Simichrome Polish for finish on ceramic disk

[monk]

Thank You! Very interesting, it's all about the details hah!

"fullers earth" or diatomaceous earth is about the same. diatoms are quite small and have silaceous shells.

 

[Jim gordon]

Thank you, I've used it for 40yrs ,yet I don't really know much about it either.
I use it to polish just about everything for all these years, and can't tell anyone much, except it will polish just about anything, it's my 'go to'
For just about everything that can be polished.
Simichrome doesn't list it's contents. I can only guess, it will polish an HSS.
carbide, i don't know. I don't think I own a carbide. I'll look.
Thank you ,jim

 

[Jim gordon]

I have 3 c-max carbide #50 round. Their footprint is so small I really don't think
I could come to any conclusion ,with my limited experience in this sport,
We really need more experienced to evaluate.
I'm still stropping on the leather with the diamond spray, after disking with simichrome paste.
( haven't given that up!)
I'm generous with the simichrome on the disc, mostly cause I've got a big can,and
It's kind'a 'liberating' in a strange way! (More is always better, right?)
And diamond powder is crazy expensive.
And of course I'm generous with the alcohol too.(sqweez bottle on the disc) (I'm a coffee drinker!)
Just in case you LOL.
I change directions a couple of times, sometimes, ,,,and that's about it.
Their really isn't anything much different, except 'simichrome' might eat holes in your clothes, so,,,think about that.
Jim

 

[Jim gordon]

Now, for what it's worth, I'm sharing information here about ultra high luster.
Tin Oxide, and Micro-Gloss 'may' prove to be useful on Face and heels.
I Haven't tried them 'yet'.
I'm sticking my neck out here a little, however these two products 'might' be
Worth investigating.
They are both ultra fine abrasives, and 'no' ,they do not state grain size.
Use water to make paste with Tin Oxide powder.
Propylene Glycol is a wetting agent(on right),used in lieu of water.
Tin Oxide is obtained from Dental lab suppliers like 'Pearson dental'
800-535-4535.
Micro-Gloss, can be obtained from 'Spruce aircraft supply'.
I would rinse ,wipe disc, apply paste generously,supplement with alcohol.
I'm only stating an opinion, I have not tried them yet.
I'm merely sharing some of my past experiance with you.
I think they may be worth investigation.
Sincerely, jim Propylene Glycol is a wetting agent,it does not dry quickly, stays wet longer, a great suspension liquid for mixing a paste. I use it frequently in my work.

 

[Roger Bleile]

At my church, we use a paste polish called Wenol. I think it is very similar to Semichrome because it is pink and smells similar. It has very positive reviews but, of course not for our purpose of polishing gravers.
Amazon.com: Wenol Metal Polish 100ml : Health & Household

 

[Jim gordon]

At my church, we use a paste polish called Wenol. I think it is very similar to Semichrome because it is pink and smells similar. It has very positive reviews but, of course not for our purpose of polishing gravers.
Amazon.com: Wenol Metal Polish 100ml : Health & Household

Thanks Roger!
Wenol metal polish, that's 10!
Thanks again Roger, I will check it out.
Sincerely ,Jim

 

[Jim gordon]

Thanks Roger!
Wenol metal polish, that's 10!
Thanks again Roger, I will check it out.
Sincerely ,Jim

'WENOL' looks promising! Read some reviews on Amazon.
Roger, if you have a power hone ,by all means give it a try.
Thank you for responding Roger!
If anyone has Wenol paste ,by all means ,try it.

I tried 'Micro-Gloss' today on an HSS flat 'Heel' and it seemed to work great,
I had to turn power hone on, Manual short strokes was not effective.
With wheel running it works. About 30sec -or so.
I was generous with paste on wheel!
I'm still stropping on leather with Diamond spray Prior to cutting.


The disc is distinctively easier to clean after polishing with Simichrome
I was delighted with that, that is a very positive turn of events. The dark iron oxide seems to stay with paste 'on' the surface of the disc, rather than 'in' the surface of the disc with Diamond spray.
'Simichrome' may be much kinder to the ceramic disc than Diamond spray.
I sprayed it with Kaboom, and the dark oxide wiped off without the usual scrubbing. That is a very positive aspect.(thus far)

ROGER ,I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you ,it is an honor to have you respond to My thread, you obviously are well versed in this subject.
I am very new to it, and I do enjoy the art.
A very great honor to you and yours, and I wish health, happiness and peace to
You and yours.
Very Sincerely, Jim Gordon

 

[Jim gordon]

Thanks Roger!
Wenol metal polish, that's 10!
Thanks again Roger, I will check it out.
Sincerely ,Jim

