Buffing after ca finish

[SWEPEN]

Hello all pen turners.
I'm pretty new to pen turning and I have a couple of questions about buffing compounds.
I'm using a tree wheel with tripoli, white diamond and nothing on the last wheel. So my question is... what compound could I use on the third wheel instead of a wax?
I always do a ca finish on my pens and sanding with micromesh and after that I use meguiars plast x but I always get some micro scratches after buffing. Even with a cleaned up wheel. Or am i doing something wrong . Best regards from a Swedish pen turner.

 

[Curly]

It seems to be a little different for each turner so you will get a number of different answers. This is the way I do it.
I turn between centres with a skew and when a touch over the bushing/part size I stop. I then sand with 320 grit and then 400 grit. Then I use #0000 steel wool. When using each of these grits after sanding with the lathe on I turn it off and sand lengthwise. Wipe it off and move to the next finer grit and do the same. Steel wool gets the same treatment. Now I put the buffing wheels in the lathe (Beall 3 wheel setup). I then wipe off all the sanding dust including in the tube. I start buffing with the Tripoli across the blank, then diagonally at 45º, and 45º the other way and finally lengthwise. Wipe off the compound including the ends. You don't want to carry it up to the finer abrasive. Go to White Diamond and do the same steps. If after you finish with the WD and see scratches go back to the Tripoli and repeat. Clean off the compound and do the WD again. Clean off the WD and use the Carnauba Wax. As you don't want to use the wax you can stop there or hunt down a finer plastic buffing compound and use it. You could also remount it between centres and use a liquid polishing compound applied with a soft rag.

Lastly welcome to the forum.

 

[leehljp]

Most buff with very light touches, or don't go heavy on the buffing. It is not about time but about lightly touching.

Question, do the scratches appear at all before you buff? IF so, you are probably sanding with too low of a grit to start of with. I, and some others, start off with 400 at the lowest grit, but when it comes to finish, I start off with 600 and move up.

 

[bsshog40]

I always use micromesh when sanding my ca finishes. Then the meguires as a polish still on the lathe with a clean cotton cloth.

 

[TonyL]

Just one of a thousand way to accomplish the same thing:

 

[SWEPEN]

It seems to be a little different for each turner so you will get a number of different answers. This is the way I do it.
I turn between centres with a skew and when a touch over the bushing/part size I stop. I then sand with 320 grit and then 400 grit. Then I use #0000 steel wool. When using each of these grits after sanding with the lathe on I turn it off and sand lengthwise. Wipe it off and move to the next finer grit and do the same. Steel wool gets the same treatment. Now I put the buffing wheels in the lathe (Beall 3 wheel setup). I then wipe off all the sanding dust including in the tube. I start buffing with the Tripoli across the blank, then diagonally at 45º, and 45º the other way and finally lengthwise. Wipe off the compound including the ends. You don't want to carry it up to the finer abrasive. Go to White Diamond and do the same steps. If after you finish with the WD and see scratches go back to the Tripoli and repeat. Clean off the compound and do the WD again. Clean off the WD and use the Carnauba Wax. As you don't want to use the wax you can stop there or hunt down a finer plastic buffing compound and use it. You could also remount it between centres and use a liquid polishing compound applied with a soft rag.

Lastly welcome to the forum.

Thanks for your answer .
I will de

It seems to be a little different for each turner so you will get a number of different answers. This is the way I do it.
I turn between centres with a skew and when a touch over the bushing/part size I stop. I then sand with 320 grit and then 400 grit. Then I use #0000 steel wool. When using each of these grits after sanding with the lathe on I turn it off and sand lengthwise. Wipe it off and move to the next finer grit and do the same. Steel wool gets the same treatment. Now I put the buffing wheels in the lathe (Beall 3 wheel setup). I then wipe off all the sanding dust including in the tube. I start buffing with the Tripoli across the blank, then diagonally at 45º, and 45º the other way and finally lengthwise. Wipe off the compound including the ends. You don't want to carry it up to the finer abrasive. Go to White Diamond and do the same steps. If after you finish with the WD and see scratches go back to the Tripoli and repeat. Clean off the compound and do the WD again. Clean off the WD and use the Carnauba Wax. As you don't want to use the wax you can stop there or hunt down a finer plastic buffing compound and use it. You could also remount it between centres and use a liquid polishing compound applied with a soft rag.

Lastly welcome to the forum.

Thanks for your answer .
I'm actually doing almost the same work except I'm using the carbide tools because so far I have mostly turned stabilized wood and acrylic blanks and I'm not very good at the skew but I'm getting there. Really appreciate this thorough description.

 

[SWEPEN]

Just one of a thousand way to accomplish the same thing:

I've decided to make the 4 wheel buff because it really makes sense and I got a plastic buffing compound from axminster and I can actually see a difference a pretty big difference in shine and less scratches

 

[SWEPEN]

I always use micromesh when sanding my ca finishes. Then the meguires as a polish still on the lathe with a clean cotton cloth.

I've done that but I really love the buffing wheels

 

[SWEPEN]

Most buff with very light touches, or don't go heavy on the buffing. It is not about time but about lightly touching.

Question, do the scratches appear at all before you buff? IF so, you are probably sanding with too low of a grit to start of with. I, and some others, start off with 400 at the lowest grit, but when it comes to finish, I start off with 600 and move up.

I probably have been using to much pressure on the buffing wheels because the last pen I did I was more gentle . I would say the scratches is already there. I have been sanding between ca though and maybe I've been glued in scratches if that's possible .