Most Common Buffing Polishing Error:

This cannot be stressed enough. When trying to achieve a fine or polished surface finish you work in stages. Do not move on to the next stage until you are completely finished with the current stage. If you skip steps or do not completely finish each then you either pay for it with extra labor or end up with a poor job. Machinery can speed up the process but replaces steps in the processes at the cost of efficiency and wear and tear on the equipment.

Common Finishing Stages:

  • Chiseling / Forging / Casting
  • Roughing with rasp
  • Removing rasp marks with bastard file
  • Sanding out file marks with 80 to 180 grit cloth abrasive
  • Removing heavy sanding marks with 240 to 320 grit wet-or-dry
  • Finishing with 400 to 600 grit
  • Buffing with Tripoli, Emery or White - OR polishing with rubbing compound
  • Buffing with Rouge
  • Wax
  • Copyright © 1998 by Jock Dempsey, DEMPSEY'S FORGE