polished vs. not

[Troy Scott]

Folks, I've finally learned to polish bronze!

<a href="http://s354.photobucket.com/albums/r439 ... CN1540.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i354.photobucket.com/albums/r439 ... CN1540.jpg" border="0" alt="polished vs. not"></a>

[tartansailor]

Nice, very nice.

Tried to polish a bronze prop, and concluded that more aggressive
compound (s) was needed.
Care to recommend?

Dick

[Sea Hunt]

Troy:

What did you use How did you do it Details, man, details

[Troy Scott]

Dick and Tadpole,

First, I like to use glass bead blasting to remove the crud and the hard oxide layer. If the part was previously polished, a large cotton high-speed wheel with brown or white wax sticks will work well. If the part is sand-cast and has never been polished, you might want to start with a sisal wheel and one of the coarser wax sticks. Be careful with the sisal wheel, as it's easy to remove too much material. I like the cotton wheels and the milder sticks. I'm not trying to smooth any parts that were not previously (over 20 years ago) polished. I'm just doing restoration work. You can finish up with Flitz or even jeweler's rouge.

[barfwinkle]

Hey Troy can I send you mine

Fair, albeit COLD, Winds

[Sea Hunt]

"Wow" is right I did not understand most of what you did Troy.

They only two words I recognized and understood were "sisal wheel". They have been used in cleaning rusted guns/pistols/rifles, etc. that have seen too much salt water. Don't ask how I know this. Yet another embarrassing story in a long and tortured history of embarrassments.

The purpose of "white wax sticks" is to .............................

Please understand. As anyone who knows me will readily attest, I am honestly dumber than dirt. Simple words. Short sentences. Large pictures. These are the limits of my comprehension.

This entire week we will experience night time lows of 34-36 degrees. Can anyone send us wool "blankies"

[Troy Scott]

Sea Hunt,
Well, here in South Mississippi, we're having rare very cold (for us) temps and snow flurries. It will be 20 tonight, and 15 later in the week. We're busy wrapping pipes.

The wax sticks are sold with the polishing wheels. They contain polishing grit. The sticks are color-coded for severity of the cut. The more severe compounds are used with rougher wheels. the softer compounds are used with cotton wheels. As the wheel is spinning, you touch the stick to the wheel to transfer some of the polish-filled wax to the wheel. Then you use the still-spinning wheel to polish the work. Occasionally you have to add more wax. Sometimes the wheel will get "loaded up" and almost solid, in which case it doesn't work well, in which case you hold the "comb" to the spinning wheel to break up the mess.

Hope this helps. There's no substitute for just getting in there and doing it. That's what I had to do.

[jim trandel]

You have done an excellent job on the brass! The glass bead process is a great idea but how and where did you find out about this glass bead service?

I know that casting-sand leaves a pitted look. I have cut away this roughness with custom made scrapers made from old custom-ground and contoured files. Brasss is soft and cuts well. Its hard work, but the result is quite satisfying as you know.

[Michael Heintz]

Troy,

Fantastic job and your technique is top notch.......however I prefer the old patina bronze........maybe I'm just lazy

[Oswego John]

To polish, or not to polish? That is the question.

Troy, simply beautiful.

Michael, I, too, know where you are coming from.

As an artist realizes, some work with bold strokes, others with delicate precision.

Some like vivid colors while others prefer pastels.

Some die for chocolate while many go for plain vanilla. Me, I dig tutti frutti.

In this amazing, wonderful world, "To each, his own" still applies.

Variation is the seasoning of life.

Art lies in the eye of the beholder.

O J
PS: I've got lots of green on my yacht. I should talk.

[Michael Heintz]

Well said my friend!!!!!!!

Oj you show wisdom beyond your years

Each to their own indeed!!!!

[Jim Davis]

I was once told there are only two things aboard that should be polished, the bell and the saluting cannon.

[Troy Scott]

Jim T,

I didn't use a blasting service. I bought a used blasting cabinet and three kinds of media before I found the combination of media, nozzle and pressure that would clean the crud without damaging the bronze.

All,

I very much like a nice, smooth dark brown protective patina on exterior bronze. I can't stand the look or the feel of cruddy, grainy green bronze. I do like for all the brass and bronze on the INSIDE to be shiny and clean. I DON'T want to do a lot of maintenance. That's the reason for using the best clear coat I can find for the interior brass and bronze. I will let the exterior bronze turn brown. I still have to clean it and polish it before reinstalling it. I didn't remove the hardware just to polish it. I removed it because it is time to paint, varnish, re-bed, etc., etc.. The bronze was really cruddy and there were leaks. There is no way to do an incomplete job on all this once-polished bronze. I just have to restore it to the way it was when the boat was new before I can reinstall it. Then nature can take her course, but AFTER I've taken lots of photos with everything shiny.

Some folks like grey teak and green bronze. That's fine. I don't.

[Steve Laume]

Troy, you did an amazing job on your bronze cleats!!!

Now you have a standard to keep with all the rest of the hardware you poor soul. I too have polished everything that I have taken off to rebed and it doesn't take too long until it returns to a nice even patina.

I do buff my bell on an annual basis. I took off all of the original reading lights and buffed them a few years ago. They were a huge pain in the arss to do with all the little parts. They had cracks in the bells and some other problems so they have been replaced but you might have inspired me to do the domes.

No offense to others but I believe Troy will have the cleanest most well equipped CD-36 ever to exist. The Cape Dory Association should begin taking collections now, before he finishes, so that his boat can be placed in a permanent museum collection, with a controlled environment, before he has a chance to put it in that nasty salt water.

Polishing brass or bronze is the easy part. Keeping it polished is tough.

At this point I just want my stainless to be shiny, Steve.

[Michael Abramson]

The part that Troy does not detail is that polishing/buffing are usually done on dedicated equipment that is commonly found in automotive workshops, such as the buffing motor. These turn at a slower speed than similar grinders and have longer external shafts for access of the parts.

See http://www.eastwood.com/eastwood-1-3-hp-buff-motor.html

Then you can look at all the various buffing compounds etc., some of which Troy has mentioned above.

I'm sure it can also be done with an electric drill conversion, but be prepared for it to take forever.

Hope this helps.

Michael