With each grit, try sanding circumferentially (lathe running) and then longitudinally (lathe off). The changing direction of the scratch pattern is an indication of whether the whole piece is uniformly sanded. $0.02.I may be "off base" here . . . . Not sure of your actual sanding technique / method .
I sand lengthwise with the lathe power off . . . . not around the circumference of the barrel while it is turning.
It seems as though your preparation before using your micromesh wasn't enough. Really important step before micromesh/paper is to get a completely dull and smooth finish. Check against the light also by looking down the barrel closely, looking for radial scratches.
Absolutely mate. To me and my thinking, the more coarse grit need to be laterally sanded as the finer you go, the harder it is to remove the radials, you might not see it as your eye generally can't see past 600 grit, but once you polish, they are magnified. But, everyone has a great method that works for them.The dull, smooth finish after initial sanding is pretty key. My first few CA finishes, I didn't fully sand down the bumps and ridges, and those stick around once you start wet sanding/polishing. Flattening out any imperfections in the CA before polishing it up was the key for me.
The other key for me was the lateral sanding, although, I tend not to do that until the last few of micromesh grits, as before that it seems like each grit is enough to cut through the prior grit radially. I guess YMMV here, but sanding radially, then laterally, then radially, then laterally with the last few grits seems to do the trick for me.
I finish up with a polish...I've been trying a lot of those. Not sure I've found the one that works best for me yet...although, I haven't tried any metal polishes yet.
Yeah, the more I work with either CA or resin blanks, the more I'm finding out how hard it is to truly get that polished glass like look. The lighting has a lot to do with how much you can see...and what may look glassy on the lathe, can easily end up looking like a scratched up mess under different light. Its a challenge, for sure. I'm still figuring it out.Absolutely mate. To me and my thinking, the more coarse grit need to be laterally sanded as the finer you go, the harder it is to remove the radials, you might not see it as your eye generally can't see past 600 grit, but once you polish, they are magnified. But, everyone has a great method that works for them.
I spent countless hours trying to perfect my finishing techniques. Oh the pain! But so worth it! Once you do your first glass finish, it's hard to settle for less. Metal polish speeds up the shine. Must lateral polish also.
Couldn't have said it better myself!Yeah, the more I work with either CA or resin blanks, the more I'm finding out how hard it is to truly get that polished glass like look. The lighting has a lot to do with how much you can see...and what may look glassy on the lathe, can easily end up looking like a scratched up mess under different light. Its a challenge, for sure. I'm still figuring it out.