dressing back polishing wheels?

[RODeo]

Does anyone know if it is possible to dress back polishing wheels ?They are about 8" or 10" diameter ,and are really black and full of 'soap' -obviously someone has been using them wrongly.

[dobber]

when i have mops that go straggly and full of wax i use a chisel edge on em when spinning which get shut of wax then just trim off any tufts with scissors. seems to work

[Cabman77]

when I first started in engineering I was a trainee polisher, so here is the "proffessional way to do it  

Make yourself a rake. 8 or 10 nails  knocked through a piece of 2"x1" about 8 to 10 inches long, but knock the points off the nails to round them off a bit, too sharp and they`ll tear the mops to bits. Space them out but leave yourself a hand hold each end.
You will also need a blade. A power hacksaw blade is best but any piece of steel with enough room each end to tape over and make a hand hold and then sharpen the middle section, the sharper the better.
Fisrt off rake out the old compound, it pays to be VERY firm while doing this, give it a good raking left and right for a few goes. This will leave you with what looks like a very tatty mop with bits poking out in all directions. Now trim it up with the knife you`ve made.
Always get a very firm grip on the rake and the knife for  your own safety and to do the best job you can. We always used our hip to help put pressure onto the mops when polishing, but the spindles were all on pedestals not on a bench but if you can put your hip into it then it will be safer and you get a better result whether raking and trimming or polishing itself.
Been a long time since I worked in a polishing shop but the satisfaction of the work still remains to this day.
Hope this helps.

[RODeo]

Thanks for that cabman,have passed it on to the technology dept.
        Rod

[Cabman77]

I worked in polishing when it was starting to be a dieing art. Everyone that worked in the game were old boys that all knew eachother and could tell if you were any good by where you`d worked and for how long. In those days you could start at one firm in the morning and at lunchtime walk into a firm down the road to start a different job (oh god how I miss those days now).
An old boy I worked with for quite a while got me some extra work at an electrical goods manufacturing company in their plating plant, had a weekends work in there. On the saturday morning, at teabreak, old bill had a whispered conversation with another bloke that came into the polishing shop. A little later Bill says "do you fancy a foreigner???" wtf I didn`t have a clue what he was on about. The other bloke comes back with a trolley full of stuff for polishing and underneath 4 (count them) pure chrome anodes. Each one was 2 n a half foot long and weighed god knows how much. At the end of the day bill ties two together with a length of rope and hangs them round my neck and then feeds them into my boiler suit and down my legs!!!!!!!!!!! After doing the same to himself we then proceed to "walk" out of the site with the rest of the workforce past the security gatehouse, Bill even waved to the man on the gate and said "see you next time Bert" !!!!!! Back to Bills house and the other bloke comes round and hands over £200 (£50 per anode). Easiest, but most uncomfortable fifty quid I`ve ever made, and I wonder why I have back problems now. 

[RODeo]

lol! I love the old stories!
 Ive  been polishing the timing chain cover but I havent got any small polishing 'bobs' to get in to all the nooks and crannies around the bolt flange. The main front face has come up reasonable,so Ive decided to paint the flange and a band about 1" wide up from it all round the cover.I did read somewhere " the more shiny bits ,the more time it'll take to keep them looking good" so Im not going to go mad polishing everything!
 I realised early on in the build (having never built a bike or trike before) that ,unlike a car build where the body allows you to cover stuff up to do later on, everything is on show on a bike from the outset ,so has got to look reasonable. I dont like untidy wiring or gungy areas,so I'm thinking ahead to figure what areas will need cleaning more often ,then trying to make that area easy to clean.
            
                 Rod

[Cabman77]

polishing mops are built up in sections, all sewn together. To get into those flange areas you need a single section stitch mop (one that is stitched all the way to the outer edge) the stitching makes them stiffer. The single section mop will bend whichever way you want it to go and you can force this into any nooks and crannys. Just  for reference the mops supplied in these home polishing kits are normally two or three section. Syzal mops (made up  from string) are used for harder materials like steel, stainless steel etc, calico mops are for finishing off, these are stitch mops that haven`t been stitched all over and so are softer for the final finish on soft materials.

Don`t get me started on compounds!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dobber]

whats a compound cabman???

