Final polish ?

I posted a question about this in the "Newbie" forum and diden't get much of a response. I now have a better understanding of what's going on though and wanted to post it here for some of the pros to answer that don't hang out in the other forum.

I have fine scratches left from the final buff and an orange peel finish. After finding out I was using the wrong compound I cleaned my loose cotton wheel the best I could and loaded it with green chrome rouge (which TKS list as being 1200 grit) and tried again. I'm assuming my wheel is still contaminated from the wrong compund I used which is leaving some of the scratches, but I'm still not sure if I'm using the right compound for final buff. Is this the right compound? Is there any way to clean the bad stuff of my wheel?

There is also an orange peel finish. I'm assuming I have to go back to a belt to get rid of this. But what causes it and how do I avoid it? I am using 1095 steel and noticed in the anneled state there is an orange peel look after some belts I take it to on the grinder, even a fresh 60 grit, which seems odd to me. I have tried to finish on the grinder with both trizact belts and cork but the orange peel doent show up untill I take it to the sewn buffing wheel, which I'm also using the green chrome rouge on.

Thanks in advance for any input guys. I'm lost on this one and would rather not waste money buying wheels and compounds experimenting if I can get it right the first time. I mean second time.

Rick

Use one buffing wheel for each type of polishing/buffing compound. Mark each buffing wheel with the type of compound you use on it, keeping each wheel in a seperate ziploc bag when not in use is also a plus. Out of curiosity, did you get the steel at Admiral?
A lot of their steel comes out that way in the final steps. I have had it happen with 440C and ATS34 that originated there.

I agree with Mike.

However, since I only use ONE buffing compound, RCH SS306, I don't worry about mixing my wheels up.

Wait: I do use two. SS306, Green Chrome and SS300, White Chrome, on a different wheel, for Bighorn. It doesn't show up in the pores, should there be any, like the green.

The fine lines must be coming from the cmpd. if they never go away, even after cleaning the wheel.

The orange peel is probably just a characteristic of the steel. Sometimes the manufacturer can be the reason.

Orange peel is mentioned in a couple of the knifemaking books (I don't remember which, it's been awhile) as being the result of overheating the blade while buffing. I have experienced this while buffing and learned to make certain the blade stayed cool and not bearing down too hard on the wheel. Let the buff do the work. It's far safer, too!

You might also try another vendor's buffing compounds and use the next finer grit for the final polish. I like those provided by Brownells personally and go so far as to hit a 440C or ATS blade with the white usually preferred for handle materials. I have found that it takes the "blush" out of the steel and imparts a truly scratch-free finish.

The comment above to keep those buffs segregated and in Ziploc's when not in use is sage advise; grit floating in the air from other operations can settle on a wheel and contaminate it for good!

Good luck.

Thanks for the pointers guys. The RCH green compound is labeled at around 800 grit so mine should be ok at 1200. I think I'll try messing around with this compound a bit more to see if I can figure it out.

Thanks,
Rick

As I recall, Draper used to have alot of orange peel in 440-C plate he used on occasion.

The 1095 I had was from a worn out Nicholson file. I also had some O1 from Admiral I tried to buff and had the same orenge peel. It looked the same on both blades (very mild) so it's more than likley my process and not the steel. I'll have to play around and figure it out.

Thanks for all the help guys.

Rick

I'd guess that more work with the polishing belts and less work and time on the buffer might help the situation. Although I have no idea how long and hard your buffing sequence is.

I find that if I belt things properly even a large blade like a bowie will buff to high mirror in 5 minutes or less per side.

If I take longer than that the orange peel starts to appear, to get rid of it I go back to the 400grit Cork belt with green compound on it then rebuff.

Good advice, George.

Do you go directly form the 400X cork to the buff, or do you then re-polish with the 600X cork also, then the buffer?

I find that after the 400 is properly coated with green compound, nice and shiney all over, it works like a 1000 grit or better. I have corks up to 800 grit on hand but simply can't see any difference once the compound is added.

One thing about the cork belts, they work best when they look worn out and they aren't worn out until the thread shows.

The reason for the orange peel might be that a polish compound actually does not take material off, it will condense the surface and make it shiny. If you do not polish the right way you will get a strange surface. So ,as George said try not to polish to long and make sure that there are no scratches left 'cause you can't polish them away. Well this is just my experience from goldsmithing. Hope it will help. Cyrus

Well, I think I have my problem figured out. I took the blade back to the cork belt last night and made sure I had the best finish I could with that belt, no orange peel and no deep scratches. I then loaded up the buff with compund and gave it a once over (very light). When looking at the finish I noticed some pits that were elongated in the direction I ran the buff. I fliped the blade and did the same on the other side in a different direction and ended with the same results. These are the same result I am getting with 1095 and O1 so I'm fairly confident it's not the steel. It seems like my compund may just be too agressive.

Glad you're making progress. Keep experimenting. I think that the tool steels have a bit more of a tendency to do that than the stainless types.

If the pits are elongated they were there before you started buffing....In other words your belting stage is not removing the pits. Unless all of the scratches and surface pitting is removed before starting to buffs you are going to end up with shiny scratches and pits.

Go back to at least 180 grit and work back up through the belt sequence....180, 240, 400 cork with compound then buff.