My new polishing set up so much fun!

[Gary H]

My Wife bought me a home polishing set up consisting of a Craftsman bench grinder and an assortment of polishing wheels and compounds. I had a speed control installed this morning via an electrician friend so no more going into the shop to play. So far I ruined just 1 razor while figuring out which compounds to use, successfully removed the plating from 1 razor and now have it semi dialed in. I think some of the razors I see on auction sites might have gone through this same process. Dull dreary razors with no luster and or water spots are a thing of the past for me now well razors with no plate loss anyways. Here is my first successful polish of an old slim twist I had which went from eh condition to WOW!

 

[taco8slo]

Very nice, can we see pictures of the setup as well, please?

 

[Gary H]

Yes sir I will take some pics tomorrow when the sun comes up. You will be amazed at what a basic bench grinder and a few odds and ends can do polishing wise. I thought I would need a specialty high dollar high end polishing set up to get good results boy was I wrong.

 

[Miesterio]

I've been using elbow grease and neverdull.

 

[taco8slo]

Yes sir I will take some pics tomorrow when the sun comes up. You will be amazed at what a basic bench grinder and a few odds and ends can do polishing wise. I thought I would need a specialty high dollar high end polishing set up to get good results boy was I wrong.

Good stuff, I bet you'll be looking for all sorts of things to polish up, wedding rings, silverware, watches, knives, trophies...

 

[Gary H]

I've been using elbow grease and neverdull.

Yeah you go Neverdull is still my go to for quick and painless removal of soap scum and hard water deposits. Have to mastered it's use yet?

@Taco First thing I did was grab a razor and go to town. I ruined the first razor a slim adjustable because I did not remove the metal object guard, put too much pressure on the razor and it got sucked into the grinder wheel well shutting the whole system down. When I pulled the razor out the head was bent beyond repair lesson learned. I bought this thing at an estate sale on Friday (See pic below) not sure what it is and the silver portion of it came out pretty good for first day trial. As for the rest of the metal items in my house my Wife made it perfectly clear that I am not to experiment on any of her antiques containing metal.

 

[Miesterio]

Yeah you go Neverdull is still my go to for quick and painless removal of soap scum and hard water deposits. Have to mastered it's use yet?

Not quite. One of my razors still has a water spot on it, but otherwise I got everything else off of it.

 

[Ronnie Aloha]

Gary,

If you want to play some more I have two Fatip and two Cadet heads that could use a touch up!

 

[Gary H]

I think I need to master the buffer before I attempt anything on other peoples razors. I will hit you up once I can do this 100% without error.

 

[coolbus18]

Congrats!! Nothing like having a tool that does a lot. Remember to wear a face shield when using a buff wheel, especially the flap kind. An object can come off that wheel at close to 100mph and can really hurt. Take it from me it does. Have a shiny day!

 

[NCStateFan12]

Very good results! I am too scared to use power equipment for razors and prefer to do everything by hand.

 

[Gary H]

Congrats!! Nothing like having a tool that does a lot. Remember to wear a face shield when using a buff wheel, especially the flap kind. An object can come off that wheel at close to 100mph and can really hurt. Take it from me it does. Have a shiny day!

I will definately take this advice to heart and use protection.

 

[santamariasteve]

While your system may seem like fun, I suggest it's overkill. You've already ruined one razor. Be prepared to ruin more.

I get a similar and a safe result with a piece of FINE steel wool and a little LIGHT judicious rubbing. Cost? Maybe 5 cents. Time? Maybe 5 minutes.

 

[Gary H]

While your system may seem like fun, I suggest it's overkill. You've already ruined one razor. Be prepared to ruin more.

I get a similar and a safe result with a piece of FINE steel wool and a little LIGHT judicious rubbing. Cost? Maybe 5 cents. Time? Maybe 5 minutes.

I have dozens of razors that I am prepared to kill in order to master the fine art of metal / razor buffing. The difference between buffing by hand and buffing on a wheel is night and day, by wheel with a fine compound is 50x more luster a near mint finish when done correctly. I say this because I have spent countless hours buffing by hand and it is physically impossible to get the same result.

Here's a Cooper I did tonight. before and after


View attachment 353536

 

[onotoman]

Be careful not to apply too much pressure or you'll buff off the plating through to the brass.

For polishing existing plating, always use a loose cotton wheel and Blue wax compound, anything else is too abrasive.

I tend to only buff the head top or silo doors using a buffing wheel, other areas with detailing such as the handle etc can be damaged too much.

 

[nemo]

Be careful not to apply too much pressure or you'll buff off the plating through to the brass.

For polishing existing plating, always use a loose cotton wheel and Blue wax compound, anything else is too abrasive.

I tend to only buff the head top or silo doors using a buffing wheel, other areas with detailing such as the handle etc can be damaged too much.

Sage advice here, gents. It's really easy to go too far with a wheel.

 

[Gary H]

I bought a few bars of jewelers compound which is very forgiving and allows for more pressure when used with the extra loose or as the pro bufers call it the floppy wheel. I was able to get through three razors yesterday with no damage. Trial and error is the key to getting this down.

 

[santamariasteve]

I still prefer to do it manually, for the same reason I prefer to hand wash my car instead of using an automatic car wash.

It's still true: Little is more.

 

[Gary H]

I would feel the same way too if my razors were painted and cost $60,000 each.

 

[jpakstis]

Gary H - those look great and it seems like you're having fun!