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Alternate method of SS mirror polishing other than buffing
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At present we are finishing our SS materials with buffing method, that is very labor orientated and time consuming too. For a small batch it requires long time to finish. Now my question is, is there any easy and cheaper process other than buffing which can help us to produce our SS materials with better mirror finishing and will take less time to produce?
We will highly appreciate a quick response.
With Best regards,
Intezar Hossainbathroom fittings - Dhaka, Bangladesh
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Nothing can top a hand buff finish in appearance. However, you can drastically reduce your processing time by using mass finishing equipment. Then again, a lot has to do with the surface finish of your parts prior to processing. A rough surface of over 35 RMS may still require a belt or wheel to reduce the surface profile. The next step would be a mass finishing system. The machine size and system depends on the volume of parts needed to be produced in a given period of time. Next, the media depends on the metal being processed. You may need to do more than a one step operation to get a mirror finish, but it still may not match a hand buffed finish. If that is still needed, a very short hand cycle maybe required.
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December 27, 2008
It sounds like you are buffing before the surface has been brought to the proper finish.
Remember that each step to a finer grit should only happen after the current grit has removed all scratches left by the proceeding process. Moving prematurely will result in both taking a long time to polish, and reducing the quality of the finish.
Any time a step takes too long, it is probably because you didn't take long enough on the previous step(s.)
Check your surface under a 10-20x magnifier and choose the grit which is sized one size smaller than the largest scratches you see.
Any time it seems to take too long, try stepping back one or two levels of grit.
There really is no way to get a better surface finish I know of, chemical polishing methods depend upon the mechanical surface to be smooth first.
- Menomonie, Wisconsin