Primarily Petroliana Shop Talk Forums Shop Talk Petroliana Forums General Petroliana Discussion Brass parts polisher???

Could anyone tell me what I need to do to get the professional polish job on brass pieces such as dispenser nozzles or other pump pieces? A wire wheel takes all the gunk off and polishs it some but I'm looking for a very shiny looking polish job. Any tips or ideas for equiptment???
Thanks---KEVIN

Baldor sells very nice but expensive polisher/buffers.
If you have a Harbor Freight store they sell a 8 inch grinder/buffer that is about 49.00 on sale. That is exactly what I bought in 3/4 HP. The grinder side you take off the grinding wheel and put on the spiral buff wheel for high luster. The opposite side will have the sewn buff for cutting. I bought the polishing rouge at a auto swap meet as well as the good buffing wheels. Eastwood also sells the rouge and buffing wheels.
As with anything the preparation is what makes the piece showy.
Having said all of that, you can get by with a dremel and small buffs in a drill. But ALOT more work.

Larry

go to harbor freight on the net and put this item number (94327-6vga) in and you will see the unit I mentioned. It is chinese and underpowered but I have polished LOTS of parts cheaply

For small parts...screws, bolts, pins, I use a reloading brass polishing tub and corncob media. Toss 'em in and come back in a few hours...no fuss!!!
Have burned up 3 of the harbor freight 3/4 HP buffers, but I cannot justify spending many hundreds of dollars on a baldor when I will use it just a few times a year.

Add a pc of pipe to the nozzle for leverage & have good health insurance ! If the nozzle gets in a bind, your going to need a Dr.
BE CAREFULL
db

You can buy the Chinese buffers if you want - but there is no substitute for a good buffing set-up.

I bought a nice 3/4 HP Baldor, a stand, and all the wheels/compounds I needed to do Brass, Stainless Steel, Aluminum and Plexiglas a number of years ago. Even with the limited polishing I do, it's paid for itself.

And I'm just now getting to where I need to re-order compound and some new wheels.

Later . . .

Jim

I send all my stuff to a friend who does metal polishing, the price isnt bad and he will clearcoat all aluminum and brass...he aslo does cast iron repair. I even had him polish and gold plate some parlor stove parts.

Let me know if you need his contact info. I'm sure if you email him some pics he can shoot you a price.

Almost all shops that do metal plating will polish for you - they have all the right tools for the job because they have to polish anyway.


Travis
Topeka, Kansas

I have a baldor 333b beautiful machine

ward

Here is another source, Northern Tool. Purchased my sandblaster from them.

http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/NTESearch?storeId=6970&N=0&Ntk=All&Ntt=buffer&Nty=1&D=buffer&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Dx=mode+matchallpartial

My thank you post got lost in the transition phase on the forumso this is a repost! I really appreciate all the info you guys have given me and now I'm doing my research! I have a lot of calls to make today and some computer searches but it looks like I'll be able to get the kind & type of equiptment that I need. Using it correctly will be another story but I will post again after I get set up. Thanks again----KEVIN

Keven, Just remember the actual polishing should not take long if the piece is prepped right. I am doing a brass nozzle now. The first step I take is grinding if necessary, then I go to 80 grit on a D.A.. Dremel in tight areas, then I go finer and finer with sandpaper. I do not polish until I am down to at 'least' 400 grit. Its all in the prep.

Larry

Kevin,
Since you are in the middle of nowhere you most likely don't the likes of Harbor Freight, etc. You can get a good feel for the current price by checking out web sites like, Grainger, Travers Tool, McMaster-Carr and MSC Industrial Supply.
I have one of the Harbor Freight grinders I use for real dirty work, you can't put much of a load on them or they stop. My Craftsman will buff circles around the Harbor machine.
Spend the money for a good machine, in the long run you will be happy you did.
Also, get yourself a shop coat or apron.

Kevin, before you buy something "cheap". Look at whats in your local pawnshop or used tool shop. With the economy going even further south, a lot of people need cash so tools they don't use go first. I know my local used tool shop now has some great grinders and such in "stock". Might get a great item for even less than at the 'cut-rate" places.