polishing thin sheet metal

[Rasper]

I need to polish some 24 ga. (.025) stainless My concern is the heat generated by standard buffing practices. I do not want any heat generated waviness in the finished product. Are there any liquid, or water based, products that I can use on this? I am going to wet sand it to keep it cool, and can go all the way down to 1200 grit paper, which is comparable to the cut of tripoli. I have used automotive comounds in the past, but they are designed for paint and have been difficult to get to a perfect shine on bare metal.

Richard

[jrow]

Rasper,

What are you polishing? If it's flat sheet I'd use double faced tape and tape it on something flat and go from there. Don't know what equipment you are using to polish with. I would try using a 4" sewn buff with some emery compound. Use an electric drill motor, keep the the buff moving and you shouldn't burn the SS. Try the emery before you try sanding the SS, you may not need to sand if there aren't to many scratches. Next use some SS compound then go to white.

John

[Rasper]

Thank you John.

I am polishing a sculpture piece. It' a pair of stainless high heel shoes. The heels are formed of the 24 ga. sheet.

Richard

[jrow]

Rasper,

Being that you have a geometrical form, one thing I would be cautions about would be putting to much pressure on the heel and bending it!
Be cautious of that!
Post some pictures when you can.

John