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Mass Polishing stainless forgings to mirror finish

September 27, 2011

Hello all,
I am looking for a polishing process to finish multiple forged stainless parts to a mirror polish using a tumbler. I have been finishing large forgings by sandblasting and surface-finishing with pneumatic tools, but this is obviously not feasible on multiple small parts. Assuming the parts are descaled and sand-blasted, what kind of tumbling media should I use? The ceramic cones and rods I have been using produce a nice finish, but not the high sheen/mirror polish I am after.
Many thanks,

Arnon

Arnon Kartmazov
metalworker/business owner - Portland, Oregon, USA

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#1 If you want to produce a shine and reduce costs, DO NOT SANDBLAST PARTS FIRST. #2 Your ceramic media you will still need the ceramic media to improve your surface profile. If you can achieve an 18-20 RMS you can consider either a wet burnishing process or dry media. Steel or porcelain media with a good burnishing compound will improve the appearance of the part but will not significantly improve the RMS. A treated dry organic polishing media will produce a smoother, shinier part but may take up to 24 hrs vs 1 hr for a wet process.

AF Kenton
retired business owner - Hatboro, Pennsylvania
October 2, 2011