spots.

Steve S

intron12 · Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:37 pm

Hi Steve,

can you list the equipments you have?

thanks

intron12 · Mon Jul 07, 2014 11:46 pm

Hi,

What is the best polishing tool for 18mm and 25mm inside diameter corner?

Tue Jul 08, 2014 6:47 pm

intron12 wrote:Hi Steve,

can you list the equipments you have?

thanks

I don't own any... The handrail work I did was almost 20 years ago. The work I do today is checked "inside", and the surface finish doesn't much matter, beyond "not ugly".

You'll have to study to see what's available for your purpose, and at what price. The link I gave to Dynabrade is a starting point. They make anything you'd need, and you can use the descriptions to search for comparable products from other manufacturers.

Steve S

88MOOSE88 · Fri Jul 11, 2014 3:09 pm

I find a small wire wheel on a small cordless drill polishes perfect.

Or if welding stainless steel use the pickling acid paste.

TamJeff · Fri Jul 11, 2014 10:14 pm

Can you post a picture of what you need to polish?

intron12 · Sat Jul 12, 2014 2:44 am

Please see attached picture

I would appreciate if you can give the exact model#
thanks!

intron12 · Tue Dec 23, 2014 2:54 am

any comments guys?

noddybrian · Tue Dec 23, 2014 4:15 am

Those examples I would agree are difficult to polish - it depends a bit what finish you require & the size as to the most effective method - just to remove weld color then one of the electrolysis brush type cleaners would work well - if the part is not too big then a vibration polisher tank would give consistent though not mirror finish on the entire part - if the part is big then consider media blasting with corn cob / walnut shell ( available pre-loaded with white rouge ) - I think most production work relies on the material being ordered in with the required finish so only minor clean up is needed on welds & localized HAZ - often done by electrolysis so no hand polishing is needed as it takes time - one off stuff is always an issue - it often takes me longer polishing boat parts than making them but I mostly use only conventional mops / compound.

Oscar · Tue Dec 23, 2014 2:30 pm

astro pneumatic also sells thin air-powered belt sanders that you could probably adapt for polishing.

I use this one...

3M also makes one specifically for polishing, but get ready to shell out some bucks for it...they sell attachment arms for it, where you can attach 3M polishing belts

http://www.rshughes.com/video/all/Metal ... essel-arm/

Tue Dec 23, 2014 9:17 pm

Oscar,

I've used the tool you posted in the first picture. We called them "Dynafiles", but I suppose that's from a brand-name, like calling a reciprocating saw a "Sawzall" (Milwaukee brand).

The belts for those go quite fine. I used them primarily on SS handrail, banistrades, and balustrades, to get in the corners and buff the welds.

Steve S

noddybrian · Wed Dec 24, 2014 5:04 am

I have a generic air belt sander similar to the " Dynabrade " type & have found " Scotchbrite " type belts for it which help with blending especially on brush finish - I don't own any Metabo gear but it looks good if expensive - below is a You Tube link of some of the tools they have for stainless finishing on tube - there are others for flat parts - the results are impressive considering what he starts with - can hardly call it a weld ! maybe it was deliberate so the finishing looked better.

R2xWTVult6s

jwright650 · Wed Dec 24, 2014 8:02 am

intron12 wrote:any comments guys?

I don't have any suggestions, but I'm watching to see what others come up with. Those are some tough places to get into...puts some pressure on you to place some nice beads first time around because there is no going back to dress anything up as tight as those places are.

hacadacalopolis · Wed Dec 24, 2014 1:15 pm

I found that for the basics you need a benchtop buffer,
An electric die grinder, a dremel kit, several different buffing bobs...

I have done several aluminum valve covers in the past. I found that a lot of them had casting defects; such as porosity. Which would make it ugly if you try and jewel your metal to have a mirror reflection.

: image.jpg (48.13 KiB) Viewed 1295 times

For tight places- about the only thing is Dremel accs. Or get a damn good compressor with a very high Cfm rating.
Jewelers and dentists have the tools for tight places. So check online for what they use.

hardhatdiver · Thu Dec 25, 2014 10:29 am

Don't know how much this would cost? http://www.tigbrush.org/ looks like it does a good job.

noddybrian · Thu Dec 25, 2014 12:07 pm

In the UK around 2k ! so I don't know anyone with one yet ! - good news is it's very simple & anyone can make their own - can't see how they ever sell them - I guess to a company it's not that much - but for a hobbyist keep doing the Lotto !

