# Polishing on the lathe. It's too easy!



## Mirage_Man (Nov 1, 2006)

So I just got a new accesory for the lathe... a lever collet closer. Man it's a nice thing to have. A collet set-up that is. 







I popped in a collet center and a live center in the tail stock and polished up an Aleph 2x123 body that I stripped awhile back. You can see the crytaline structure of the aluminum after stripping in the first picture and how nicely it polished up in the second. The white area in the first picture is just a hot spot in from the flash. Just a few seconds and a scotch bright and wah-la.. Anyone care to guess what this body's going to look like in a few weeks :naughty:.











MM


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## PEU (Nov 1, 2006)

try brasso and a piece of cloth 


Pablo


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## Mirage_Man (Nov 1, 2006)

PEU said:


> try brasso and a piece of cloth
> 
> 
> Pablo



Pablo,

I plan to have this anodized. I would be afraid the chemicals in the Brasso might effect the finish. Have you ever anodized something after using brasso on it? 

MM


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## Nebula (Nov 2, 2006)

QUOTE [Anyone care to guess what this body's going to look like in a few weeks.]

MM - I'm going with Camo. Yes, Camo it is! It will look good. Got a head picked out? Go ahead - tell me that it's an A3, then I can beat myself up a little more for not jumping on a few of those sales these last couple of weeks. Keep the photos coming. Kirk


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## highorder (Nov 2, 2006)

try polishing Aluminum with black India ink and a x-fine 3M pad. for approx1" dia pieces, run around 1400 rpm. 

amazing.


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## greenLED (Nov 2, 2006)

Typically, they'll dip the parts in a strong solvent before anodizing. That should take care of the brasso. Also, I've found that after polishing, I can remove any residue with detergent and let the part air dry.


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## Mirage_Man (Nov 2, 2006)

highorder said:


> try polishing Aluminum with black India ink and a x-fine 3M pad. for approx1" dia pieces, run around 1400 rpm.
> 
> amazing.




Ink?? Does it dye the part? Got any pictures?

MM


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## will (Nov 2, 2006)

I can give an aluminum part many different surface finishes depending on what is going to be done after. Is it going to be anodized? nickel plate, chrome plate. 

Try some wet or dry sandpaper, they go up to 1400 grit, very smooth. I use that with a little water and a drop of detergent to keep the sandpaper from loading up. To get a mirror like finish, you will need a buffing wheel and jewelers rouge. This is not done in a lathe.

There is a rating system for surface finishes depending on how smooth the finish has to be.


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## highorder (Nov 2, 2006)

Mirage_Man said:


> Ink?? Does it dye the part? Got any pictures?
> 
> MM



the ink does NOT dye the part, the fine carbon particles produce a mirror finish. the finer the pad the better. I usually finish with ink, and a half of a cloth diaper.

I'll see about some polishing, for pics sake.


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## Ty_Bower (Nov 11, 2006)

Mirage_Man said:


> I plan to have this anodized. I would be afraid the chemicals in the Brasso might effect the finish. Have you ever anodized something after using brasso on it?


Uhh.... does it help to polish the part if you're just going to have it anodized? I mean, after anodizing is it going to look any different if you just skipped the polishing part?

Excuse my ignorance... I don't know squat about finishing metals.


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## will (Nov 11, 2006)

There are those who can most likely explain this better than I can - - I will give it a try. 

There is surface finish and shine, surface finish can be measured by how smooth it is, Zero being like a mirror, If you were to drag your finger nail across, it would not catch in any way, 

A very rough finish would be like the threads of a screw, layed out flat, drag your finger nail across and it will catch on every thread,

Now - take the screw and polish it, it will appear shiny, but is still very rough. 

Take the anodize off the aluminum and it is not shiny, but still very smooth. The dullness is caused by real small pits or bumps in the finish. When the aluminum is polished these imperfections are removed, returning the shine. I think that will yield a smoother anodize finish.

Take a real close look at a mini-mag, the body will typically still have the tool marks left from the lathe, drag a finger nail across, you can feel them, The head, bezel, and tailpiece do not have these marks. 

clear as mud - right...


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