Polishing Spring steel?

[Lockdown27]

How do you polish the steel from plumbing snakes so you can almost get a reflection? I am lookcing at homebrews and they are NICE! I have Brasso but it didn't do to much.

Thanks!

Ld27

[Wrenchman]

Fine sand paper like 400 and up (even lower can do it) does miracles!



Wrenchman

[barbarian]

Fine sandpaper is good.

Then try a Dremel with Scotchbrite discs. They look like nylon mesh.

They to finish, try the Dremel again with some Autosol or similar metal polishing paste on a cotton buffing wheel.

[Lockdown27]

I've heard alot on emery paper but what is it exaclty?

[Raymond]

Emory cloth is almost exactly the same as sand paper except that the grit is attached to cloth. It is like free hand belt sanding material. It is flexible and more durable than sand paper and otherwise polishes the same.

[LockNewbie21]

1200 grit w/ silicon lube and your good. Buy a variety back adn work your way up the grits.

The silicon lube will help the paper breka down and give you grit inbetween whats not given in the package. so 1200 grit+ silicon lube will evenout to 1400,1500 grit and you'll have a nice mirror finish

LN21

[raimundo]

Look for sand paper that is made for metals, not the stuff for wood.

usually black grit.

start with 220 or 320 if the part is rough,

work with a rough grit until you can no longer see the original tool marks, then change direction of sanding 90 degrees and reexamine, the direction change will show up tool marks that are in the direction of the original sanding. when you have taken the tool marks off,

move to a finer grit of sandpaper for metal. 400 or 600, and again work in one direction but change 90 degrees to expose any marks that align with the sanding.

As you work the sand paper in one grit, it will break down into a finer grit and eventually make a shiny surface, however you can also get other sand papers of much finer grit. these are for surfaces that are nearly smooth already.

Brasso is no more aggressive than toothpaste, it is a chemical for removing oxydation, and tarnish, dirt etc. like silver polish its meant to be gentle to the surface. Its intended to refinish something that has already been polished.

[Lockdown27]

Ok, I got 600 since thats all they had But it'll do. I have silicon airsoft gun lube can I use that?

[LockNewbie21]

yup should work just fine.

If you find the grit a bit to rough try sanding a piece of metal pipe or something to break it down a bit. Along with the lube I would say you pretty much set.

LN21

[Kaotik]

From my experience, it is not a good idea to break down your sandpaper. Altering the structure of the sanding medium will not only ruin your sandpaper but also require alot more working time to acquire the same finish as you would get if the proper grit was used. Theoretically, the sandpaper will seem to be cutting at a finer grit, but since the sharp points and cutting edges of the broken down paper have been removed, the cutting surface is now flat and won't cut well. Therefore only seeming like the grit is cutting finer, it actually scratches and rubs.

Not to say that it can't be done, it's just not the best habit to have when wanting something that has a mirror like reflection.

For Lubricants; Well, just about anything goes. Water, WD-40, Gunk, Silicone spray(s), 3-in-1 oil, Kerosene and even wax and grease removers. Just as long as enough lubricant is used to keep the sanded debris flushed away from the work surface.

Practicing proper sanding and preparation techniques will insure a full proof way of achieving a near-to-flawless finish.

[Safety0ff]

I had some good results by:
removing paint with scotchbrite pad by hand
sanding to remove the burs (avoiding areas aren't cut edges)
and finishing it with buffing compound (tripoli brown and then colored with white) and little felt wheels with my rotary tool.

There's many possible variations (like barbarian's post) but the general idea is the same.

The less you disturb the areas that aren't cut edges the better the end result seems to be as there's less work to be done at the buffing stage and the surface is much closer to being flat.