[Cabman77]

B*****d!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If I thought you was serious I`d go into meltdown .......................

[nabsim]

If there isn't an article here already Cabman I reckon you need to do one on polishing

[dobber]

i have  one hard mop one soft  a white wax and a gray one, still get results but would welcome more info, never had anything explained so probably going long way round.
agree with you cabman, something satisfying turning grot into shine

[Cabman77]

simple rule to remember is what ever mark you put into the metal you`ve got to take it out as well. If you`ve got one of the home polishing "kits" then you`ve got a calico mop(soft) and a calico "stitch" mop (medium/firm). The two compounds you`ve got are a basic medium grit (grey) and a smooth grit for finishing off(white). These kits are only of use for polishing Alloys. They would never in a million years remove any marks on stainless for example but can be used to bring the shine back to a piece of stainless.
If you`re using a drill to power your polishing endevours then you`ll have to come to terms with your limitations. The optimum speed for polishing any metal is 3500 rpm. All industrial, 3 phase, pedestal spindles run at this speed and to be honest it makes life soooo simple and easy. Also if you use as large a mop as you can it reduces the effort needed to get the job done.
If you imagine you`re gonna polish a real crappy bit of stainless then you`d follow a procedure like this.
1:80 grit sanding disc to remove scale or deep marks. If you use an angle grinder held in front of you pointin to 12 o`clock then, holding the disc flat to the surface, move the grinder from side to side while still pointing it towards 12 o`clock. This will remove surface imperfections and keep the surface flat and not put ripples in.

2:change to a 150 grit disc and turn the workpiece 90 degrees and repeat the process. By doing this at 90 degrees to the p[revious work you will be able to see the original sanding marks disappear and any stubborn ones will stand out.

3:Change to 220 grit disc and repeat step 2.

4: Now you can start polishing. For stainless use a sizal stitch mop, 4 section is best,and some stainless specific polishing compound, Cannings have always been best but there are so many you just choose what suits best (remember the first statement???). With the spindle running press the compound onto the mop and let the compound spray onto the workpiece. Then working in circular movements and running at 45 degrees to previous direction. You do this from both edges creating a herringbone effect. Once again this will enable you to see how much work you need to do. When you think you`ve got all the previous marks out then straighten up the direction now, keep pouring on the compound you can never have too much and it does the work for you.

[Cabman77]

5; When it comes to Aliminium or other soft alloys, try to avoid using an angle grinder, but if you do have to use one, smoothing welds etc, then get some tallow (it`s a kind of fat) and put this on the metal and disc, this will keep all the dust moving and stop the disc dragging and tearing into the alloy leaving a lovely smooth finish. As with compound you can`t use too much tallow. You can also use it on other metals to help smooth out the cut of the disc. I have used engineering cutting compound, same as you use on lathes and such like, and it works nearly as well.

6; After using the finishing mop, calico for alloys and stitched calico for steels,which you always finish with the lightest of touches to line the "grain" of the polishing up to make a nice even finish, then we always used vienna lime on a soft cloth to wipe off any last grease or fingerprints. If you can`t get the lime then try talcum powder as a less than suitable substitute.

As with all things prctice makes perfect. It`s a fiddly old game and I`ve seen some remarkable results by some of the members on here, but with the right equipment and the patience to follow a procedure to the end it will always be a much easier job in the long run.


Hopefully this`ll save me writing a seperate thread for this lol  


http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/

http://www.abrasive-systems.co.uk/index.html

http://www.moleroda.com/acatalog/Cannings_Polishing_Compounds.html

[RODeo]

You  lost me in the first couple of sentences mate,but a good account there!!
  Im afraid I'm a bit "more by luck than judgement" with all this polishing malarkey! We have a pedestal mounted set of knackered basic wheels which the pupils have messed up . In my case it seems to me in the long run that it would be cheaper to take it to a profesional to have it done rather than spending loads of dosh on the different mops and soaps etc.Plus I really aint got the patience for trial and error!
 
 Rod

[Cabman77]

A company I worked for had the contract to manufacture and fit all the stainless handrails at tower hill tube station in london (1980 I believe it was) and every single bit was mirror polished. We even made 12 3`x3` stainless steel "mirrors" to be fitted in the ladies and mens toilets, so they couldn`t get broken!!!!