Metal finishing Q&As since 1989
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Mirror finishing small detailed 304 or 316 stainless steel parts
I am looking for a better way to obtain a mirror finish on small (around 2" - 2.5" sq) parts. They are laser cut out of 14 ga 304 or 316 2B stainless with many internal & external contours. Heat, blisters on fingers, & clean up along with inability to do mass production are all issues with how I'm doing them now. My current process includes multiple steps using different buffing wheels & compounds & polishing them one at a time. Then I use alcohol with Q-tip [affil links] & toothpicks to clean all the excess compound off them. I would like to take a little less hands on approach & be able to increase production while not having to outsource. Is tumbling an option & if so what medias / processes would work best. Would I need to support them individually to keep them from scratching each other? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
John Bussenproduct designer - Lincoln, Nebraska, USA
September 29, 2009
The Pink Stuff
on
eBay
or
Amazon
(affil links)
This probably in no way helps you because you have probably figured it out for yourself but the best polish I have ever used for polishing stainless to a mirror finish is the The Pink Stuff [on eBay or Amazon] that is made by Matchless Metal Polish. If you ever find a way to polish small oddly shaped parts to a mirror finish without back breaking, finger burning, part launching, dimension altering, hardness altering, edge rounding, hole washing operator cussing FILTHY work, PLEASE call me! Rod
Rod Henrickson
gunsmith - Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
October 1, 2009
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Normally, your question can be answered in a short sentence or two. In this case that is not possible because of so many other unknowns. It is probably better to send some sample parts to someone in the surface finishing business, such as us, along with an acceptable part to try to match your surface requirements. They will develop a process for you and make recommendations for your own in house production.  AF Kenton retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania October 2, 2009 I will not bet a cheap cup of coffee on it, but I would look into electropolish. It does have its problems. James Watts- Navarre, Florida October 3, 2009 |
You might want to consider buy mirror polished stainless steel sheets and then laser cutting them. It could save you all the problems with polishing the parts.
Michael Liu Taylor
specialty stainless steel distributor - Dallas, Texas
October 28, 2009
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