The Armour Archive

Ok, so my first few pieces of plate armour are ready to be finished... I've got an 8 inch grinder, 3/4 HP and 3450 RPM. What kind of a buffing wheel(s) should I get? Does it matter? Is one material better than another for specific uses?

There are a lot of different buffing compounds out there.. which ones will give me a brushed satin finish? which will give me a mirror finish?

Also, where do you go for your buffing/polishing needs? Any particular source or brand better than others?

Sorry for all the questions, but I've got a lot to learn

------------------
Larien

Larien's Web Of Chain

Well, for a mirror finish, I'd reccomend green buffing compound for work on mild or stainless. A variety of cotton buffs works well, both loose and spiral-sewn. Remember to alway move from a stiffer wheel (sewn) to a looser one if you want a finer finish.

For a satin finish, you might want to try a wire wheel (.006" works well), or 3M surface finishing disks/belts. You can get an expander wheel with the surface finishing belts for it, that should work well.

As for where to get it, look around your area. Home Depot sells some, but charges a lot. www.eastwoodco.com has a great selection, but is also expensive. Ironically, on our way back from the armour-in we stopped at a truck stop that sold buffing compunds at a good price... It was very strange...

------------------
Yehuda ben Moshe
mka Juliean Galak
http://gerfalcon.tzo.com/medieval/armor/

I asked this same question a few weeks ago. I was pointed at this

site</p>. I hope the link works. I will repost if it doesn't. Have a good one!




------------------
Torr O'Neal
Minor Nobility of Norther Ireland with Norweigan Roots.

Minor fix: Click on the Buffing Supplies Arrow, then on the How To Buff & Polish Booklet link near the top of the page.



------------------
Torr O'Neal
Minor Nobility of Norther Ireland with Norweigan Roots.

Wow, that booklet is a great resource! And the prices they have on buffign compound are pretty good, too (when you take into account the 2 for 1 offer).

One thing I'd empasize though: Buffing abrasives are metal oxides. Therefore, when you buff, you are embedding little particles of oxide into the work, which, if not removed, will cause rust. Even in stainless.
Therefore, it's very important that after buffing you remove as much of the buff as possible. To do so, rub the work with a paper towel, hard, until the paper towel is no longer picking up any dirt. If you are working with stianless, I'd even wash it with soap and water.

After this, you can apply wax or oil to protect the work. Don't rely on the wax from buffing for rust prevention, it'll have the opposite effect!

------------------
Yehuda ben Moshe
mka Juliean Galak
http://gerfalcon.tzo.com/medieval/armor/

Thanks, I took advantage of the 2 for 1 thing, and bought a few different compounds... Now I just gotta wait for them =)

------------------
Larien

Larien's Web Of Chain

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by jgalak:
<B>
One thing I'd empasize though: Buffing abrasives are metal oxides. Therefore, when you buff, you are embedding little particles of oxide into the work, which, if not removed, will cause rust. Even in stainless.
Therefore, it's very important that after buffing you remove as much of the buff as possible. To do so, rub the work with a paper towel, hard, until the paper towel is no longer picking up any dirt. If you are working with stianless, I'd even wash it with soap and water.

After this, you can apply wax or oil to protect the work. Don't rely on the wax from buffing for rust prevention, it'll have the opposite effect!
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Thanks, this is the kind of info I need to know. I was told that Acetone works well to remove excess buffing compounds... I'll try just rubbing it and using Acetone, and see what happens.

------------------
Larien

Larien's Web Of Chain

I like to use sewn musliun wheels with the white polishing compund. It brings braaass, aluminum, and stainless to a mirror finish. And brings mild steel to a near mirror finish.

ALWAYS wear at least a particulate filter mask when buffing. Unless of course you don't mind causing lung damage and hacking out black goo from your throat and lungs.

I alway wear an industrial apron, gloves, mask and a baseball style hat with the brim cut off when buffing. Really cut's down on the amount of time I have to spend cleaning myself up later.

Hey Tor, I only live about 10 minutes from that place and here I've been driving for 45 minutes to Rochester to get my supplies!

I highly, HIGHLY, recommend Caswell. They've been an excellent company to deal with, and their products have been great so far. I've looked all over the place for reasonably priced buffing wheels (reasonable to me, that is), and $3.75 (2-for-1 deal at $7.50) for an 8" spiral sewn wheel seems reasonable

I don't like polishing - or finish work of any sort, really. It's been my least favorite/most time consuming task. Now, using Greaseless compounds - as recommended in Brian Price's book, "Techniques of Medieval Armour Reproduction" - it's not nearly so painful. It'll never be my favorite thing to do, but it's bearable now. BTW, greaseless compounds don't leave any detectable residue behind - no acetone or scrubbing needed to remove that annoying film left by wax based rouges and such. Given how much better the stuff is than the usual hardware store offerings, I'm surprised it's not more readily available.

I'm also enamoured of the Abrasive Wheel System - http://www.caswellplating.com/frames.php?bottom=/buffsupp.htm - it allows you to glue abrasive compound to a buffing wheel - very much like an expanding wheel sanding setup, but cheaper and more adaptable I think. The oxide compounds come in grits 80-240, and are only $3.50 a pound, with the glue at $4.00 for 4oz, which is enough to do a lot of wheels. I really like to paint the stuff (and greaseless compound) on felt bobs and miniature buffing wheels to go on the flexible shaft on my Dremel - allows me to do very fine speedy grinding and polishing on repousse' work which is otherwise very hard to do.

Second the motion for wearing a mask. I sometimes forget, and always regret it later when painfully hacking up the black goo - Looks just like coal dust, which is not exactly what you want coming out of your lungs...


------------------
Steve Belden
The Hammered Wombat
armourer@hammeredwombat.com

Hey guys! Boy was I exhausted this week! It's taken 12 hours of sleep each day all week to recover. So, in answer to your questions....for the rough scratch removal I have a 12" sisal wheel 1.25" wide with the paint-on compound I got from Jantz Supply(www.jantzsupply.com) ...It's called "greaseless paste brush on compound", cat.# LB150 @$5.95/8 oz. For the final polishing I use a 12" concentric sewn muslin wheel 1.25" wide with green stainless buffing compound. This stuff is pretty ubiquitous. Wheels this big need 2 hp motors so scale down for smaller hp ratings. Good luck!