Loading loose cotton wheels

[easleysp]

The loose cotton wheels don't look like they are getting all that much compound. After using it for a while and shutting it off, only part of the wheel had turned black. The whole time I was using it, the face of the wheel stayed fluffy, like I just raked it. Is this normal for this type wheel? Thanks for any comments.

Steve

[pickleboy]

mine looks fluffy when i start but as you use it more it will load better. what compound are you using on the loose? if white one way to tell if it is loading is when you first hit the part with the wheel it will leave coumpond on the part, as the wheel and part heats up it will draw it back off the part and get shiny

[easleysp]

I'm using white compound so far, waiting on red to get here in the next day or two. When I load the wheel up and make the first pass I can see a powder, compound I assume, collect on the part and as you said the wheel picks it back up. The only issue I have is there seems to be more scratches on the part after using the loose cotton/white combo than there was after the previous steps. I haven't raked the wheel because I thought I read on here it tears them up too much, is this correct? I did have good results with the loose cotton/white on stainless. At first I was only trying a color motion, then went to a cut motion and it seemed to work better. Could it be that I'm not using enough pressure with the color motion? As always, one wheel, one compound, and the others are getting their own rake as needed. Thanks for the reply.

Steve

[pickleboy]

ok first let e say i am no expert i have only been doing polishing for about 2 months. second what metal are you working on. if alum. it is always hard to get the final scratches out. a lot of factors come into play, is it cast, billet, structural etc;and please descibe your process. 3rd i dont rake the loose cotton the same way(hacksaw blade) as i do the other wheels i use a screwdriver and real light touch. if you are loading the wheel right it will start to color across the face over time but when you are done with each pass/session it will still look fluffy, if not if it looks smooth it is overloaded. as for pressure i do apply a good amount of pressure, enough to flare the wheel. that is when the white copound starts to stick to the part in small black streaks. as for the scratching more it is possible that too light of pressure is causing it due to not removing the metal as the wheel spins but it getting stuck in the compound. from what i have learned here and myself polishing consist of pressure as well as heat to work correctly, remember the compound is grease based and needs to melt. one last thing, as for the cut/color motion i use both at the same time in the first and second stage of work but when i get to the white on loose i work the part back and forth from left to right more than up and down and i seem to get less swirl/scratches. hope this helps and look foward to seeing the part when finished in the album.

[easleysp]

I posted a couple of pic's of some cast aluminum parts off my motorcycle. Not exactly large projects, but you gotta start some where, right? I've also been working on the exhaust cans I will post a few pic's of them soon. I don't think I was overloading the wheels, they have stayed nice and fluffy since the start. Not enough pressure to melt the compound. One thing I've noticed with both the stainless and aluminum parts that are round (tubular shaped) is buffing lengthwise looks much better than if I were to buff around them. Not sure if that's the correct method, but it's working for me. My thinking was to buff around the part to avoid any flat spots. Thanks for the advice.

Steve

[pickleboy]

you are correct about round parts. my experience has shown the same thing,when i started on the brass tube spouts i posted, going only around the part, and moving down going around again, i actually found if the pressure used was a little different it would leave ridge lines. so now i work it long ways. the pics look great bro. keep up the great work.

[easleysp]

Thanks, I'm headed out to work on the bike so hopefully I'll get a shot of the exhaust to post. I tried to post one of the buffer I made in my personal album, but it was too large. I'll have to do some resizing and try again.

Steve