Dave · Tue Jan 13, 2015 1:48 am

noddybrian wrote:I have a generic air belt sander similar to the " Dynabrade " type & have found " Scotchbrite " type belts for it which help with blending especially on brush finish - I don't own any Metabo gear but it looks good if expensive - below is a You Tube link of some of the tools they have for stainless finishing on tube - there are others for flat parts - the results are impressive considering what he starts with - can hardly call it a weld ! maybe it was deliberate so the finishing looked better.

R2xWTVult6s

I just got a Bluerock Model 40a grinder sander polisher its a chinese knock off of the Metabo and it use the same belts. It seams to be a good tool, the motor is a little noise but the price is real good. I'll see how it holds up.

Wobulate · Tue Jan 13, 2015 5:47 am

intron12 wrote:Re: polishing tools
by intron12 » Mon Dec 22, 2014 11:54 pm

any comments guys?

Intron12,

Many years ago when I was riding Motocross there were occasions when the magnesium or aluminum engine components would suffer cracks, severe and not so severe abrasions, and sometimes when a chain broke that chewed up the cover over the transmission counter shaft sprocket, all of which were repairable. I used aluminum infused epoxy, and sometimes JB Weld, at that time I did not own a welder. Once the surface was filed and or ground using an electric die grinder, coarse sanded (80), and fine sanded with 180 - 240, I used a polishing compound called Semichrome polish. To get in those hard to reach areas I used one of the Dremel Fortiflex Flexible Shaft Rotary Tools, with Mounted Bobs which have Wool Felt polishing media. The engines aluminum side covers gleamed as if they were chrome plated, this is a great product. It is out on the net, search for semichrome.

Wob

noddybrian · Tue Jan 13, 2015 3:05 pm

@ Dave.

I've never seen a copy of the Metabo tool - perhaps you could share some info on it ? make / model / source ? or even a short review as I'm sure many members would have use for an affordable pipe polisher. Cheers.

Dave · Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:03 pm

noddybrian wrote:@ Dave.

I've never seen a copy of the Metabo tool - perhaps you could share some info on it ? make / model / source ? or even a short review as I'm sure many members would have use for an affordable pipe polisher. Cheers.

OK Brian, I haven't had this tool long and haven't used it but just to test it. I got it for an upcoming project 160 feet of 1" stainless tube. the price polished was up to the moon over $2,ooo for mirror finished 316L 1" with .o62 wall I just about shit. the price with a mill finish is about $400. so I found this tool a chinese knock off of the metabo tube sander polisher. The quick test I did was on 1" crome molly tube with a nice mill finish. I spent maybe 5 min screwing around. the sander came with 1 80 grit belt, I tried it and it took off a lot of metal to much. so I tried a 400 grit belt. It was the tits did a nice job fast. The motor is a bit loud I think it should hold up fine. the bottom line is the unit only cost $175 plus shipping. The belts almost cost as much $155 plus shipping.

Dave · Tue Jan 13, 2015 11:07 pm

Dave wrote:
noddybrian wrote:@ Dave.

I've never seen a copy of the Metabo tool - perhaps you could share some info on it ? make / model / source ? or even a short review as I'm sure many members would have use for an affordable pipe polisher. Cheers.
OK Brian, I haven't had this tool long and haven't used it but just to test it. I got it for an upcoming project 160 feet of 1" stainless tube. the price polished was up to the moon over $2,ooo for mirror finished 316L 1" with .o62 wall I just about shit. the price with a mill finish is about $400. so I found this tool a chinese knock off of the metabo tube sander polisher. The quick test I did was on 1" crome molly tube with a nice mill finish. I spent maybe 5 min screwing around. the sander came with 1 80 grit belt, I tried it and it took off a lot of metal to much. so I tried a 400 grit belt. It was the tits did a nice job fast. The motor is a bit loud I think it should hold up fine. the bottom line is the unit only cost $175 plus shipping. The belts almost cost as much $155 plus shipping.

I have to correct myself someone has to don't have a wife anymore.

its 80 feet of tube not 160

Wed Jan 14, 2015 4:08 am

The chro-moly tube was just to test yeah?

noddybrian · Wed Jan 14, 2015 5:17 am

@ Dave.

Many thanks for taking the time to post pictures - will be interested by your results on the actual stainless job - I've had to buy in mirror polished for boat handrail projects & the cost is outrageous ! sadly I cannot find a similar machine here in the UK - it's yet another case of the best stuff does'nt get here - if I find an affordable source of suitable belts I might make one though as its only an adaption of an angle grinder - good luck with your project.