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Mirror Polishing...tips please!?!

Rob zombie

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Nov 30, 2018
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Conwy
Ok so I've just spent the last two hours trying to mirror polish this lockbar....and while it looks a lot lot better than it did, frankly it's far from mirror-like. I started with 400 grit wet sandpaper and worked up to 1200 then polished up with a drill using Mothers polish. Where did I go wrong? Not enough time spent? How much time should this take? Not fine enough sandpaper? Any tips appreciated! My hand hurts 😂

What it looks like:
DSC_1308.JPG

What it should look like:
DSC_1310.JPG
 
You really need a bench polisher, a bit of skill and a lot of time to get a good mirror finish. Hand polishing isn't going to work
 
youll be there for weeks doing it by hand, bench polisher a few hours, it doesn't have to be a fancy machine, I think you can pick them up for about £40 on ebay,
work our way through the compounds you need, HOLD ON TIGHT or it will fling the lockbar at a very high speed into the wall if not positioned correctly
 
Might be worth looking at automotive metal polishes. I use Meguiar's NXT on exhust tips to get a lovely mirror finish on them, might be worth ago.

I'm no expert and others may have better solutions and advice.
 
So, lets say you have a lockbar with quite deep scratches as though someone has scored at it with a key, would you go straight to the bench polisher? I was trying to be fairly gentle as I didn't want the rivets showing, although they definitely do show. I can buy a bench polisher no problem, just trying to get a firm idea of everything that's involved in the process.
 
I polished a couple last year on a modified bench grinder with buffers on.... Will see if i can take some pics later... came out lovely... Proper mirror shine.

I havent grown the balls to try a set of siderails yet....
 
I polished a couple last year on a modified bench grinder with buffers on.... Will see if i can take some pics later... came out lovely... Proper mirror shine.

I havent grown the balls to try a set of siderails yet....

Yeah that's the problem. Side rails will need doing as well as the coin door. Neither of which I want to remove.
 
Are you sure it's not due to the material? I've gotten these 2 Williams ('67,'80) and Bally '91 from this to this without any polish at all and by hand. I went only as fine as 3000 Wet & Dry.

Screen Shot 2020-05-10 at 19.11.12.png

Screen Shot 2020-05-10 at 19.10.54.png

So maybe stick with it and don't worry about the polish, just concentrate on the sanding instead. Yeah, it is mind numbing....
 
Are you sure it's not due to the material? I've gotten these 2 Williams ('67,'80) and Bally '91 from this to this without any polish at all and by hand. I went only as fine as 3000 Wet & Dry.

View attachment 107646

View attachment 107647

So maybe stick with it and don't worry about the polish, just concentrate on the sanding instead. Yeah, it is mind numbing....

Yes, that was something I meant to ask actually. Is it the material itself? This is the lockbar on an old Zaccaria so it's going to be have different properties to a Bally Williams. I feel like I got a huge improvement as it was scratched to hell, but I'm not sure I have the patience to go much more than another hour on it. Yours came out great!
 
Ta! Ahh, maybe it's the different quality of Stainless Steel then, possibly that's about as good as it will get. As long as it looks better then great!
I wasn't after a mirror finish with mine just to get rid of the years worth of scratches and it sounds like you're after the same.

With 1200 you should have about removed all the sanding marks from the previous sanding. Move onto some 2000 if you have some, make sure you're using a sanding block, a dab of washing up liquid and give it some stick. See how that goes.
 
just my 2p here, if you carry on, you will get it a mirror, it's not to do with qualities of metals... but you REALLY need a bench polisher, if you don't plan on getting one its best to settle on the fact youll never get it a mirror shine, it's just not time or cost-effective by hand, or carry on through the grits to get it looking a lot shinier. if you work hard and long enough you can get even super ****ty metals like diecast (a mixture of metals, normally contains zinc) to a high shine. There should be nothing on display on a pinball machine that you can't get to a mirror shine if you so wish.
by a mirror, I literally mean mirror, not just shiny but can see the micro-scratches.

it's hard to tell you what grit to start at as don't know how bad the scratches are to begin with but work all the way through the grits.
your basically making the metal smoother as you go through the grits, making the set of scratches from previous grits disappear as you go. it takes HOURS.

when you're ready for polish, there is a compound that goes on the buffing wheel, there are several types which are different colours depending on how scratched the metal is.


If you're looking for brushed, scotch pad (green then red) will serve you well.
 
A video popped up on my FB feed of a guy polishing the back of his iphone to a mirror finish - went to hundreds of thousands grade compounds. Most of the comments were the he should have just stuck a cheap mirror on the back. Had a quick search, but can't find it now.
 
There are drill heads that have buffers on and velcro to change grades of sandpaper, might be an option as can do the side rails in situ too, tape off cab so you don't buff that by mistake!
 
There are drill heads that have buffers on and velcro to change grades of sandpaper, might be an option as can do the side rails in situ too, tape off cab so you don't buff that by mistake!

Yeah that's exactly what I had in mind. I just assumed that was how everyone else was doing it. I have some polishing heads for the drill but they didn't seem to do a whole lot. Maybe I just didn't spend long enough on it.
 
A video popped up on my FB feed of a guy polishing the back of his iphone to a mirror finish - went to hundreds of thousands grade compounds. Most of the comments were the he should have just stuck a cheap mirror on the back. Had a quick search, but can't find it now.

I've probably seen it 😂 I tend to fall asleep at night watching such videos. There's a guy that makes razor sharp knives out of chocolate. A guy that carves houses with indoor pools out of sandstone. I love all that stuff 😂
 
I plan on doing my lockdown bar in the next two weeks, I will do a video or picture tutorial if it helps anyone on here?
ill take it as far as I can possibly bare by hand, then show the extra niceness of a machine polish.
 
im knocking the whole side of my house through to the new extension tomorrow. literally, the whole 15m width of it, If the house doesn't fall down and wreck everything I own, I will get cracking on the polishing Thursday onwards. :thumbs:

I need to order some new supplies first,
 
I've probably seen it 😂 I tend to fall asleep at night watching such videos. There's a guy that makes razor sharp knives out of chocolate. A guy that carves houses with indoor pools out of sandstone. I love all that stuff 😂

I started on wood-turning videos, now & then, when I felt like it - It was no problem, I could handle it, stop whenever I wanted, but then came the resin-pouring tables & the Japanese carpentry & I got sucked in. My name is Judderman, I am a craft videoholic.
 
I started on wood-turning videos, now & then, when I felt like it - It was no problem, I could handle it, stop whenever I wanted, but then came the resin-pouring tables & the Japanese carpentry & I got sucked in. My name is Judderman, I am a craft videoholic.

I just need one thing in my life right now.
.... The Forged in Fire boxset.
 
I started on wood-turning videos, now & then, when I felt like it - It was no problem, I could handle it, stop whenever I wanted, but then came the resin-pouring tables & the Japanese carpentry & I got sucked in. My name is Judderman, I am a craft videoholic.
Try Abom79 for metal lathework.

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