brown compound

[clockman]

i get a good shine with the emery but when i go to brown the results go down hill, could i be hitting it to ard with the brown? it looks like my finish gets very rough and dull and wavy with tthe brown.

[easleysp]

I take it you are buffing aluminum? I had the same problem, so I went from spiral/emery straight to loose cotton/white. Now I've been using just the spiral/emery because I was putting scratches back in with the white compound. The best part I've turned out was with spiral/emery and nothing else. I still use the white on stainless though, it seems to work good on it.

Steve

[pickleboy]

i agree with "easleysp" i also no longer use brown on alum. i found the same thing happening to me. i still use white but with very little pressure and very light load of white. i use a vented wheel and can almost always get the shine i want from black.

[fizlfry]

Vented wheels?

i use a vented wheel and can almost always get the shine i want from black.

What is this vented wheel you are referring too? I also cant believe you guys actually got a good shine with just black? I must be doing something completely wrong! I use the spiral/black, spiral/brown, but the scratches come when I do white...
It must have something to do with the RPMs.... I noticed the brown got a lot better when I sped up the drill..

Thanks again guys as always...

[pickleboy]

the vented wheels are pleated so the face is rippled,(check caswell's site they have them). it is said to be cooler running and holds compound better. it came with the machine when i got it. its true i get a great shine with the black, as for how, all i can tell you is it starts out hazy when i use the cut motion(wheel spinning towards me part on bottom of wheel working upwards to me) then i switch to a side to side motion(move part left to right and from bottom of part to top (color motion) keep in mind that pressure and heat play important roles in the finish you get. try to press harder or less and change the movement you use. as for the drill i do not use one yet as i got a stand buffing machine(1.5hp,3600rpm). as for the scratches are the parts alum? if so dont feel bad i have not done a perfect scratch free part yet, and there are many posts here about this problem. when i say that i mean it has micro scratches when held in bright light. this is what all of us battle. also remember to rake the wheel often. if it starts to shine on the face it is loaded and needs to be raked. hope this is helpful and as always best of luck bro.

[mpierich]

When I started out I always kept to the routine, emery, brown then white etc. But these guys are right, sometimes the emery is all you need. Whatever works is what you do.

I will say that if you go straight to brown without using the emery at all (that is if it's unecessary), the brown might work better on its own.

Don't be afraid to start all over again on a piece. It's a pain, but spending time getting your technique right will save you hours and hours down the road.

[chrisk]

I tend to use black on sisal then black on one of caswell's finger buffs (orange or soft) and it comes up a treat ALso those finger buffs are very thin and get into corners nicely as they 'crush' down a bit. Brown dosn't really do much after that so I go over with white on a nice soft loose wheel.

[customandsound]

myself tossed the brown compound in the trash ...

Black on a sprial and you get a way better shine. Then i hit is with white on a a sprial clean then coat with wax ...