Buffer/polisher

cuejo

cuejo

Cue Repair tech
Silver Member
What is everyone using to buff/polish?

I have been polishing on my lathe with good results, but the uv finish is definately tougher to get a mirror finish on!
Steve sent me a couple links to see a guitar being polished. 2 steps, looked super shiny

What type of buffing wheels is everyone using?
I don't want to invest in the wrong stuff for sure :)
Right now I'm using the 5 step polish from CC and it has worked great on my epoxy finishes
Thanks in advance :)
 
Darcy

We have 2 buffing wheels for polishing. They are the " Dommet flannel wheels from Grizzy, mounted each on a 1 hp 1725rpm off the shelf motor. I made a mount to hold the wheels they spin true.

On the first wheel, we use Tripoli. It comes in a bar form, and is brown. You need to make a little heat with it, and it will pretty much make all the sanding scratches go away.

The second wheel we use a white bar called HF-1. With this one you can get all the shine you need.

Don't mix compounds on the wheels. Replace them when they get down below about 8" in diameter, or stop polishing well enough.


You can always just get the Grizzly G1061Z, or something like it. I built mine because I already had a couple of motors, and didn't feel like waiting for the Grizzly machine to ship to me. Whatever you do, don't go with the faster motor speed. It's just too fast.

Royce
 
Thanks Royce!
Do you stack a couple wheels together or do you just use one on each side? One for the tripoli and one for the other compound?
 
Darcy

You can get away with one for each, but we stack 2 to make it wider.

You don't want both compounds on the same side or spindle. We actually use 2 completely separate motors. Both, 1 hp 1725 rpm. I'm always paranoid about being down just because one motor quit. With 2 motors, if one goes bad, we can at least do all the rough compound, switch the buffing wheels, and then do the fine buff. I'm just funny that way!

Royce
 
Grizzly wont ship to Canada!
I tried to order the unit.
I couldn't find the wheels you mentioned but il keep searching.
Thanks for all your help Royce.
I'm going to try giving you a call next wel to chat :)
 
Il see if I can grab it up, is a little slower better maybe?

Edit
I ordere the unit from caswell,
100$ to ship to me :(
 
Last edited:
Buffer

Slower generates less heat. You might want to look into the shop fox
buffer head and then get a 1750 rpm motor locally and use pulleys to controll the speed.
 
I've been using the same Makita variable speed buffer since 1989. I have the buffer strapped upside down on a stool with a 15 foot power cord and use waffle textured foam pads on a velcro type disc and Menzerna or 3M buffing and polishing compounds. I go outside the door to buff and let the rain clean up the dust. When needed, I wash the pads clean in a bucket of water and spin them dry on the buffer. You can also do your car.
 
cutter said:
That would be a great buffer. I have one of the old Grizzley Guitar buffers( no long sell), it turns at 1200 rpm and works great.
Click to expand...

Cuejo,

I agree with Steve about the slower RPM and keeping the heat down.

Caswell is a company that sells buffing supplies. They are very helpfull.

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/index.html

Rick

I love my Caswell Pedestal Buffer and 12" Wheels. It ie heavy duty and has a 1100 rpm motor which is perfect for buffing.







 
I really like the caswell buffer!

I've talked to the owner of buff polish and grind quite a bit over the years. He's considered to be one of the most knowledgeable people in the polishing industry. His website is www.buffpolishgrind.com. This guy is amazing! I have watched him take 220 grit sanding scratches out of stainless steel with 1 buffing step!

Anyway, he recommended to me that I try to achieve a surface feet per minute of about 3770. Actually, 1200 rpm with 12" wheels is almost exactly that. But, when the wheels wear off a little, the speed is slower than 3770. I use to have a variable speed setup that would hold speed even under load. I tried all different speeds, and found that I had better luck with a little higher speed. I like anywhere from 3900 up to about 4500. Faster than 4500, and it's too easy to burn the finish away, and slower than 3770 and I need to push a little too hard on the wheel to get a little heat. My setup with the regular electric motors gives me 4500 on the new 10" wheels. And, as the wheels wear, the speed drops down to 3800 at about 8.5" on the wheels.

A couple of things to think about. I like to rotate the cue as I'm buffing it, so we spin it with an air drill. We spin it pretty slow, but the spinning is pretty helpful. It really makes it easy to work the heat to just the right amount and move down the cue slowly. If you move faster, the heat is less, and slower will raise the heat up. Also, if your turn the cue rotation against the spinning wheel, you will effectively increase the SFM. Conversely, if you spin with the wheel you will decrease the SFM. We use this to our advantage. If we are having trouble getting too hot when the wheels are bigger, we go with the wheel. Later, when the wheels are smaller, it can be harder to get that "Pop" with the final buff. That's when we go against the spin of the wheel to raise the SFM and get the heat back up easier.


In the end, there is no perfect setup, and many different things will produce excellent results. You just have to figure out the steps for you setup and write it down so you won't forget it.
 
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