# Fake buffing system



## Tiger (Jul 4, 2012)

Just wondering whether this would work. I have some Tripoli in the form of EEE, some white diamond rouge and some Carnauba wax which came in the form of a hard stick designed to be applied to the revolving work. What I don't have is the right buffing wheels so I was wondering whether it would work if I turned my pen, applied my CA finish and then applied the 3 products above with a soft rag in order to simulate the buffing experience. This way the work wouldn't have to come off the lathe, what do you think?


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## Drstrangefart (Jul 4, 2012)

I've tried similar things, even tried the 3 stage system mounted on another lathe, and I'm still happier just doing all of the micromesh polishing and applying a few layers of Simoniz Vista Car Wax. Really any liquid car wax will do. Just get a glob on your finger, hit the barrel with the lathe on low speed, and buff it off with a clean rag or paper towel. I usually do 3 or 4 coats. Give it a shot! I'm not a big fan of doing MORE abrasive stuff after I do all of the polishing.


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## Tiger (Jul 5, 2012)

I've read that some people use the 3 step buffing system instead of the MM so that's what prompted this post. Interesting that you Doctor have gone back to the MM, I thought it would save a little bit of sanding time and the mess from wet sanding.


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## 1080Wayne (Jul 5, 2012)

Soft rags can wrap around turning blank in a very small fraction of a second , taking some fingers with it ! Never use anything that can`t be very easily torn , near a turning shaft .

Wax of any type will be removed by the users fingers in fairly short order , leaving the finish underneath . In essence , it is only a way of either fooling yourself and/or your customer that you are capable of a high gloss finish . Self deception plus a potentially unhappy customer is not a choice I make as I want to be known as a high quality pen maker .


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## Drstrangefart (Jul 5, 2012)

1080Wayne said:


> Soft rags can wrap around turning blank in a very small fraction of a second , taking some fingers with it ! Never use anything that can`t be very easily torn , near a turning shaft .
> 
> Wax of any type will be removed by the users fingers in fairly short order , leaving the finish underneath . In essence , it is only a way of either fooling yourself and/or your customer that you are capable of a high gloss finish . Self deception plus a potentially unhappy customer is not a choice I make as I want to be known as a high quality pen maker .



That's why I usually use a paper towel. If it's a rag, the lathe is stopped. In my own experience so far with it, the wax wearing through doesn't seem to happen noticeably faster than hazing started to appear on CA finishes from before I started waxing the finish.  Your results may vary, of course. I do put a lot of time into making sure the finish is,as clean as I'm able to get it before I add wax. Normally abrasive polishing compounds make more haze than before I used them, but that could easily be my fault.


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## Drstrangefart (Jul 5, 2012)

Tiger said:


> I've read that some people use the 3 step buffing system instead of the MM so that's what prompted this post. Interesting that you Doctor have gone back to the MM, I thought it would save a little bit of sanding time and the mess from wet sanding.



I just get the best finish with micromesh and I'm comfortable with it. It gets a really good glossy finish before I do anything else. I just kept ending up with more haze than when I started, which could just be operator error.


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## farmer (Jul 24, 2012)

I stopped using micro mesh I use polishing compounds
farmer


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## OOPS (Jul 24, 2012)

As you can see, people tend to develop their own methods over time.  I know a fellow pen turner who doesn't have a dedicated buffer.  Instead, he turns the barrel on his lathe, and holds a buffing wheel in his hands, moving it back and forth over the blank.  He says the method works perfectly!


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## mrcook4570 (Jul 24, 2012)

For applications on the lathe, suspensions in soft or liquid media (e.g. EEE and plastic polishes such as Hut Ultra Polish and Novus) are much easier to apply.  The disadvantage to polishing on the lathe is the inability to make the polishing compound move WITH the grain (to eliminate circumferential rings in the finish) at an equivalent of 1200+ rpm.  With a dedicated buffing station, you can easily turn the blank to buff with the grain.


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## Dave Turner (Jul 24, 2012)

Just to add my method.  I run through the micromesh pads on my CA finish. Although it looks nice and glossy upon casual inspection, under the correct lighting you can see minuscule surface marks. This is particularly noticeable with specular reflections.

To resolve this, after the CA is finished to a gloss with the MM, I then buff it using a dedicated buffer (Harbor Freight $36 ), flannel buffing wheels (Caswell CFW64 $4 each), and buffing compound (First I use Caswell F515-6163 Plastic-Glo P-22 $15 on my left wheel; then I finish off with Caswell F515-6165 Plastic Buffing Compound P-112 $14 on my right wheel).

Actually, if you use both buffing compounds, you can skip the last few MM grits, as the P-22 can take their place. The P-112 will get it smoother than the MM can. By buffing with the pen tube oriented length-wise, you can eliminate any circumferential marks, which are the easiest to see in specular lighting. I will finish off with a thin coating of Renaissance Wax applied and buffed by hand, mainly because it helps prevent fingerprints.

Do a forum search for Caswell and you'll see lots of information on buffing. Incidentally, the buffing compounds come in huge bars. One bar can be cut into 2 or three pieces, each of which would be a lifetime supply the way I use it.


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## Chasper (Jul 24, 2012)

For resins I use all nine MM levels, then buff with tripoli and white diamond.  MM pads will produce a very nice shine, then buffing will produce a great shine.  IMHO carnuba is a waste of time, I don't see noticable improvement and it wears off.

For wood I sand to 600, apply CA, and within an hour of applying CA I buff with white diamond.  No MM.  In both cases I use 8" X 1" buffing wheels on a lathe buffing system at about 1500 RPM.

I've tried applying CA on spinning blanks and it works to some degree.  But as others have noted, the application is around, not the legnth of the turning.


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