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Metal finishing in vibratory

2006

Sir,
I am Ch Tariq Shabbir from PLUS engineering Pakistan. Sir, we are textile spare parts manufacturer; we make parts in alloy and carbon steel above 55 hardness. Last process is finishing; after grinding we use a rolling drum with ceramic media with kerosene oil; it works well but it's result is not so white -- it gives gray shade.
We also use vibratory for this purpose but the problem is media. What media should we use, and what chemical is used for it? We use shot blast media with soap and also with diesel and suruf but it's result not so good, we need metal finish without any coating but same as dark chrome shade.
So please guide us what type of media we use and what chemical we use for this purpose remember we have 18 * 12 inch wide and 9 inch depth vibratory and 4 rolling drums.
Can we do same vibratory job in rolling drum?
What chemical I use for it?
Is soap better for it?
Sir, give your good suggestion as soon as possible.
With best regards,
Tariq Shabbir

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You've got a couple of problems and there is no short answer. I think you need to go back to the basics. Ferrous metals use ceramic media and non-ferrous plastic for deburring and surface finishing. Steel and porcelain for burnishing. Solvents will work but are not good for clean parts. If you don't have access to deburring compound, I'd suggest a good dish washing soap.

AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
2006