So, I just bought a stainless klapvisor from hjalmr. He custom made it to look like this drawing taken from the Osprey book Medieval Polish Armies 966-1500.
So now I want to get it cleaned up a bit. I don't want a mirror or high polish finish, but I do want to get rid of the fresh from the angle grinder look. What is the best way to accomplish this? I though about sanding it smooth, but I don't think that will get deep enough around the eye slot in the visor. Suggestions are appreciated.
Halberds wrote:Do you have any planishing stakes and polished hammers?
Hand wet sanding will go a long way. Bring your lunch and cold beverage of choice. Because this will take all day.
Hal
No, I don't have any specialty armoring tools, just your average everyday fix things around the house tool box.
I figured it would take all day, but I wanted to make sure it was going to make a difference before I spent all day sanding something just to realize I should have used a wire brush or grinder in the first place. What exactly do you mean by wet-sanding?
If there are any metal finishing businesses in your area you could see if any of them wave a large enough tumbler, slide hone, or vibratory cleaning machine. any of those should be able to bring that from where you are to a near mirror finish and wherever in between you'd like. at my shop we'd probably charge you at most $75.
If you decide to do it yourself, and not have a shop do it as suggested by ArmourKris, then....
Typically, if you want a mirror or near mirror finish you start with a rough grit and work your way to the fine pollish. This could be 80 grit, 120 grit, 220 grit, 440 grit, 800 grit, and then the fine polishes (you can buy these at Lowes or Home Depot, but they are typically applied with a buffing wheel). You can also buy car polish in the medium and fine grain to get almost the same effect by hand.
The idea is to remove all marks and blemishes with the current grit before moving to the next grit.
Since you want to leave some, you'll have to experiment some. I think it will be difficult to get the "mirror finish" but to leave it "rough from the anvil".
Wet Sanding means that when you use a fine grain sand paper (220 or above) you get a bucket of water and a rag, and as you sand you keep the paper and the surface both wet. This reduces wear on the sandpaper and facilitates sanding the surface. If it is mild steel, make sure you dry it very well and apply a coat of oil when you are done.
Vermillion On the Archive
Christian Von Beckner In the Society
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"Pro Deus et mi Patris"
That's already an 80- or 120-grit finish on his helmet.
For fine sanding on metal, get emery cloth from an automotive place. Sandpaper doesn't have the strength for metal. Emery cloth stands up better to wet sanding, too. A good technique: sand in one direction with one grit, then sand perpendicular to the previous direction with the next finer grit. You can easily see where a little more is needed.
don wrote:One trick the auto body world uses when wet sanding is to put a bit of liquid soap in the water prior to sanding.
Do you know why they do that? What does it acomplish?
I have always liked a bit of wd40 or other oil for finish sanding.
A long time ago Jason Grimes posted some pictures of a guy polishing armor (period woodcut or line art) and a brief essay on using oil, loose polishing grit, and a cloth. The oil and the grit make an abrasive paste or sluice.
I'm reasonably sure that's why I like the oil.
But why soap?
As to the original question, how to pretty up this one.
Wet sanding keeps the dust down and the abrasive medium free and clear to continue working, adding a bit of soap helps to float what is removed as well as a bit of a lubericant if memory serves me correctly.
The use of oil or WD-40 and an abrasive is pretty much the same thing with the exception that water is free and dries up, using oils can lead to a potential fire hazard. (I think one of the AA members burnt their house down from an oil soaked rag)
