Thread: tiny scratches
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Old 04-20-2006, 04:38 AM
thesound thesound is offline
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Default Re: tiny scratches

Quote:
Originally Posted by tpeartit
seems like its the wheels making the little scratches could that be it i used a spiral and a loose sewn i played around pressure and speeds oh the wheels were on an adjustable speed angle grinder i heard of using some polish and fine steel wool do u think that could help

Wouldn't hurt to try, because if it ends up scratching the surface more it can always just be buffed again. Honestly though, if that were all that was necessary I think #8 grade finishes would be the rule rather than the exception.

I'll admit that even the microfiber buff idea is probably going to have marginal results, and any improvement that it might make is going to require that the sanding stage of the process be extended from a 600 grit finish to more like a 2,000 grit finish. Just a hunch, but I don't see a microfiber cloth having enough grunt to wipe out 600 grit scratches with emery, but I could be wrong.

In all honestly, I think the "final process" that that article is talking about to get the Asian #8 finish involves India Ink. I've played with India Ink briefly, and it is extremely sensitive to friction. Any high speed rotational tool is out of the question with this stuff because the air given off by the wheel and the friction produced causes it to dry in a matter of seconds. The impressions that I came away with from the little amount of experimentation I did with it are: any complex shapes will necessitate that the ink be applied by hand to cut down on friction losses,(unless you have a multi-axis CNC machine at your disposal), and whatever "device" being used in place of a buff must be both smooth, flexible, and somewhat solid. I believe the conditions for applying the ink are going to have to be good enough that the ink can constantly be refreshed with moisture during the working phase AND whatever substrate being utilized to work the ink into the surface of the part can in no way leave any type of footprint of it's own. Without some type of purpose-built equipment designed to accomodate these conditions, the process will be next to impossible to achieve any noticeable improvements over standard buffing methods.

Just my $.02
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