how to get a nice satin finish???? help

what is the best way yo get a nice satin finish on some thing ... i was going to sand blast it with fine sand .. but i think it may be to much for it .. i got a job and that is what the guy wants ...... any ideas ?

[etyrrany]

Hi,

Blasting it with fine sand might still be to agressive like you mentioned. I know that blasting it with baking soda gives a nice satin finish. I have never tried this though.

Another idea would be to put it into a tumbler used for polishing. Just take out the piece half way through the cycle.

etyrrany

i sand blasted it with fine and i got a dull look to it ,,i will try to rig up a tumbler out of a cement mixer ....

[mtlgd]

Somewhere, either on this board or in the manual (buffing guide?) I've read that a Satin finish is achieved with glass bead. I haven't verified this yet though.

[mtlgd]

A "Glassed" (glass bead, med grit) finish does indeed leave a very nice Satin finish (Nickel on Aluminum).

[Halliwell1]

I have seen glass beed produce a dull gray on metal

i ended up on doing a full polishe for my customer ... i got the satin look by sand blasting then buffing with green on a sprial ... it was not right so i talk him in to the high luster look for the same price !!!!!!!!thanks for the info and i am going to try the glass bead ...

[Highlander]

I use glass beads in my blast cabinet and it produces a very nice satin finish. This also is a good base to start polishing with.

[Tito]

what grit of glass beads are you using?

[kabal]

Have you looked into any chemical etchants?

Chemical is the only way to get a complete even etching over the whole part.