Polishing 6061

[lomahoney]

The Caswell support folks suggested I post this here for some extra input. I am hand polishing 1" diameter 6061 aluminum turnings. I began with sisal wheels and emery to clean up and polish. The resultant finish was very rough. It seemed to highlight all the surface imperfections, and in some cases, produce surface pits. It was my first time using sisal/emery.

Previously, I had only used a spiral wound wheel with tripoli to bring out a lustrous shine on 6061. What am I doing wrong? any suggestions?

Larry
New Orleans

[customandsound]

i don't use black /sisal any more ... i use black on a sprial and i get a better cut and a quicker shine .. i found that the sisal dose tear up the metal and they are great for removing blue from chrome pipes ... but give the black on a sprial a shot .. i am sure you will like the out come you see . i do the cut and i color pass after i get a nice cut.. then i follow it up with brown/sprial green/cotton or a sprial then to bing out the shine i it it with white on loose cotton and if you want to get a mirror finish hit it with red on loose cotton

[Shawn60]

I second the emery on a spiral, had the same problems with aluminum pieces on my MC.

[customandsound]

sisal are good to use don't get me wrong .. but when it come's to soft metal they are to harsh ...

[skiddz]

Sisal should be used on steel, not aluminum. Aluminum is too soft for the aggressive nature of a sisal wheel..

[lomahoney]

Sisal vs. Spiral on Aluminum

Okay, it sounds as if I got TOO aggressive with emery and sisal on 6061 aluminum. I'll save the sisal wheels for the 12L14, and just use emery+spiral wound, progressing to tripoli+spiral wound.

Thanks everyone!

LarryO
New Orleans