Freethinker
Member
Hi;
I am throwing this (newbie) question out there for everyone, but would be very interested to hear Russ Fairfield chime in with his thoughts.
It concerns when to stop sanding and when to begin buffing after a CA finish is applied.
I have done it about every way imaginable, some fairly successful, some not so much so. But I am looking for the best way to consistently have a deep gloss shine with the CA.
When i have a sufficiently thick coat of CA on the blanks, enough that I am confident of not sanding through, I begin to sand, usually with 400 or 600 , fairly lightly until I think I have any ridges that might be there leveled down. I then proceed either to 1000 wet-or-dry then 2000 wet-or-dry sandpaper and then to to MM.........or sometimes I go to 1500MM and begin working through the 9 progressive MM grits.
Here's where I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. When I do MM to 12,000, the pen is glossy.........but sometimes not as glossy as I have seen some other pens turn out. If I take the blanks, after MM 12,000, to the white diamond buffer, sometimes the blanks seem even less shiny after the buffing than before. Am i actually going backwards, in terms of how many microns the polishing is, when I use white diamond after 12,000 MM?
Would it be more efficient to stop at, say, 4000MM and then go the the Tripoli wheel? Or to stop at 4000MM and go the the white diamond wheel? Or should I just MM to 12,000 and not worry about the buffer?
I guess what I'm getting at is how "fine" is tripoli or White diamond, gritwise, compared to 8000 or 12,000 MM?? Where should I stop sanding and begin buffing so as to not be going 'backwards' in terms of grit?
Any input you guys could give me on this will be much appreciated. Thanks.
I am throwing this (newbie) question out there for everyone, but would be very interested to hear Russ Fairfield chime in with his thoughts.
It concerns when to stop sanding and when to begin buffing after a CA finish is applied.
I have done it about every way imaginable, some fairly successful, some not so much so. But I am looking for the best way to consistently have a deep gloss shine with the CA.
When i have a sufficiently thick coat of CA on the blanks, enough that I am confident of not sanding through, I begin to sand, usually with 400 or 600 , fairly lightly until I think I have any ridges that might be there leveled down. I then proceed either to 1000 wet-or-dry then 2000 wet-or-dry sandpaper and then to to MM.........or sometimes I go to 1500MM and begin working through the 9 progressive MM grits.
Here's where I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong. When I do MM to 12,000, the pen is glossy.........but sometimes not as glossy as I have seen some other pens turn out. If I take the blanks, after MM 12,000, to the white diamond buffer, sometimes the blanks seem even less shiny after the buffing than before. Am i actually going backwards, in terms of how many microns the polishing is, when I use white diamond after 12,000 MM?
Would it be more efficient to stop at, say, 4000MM and then go the the Tripoli wheel? Or to stop at 4000MM and go the the white diamond wheel? Or should I just MM to 12,000 and not worry about the buffer?
I guess what I'm getting at is how "fine" is tripoli or White diamond, gritwise, compared to 8000 or 12,000 MM?? Where should I stop sanding and begin buffing so as to not be going 'backwards' in terms of grit?
Any input you guys could give me on this will be much appreciated. Thanks.