Buffing Question

[bjbear76]

I recently bought a Beall buffing system and have been toying around with it on various materials. My question is when and on what materials does it work best on? It seems to me that I get a better shine on acrylics just by using MM and plastic polish. On woods, I'm not getting the results I was expecting and have gone back to either a CA finish or friction polish. Am I not doing something right or am I expecting too much from buffing?

 

[hazmat74]

What buffing compounds are you using? I used to make pipes and the usual tripoli, white diamond, carnauba wax process was the one I used. There's a bit of a learning curve in terms of how much pressure to put on the buff. It took me a few tries on pipes to get comfortable and end up with good results. After some practice, I was able to get a glass-like shine on the wood.

Since I've been making pens, I'm using the same buffing process. On alternative materials(acrylic, etc) the MM process gives me a great shine with the buffing procedure really making things pop.

Can you post a picture of the results you're getting with wood, with an explanation of your sanding process? It might help you get some better feedback.

 

[edstreet]

Buffing is one of those areas that is quite dynamic and even more diverse. Not only do you have a good 100 buffing compounds you can use but you also have several dozen types of buffing wheels you can use. Couple that with angle of approach and speed of the buffer you quite physically have several thousand combinations.

Truth be known the right buffing setup will trump any micromesh process you could do all day long.

 

[Donnie Kennedy]

On acrylics and CA finishes I use the buffer instead of micro mesh... water sand to 600, buff with tripoi, then white diamond, then use a plastic polish. I tend not to buff natural wood or oil finishes though. Hope any of that helps.

 

[bjbear76]

I'm using tripoli, white diamond, and carnauba wax right now. I probably just need to practice a bit more to know how much pressure to apply, etc. I have this hesitation to be too aggressive and mess up the CA on the blank.

 

[Donnie Kennedy]

Yea... be careful because it will burn right through it.

 

[BSea]

Tripoli will definitely take the CA finish off if you are too aggressive. As far as getting the shine you want. It does take a little practice. I use the 1st 4 mm pads then go to the wheels. I also don't go across the blank, but lengthwise. I use the tube insertion tool I bought when I 1st got into this hobby. It holds the blanks without having the blank jerked from my fingers and flying across the room. I'm glad I finally found a use for that thing.

 

[ed4copies]

Make a pen from solid black material. (Any flavor "plastic" will do) Then sand to 1000 grit and buff.

Black shows every scratch. It IS possible to get a GREAT result. When you are finished with this process (which may take a LONG time), you will know how much pressure to use on the white diamond wheel. You will also be very likely to have the right amount of white diamond ON the wheel.

When buffing plastics, the "wax" wheel is unnecessary, but does no harm if you really feel a need to use it.

FWIW,
Ed

 

[bjbear76]

Thanks for all the great tips and suggestions. I get the impression that buffing is used more on acrylics than woods. Or is it that it seems more pens are being made from acrylics lately?

 

[ed4copies]

If you put a CA finish on wood, you ARE buffing acrylic.

And, yes, plastics outsell wood, by a lot.

 

[walshjp17]

I rarely buff my pens (might have to rethink that) but I always buff my bowls and spindle turnings. I feel for those things (bowls, pepper mills, candle sticks/holders, boxes, etc.) buffing is the finishing touch that brings out the best of the finish.

 

[hazmat74]

Buffing can be used to a good end on either, just the approach is a bit different. With acrylics/plastics, there's no CA layer to worry about, so you can be slightly more aggressive. On wood, you have to worry about that finish layer, so have to approach it more gently.

Make yourself up a few practice pieces of wood with CA finish, wood no CA finish, plastic/acrylic/other of your choice and play around. You'll get the hang of it.

Are the buffs you're using stitched or loose? Depending on which, the approach is different. Also, if using carnauba wax, I've always had a loose, clean buff that I'd use as a last step after wax. It's a very light touch on this buff, but it can really bring out a nice final shine.

 

[Chasper]

For both wood and acrylic I use 8" canton (loose) flannel wheels, I put two half inch wheels together to make one wheel that is an inch wide wheel. I turn at about 1000 RPM.
For acrylic, on the first wheel I use tripoli, on the second wheel I use Caswell Plastic-Glo P22. I only use two wheels, no wax.
For wood and antler, I buff with Caswell P112 immediately after applying CA, no micro mesh first, no tripoli and no wax after. I find that if I let it cure for more than a few minutes the CA will have hardened and it is difficult to get a bright shine. You have to be able to put down scratch free CA to do this, the buffing will not remove any scratches.