Tripoli/White Diamond
- Thread starter TXTurner
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pipeyeti
Member
I know that some will say that I'm going backwards,but I use the tripoli after the mm and am very happy with my results.
karlkuehn
Banned
I only use white diamond if you take it that far with the MM, and some will probably say you don't even need to take the MM that far. I'm still learning the limits of buffing, and I'm probably doing a bunch of extra work. Lately, when I know I'm going to polish on the wheel, I've been getting a little sloppi...er, uh, less fastidious with the MM after about 4K, and they're still turning out really good.
I just used tripoli for the first time last night on one of my new tool handles, and was surprised at how easy it was to get a pretty good finish without burning through.
The more I buff, the more I like it! I think as I get better at it, I'm going to save a lot of time, but I get a little frustrated when the wheel gets 'grabby'. Practice is teaching me the good angles and sweet spots and pressure and stuff, though.
I just used tripoli for the first time last night on one of my new tool handles, and was surprised at how easy it was to get a pretty good finish without burning through.
The more I buff, the more I like it! I think as I get better at it, I'm going to save a lot of time, but I get a little frustrated when the wheel gets 'grabby'. Practice is teaching me the good angles and sweet spots and pressure and stuff, though.
BrentK
Member
I use the MM and use my buffing wheel sometimes not everytime. After MM I finish with CA and BLO four coats. Than ren wax. Or I break out the buffing wheel and go through all four steps than ren wax.
rherrell
Member
I don't use MM for CA. I sand to 600 then tripoli and WD. I do use it, on wood, before applying the CA. Sand to 400, apply sanding sealer, MM to 12,000, apply CA.
redfishsc
Member
rherrell is right.
Personally I almost never use MM anymore (though I do have some on hand). For acrylics, I sand up to 800 grit and buff with Tripoli/white diamond and get a flawless shine every time. Going past 800 or 1000 grit sandpaper (1500/2400 range in MM) is a waste of time. You can get a good priced wet/dry sandpaper all the way to 2500 grit from Online Industrial Supply for a very good price, and yes this is a good sandpaper for the price.
http://www.onlineindustrialsupply.c...arbide-waterproof-9--by-11--paper-sheets.html
Texatdurango
Member
OK, you're going backwards!
Just for grins, next time stop at mm3000 then buff with tripoli and white diamond and see if you can tell any difference... other than you saved some time![]pipeyeti
Member
It would save me about 60 seconds but I would make that up spending more time with the tripoli. My system works for me I'm happy with it.
Blind_Squirrel
Member
I'll go you one better by saying going past 320 or 400 grit is a waste of time. For acrylics, I sand with 320 grit abranet then buff with tripoli, white diamond, and finish off with Renwax. I get a flawless shine every time.
redfishsc
Member
OK you convinced me, I'll give it a shot!
Everybody has to determine what medium is the best for them, and how fine a grit particle to use. Once we get past 600 grit, the differences between the various abrasive mediums is small and subtle, and which we prefer depends on our technique, the material we are polishing, and what looks the best to us.
ed4copies
Local Chapter Manager
I believe this is the KEY. MOST materials respond well to tripoli, white diamond, OCCASIONALLY I find Plastic polish preferable.
To each his own!!!
karlkuehn
Banned
Ed, do you use the plastic polish with a wheel or on the lathe? The 'scratch remover' that I use, you wipe/rub on, let it haze over, and then buff it off, but it never dawned on me to use a wheel for the buffing step, I've been using it on the lathe.
I'm definitely going to try skipping some more MM steps based on what I'm reading here. I'm really getting into doing plastics/resins, and I see why Ed D. likes them so much. There's days when I get a little tired of dealing with it issues of wood.
I'm definitely going to try skipping some more MM steps based on what I'm reading here. I'm really getting into doing plastics/resins, and I see why Ed D. likes them so much. There's days when I get a little tired of dealing with it issues of wood.
ed4copies
Local Chapter Manager
I use plastic polish on the lathe, because my wheels all have something on them (white diamond, tripoli, wax, different wax, metal pieces - all black, etc). IF I had a CLEAN wheel for plastic polish, that would probably be a little faster.
kent4Him
Member
Not to change the subject too much, but I've moved away from the buffing wheel. I really like the results of using Novus 2 to polish the CA finish. Less time and no chance of things flying around. I was also heating up the pen barrel on the buffing wheel if I buffed too long.
The biggest down side is that if there are small ridges in your finish, the buffing wheel has a better chance of smoothing them out. Novus on the lathe is polishing the same direction as sanding and applying the CA finish.
The biggest down side is that if there are small ridges in your finish, the buffing wheel has a better chance of smoothing them out. Novus on the lathe is polishing the same direction as sanding and applying the CA finish.
Texatdurango
Member
Nice thing about turning, sanding, applying CA and polishing is that you can very quickly turn a blank around between centers so you are going the opposite direction.
ed4copies
Local Chapter Manager
True, but you would LIKE to go PERPENDICULAR to the radial scratches, if you wish to truly REMOVE them. This is easiest to accomplish on a buffing system. (IMO)
pipeyeti
Member
Exactly what I do. I also leave the barrels on the mandrel while buffing so as not to round the edges. Unless I want a round edge( upper part of the lower barrel on a cigar pen)
Texatdurango
Member
Yes and this is how I also buff my blanks EXCEPT without the mandrels. Mandrels... yuk, patewee![
] I just hold my blanks with my hands and get a nice nail polish job while I'm at it! I was simply saying that one doesn't have to always turn the blank in the same direction if they don't want to and I've talked to some who never thought of reversing the blanks.
ed4copies
Local Chapter Manager
GEEEZZEE, George, why didn't you SAY that?????