At my church, we use a paste polish called Wenol. I think it is very similar to Semichrome because it is pink and smells similar. It has very positive reviews but, of course not for our purpose of polishing gravers.
Amazon.com: Wenol Metal Polish 100ml : Health & Household

Roger, thank you for response, I am honored by your answer to me at the 'Cafe'
I am grateful! I wish you and yours the best.
Very respectfully yours, Jim

 

[Jim gordon]

These are polishing compounds that have used for many years.
They come from Yates/Motloid Corp. 'Black is very aggressive'
The 'Green' will polish chromium to a high luster.
The Felt wheels are 'Grobet USA' 1"dia. Soft,med, hard. Mounted on 5/32" HP mandrel.
I use Red-Wing lathes in my lab, they are not high speed. However I am fairly confident that the 'Green' would polish a HSS ,HEEL to a high luster 'after disking' on a 1" felt wheel, soft or. hard. I would think a re-disc on face with Micro- Gloss,(keep in mind Micro-Gloss will polish glass as will Tin Oxide) I have not tried this, and I may be wrong.The 'HSS' might be inside the 'Bubble' of these compounds.. One would not consider this approach normally, however counter-intuitive actions sometime surprise us.
I always soak the 'Felt' wheel in water prior to use with Micro-Gloss or Tin Oxide.
This is an essential step, use 'high speed',if you can.
Mix Propylene Glycol 20% to Distilled water for longer life water.

The white Motloid polish on the right is a dual action polish designed to polish both acrylic and metal ,it is a mild abrasive, and is very effective on delicate items you wish to approach with caution. I advise the use of a 'soft bristle'
Rotory brush with a light bouncing motion, best cleaned with a 'Steamer' short burst, finish with alcohol.

These compounds are very effective and perform fairly well, I have tried many over the years.
I always seem to return to these products.
Jim

 

[Jim gordon]

This is 2×2" Brass plate that I polished to a mirror finish with Motloid 'black'
And a large muslin wheel on a Redwing lathe, I pressed them on my Bonny Doon
Press at 6000lb ,(4000 will do,,,, it's fun) .

I used them on a decorative fence in our garden.
This is a left over plate shown, that has not been pressed. The pressing die is a 3"or 4" Radius ( I think).
The 'welding shop' rigged a push button 'pig tail' so I could focus conveinently
On the PSI guage while in use. This 'Press' has been a great source of fun!
I won't stray to far from Engraving today.
I have messed around with the 'HSS' gravers enough now to say they are workable with the tools I use in my lab. I can grind them ,shape them,modify them,and they respond well.
Thank you! 'Farmer 57' for the tip on Shauer/Bridge Enamels,I'm trial firing them now!
Jim

 

[Jim gordon]

Today I polished away the manufacture witness striations ,completely away with
MOTLOID Green, and buffed to a mirror finish with Micro-Gloss on a wet Felt Wheel. Absolutely, positively, yes. For an HSS QC-3 ONGLETTE.

It has occurred to me today, that their are Telescope Hobbiest that enjoy grinding their own lense's for their home built telescopes, their may be a family of abrasives that might be worth investigating as well ,for use on the 'power hone' for our purposes. I have read a little about it in Astronomy Magazine. I mention it only as a thought, it 'may' be worthy of further investigation,as we are kind'a sort'a do'n the same thing.
Here are two dead soldiers (empty) they also performed very well.
I'm sure you've seen these before. Glass grinding is done with 'Cerium Oxide'. I have 1lb in my cabinet ,it's from Johnson Brothers lapidary, 714-771-7007 It came from 'Rio Grande'. Has anyone had experiance with Cerium Oxide?
I will say, it is extremely fine.it doesn't state grit size.
I wonder if that's what might be in the Micro-Gloss, or perhaps also in the Simichrome.It is truly superfine.

 

[farmer57]

Thank you! 'Farmer 57' for the tip on Shauer/Bridge Enamels,I'm trial firing them now!
Jim

Curious to hear your results with Schauer and Milton Bridge enamels. I found MB transparents needed to be fired at higher temps but Schauer is same as most (around 1450).

 

[Jim gordon]

I am very grateful for the reference!, I'm always up for new things, 1450 ls perfect for this Enamel.Hold is two min. Or so, the Fine silver still distorts the purples however I may give the Ninomiyas a try as well!

 

[farmer57]

Jim,
I am sure you know all this but - just in case - make sure that your silver is as clean as possible prior to first layer of enamel. My routine is quick dip in pickle followed by neutralizer (baking soda solution), then running water rinse and either fiberglass brush under running water or fine brass brush with dishwasher soap solution (pretty much Phil Barnes's treatment) and rinse, wipe with lint free cloth or top of the kiln for few minutes. The silver is gleaming and shiny, I found that if it is white-ish and matte - colours will not be as nice as they can be and react more.
I wash the enamels a lot, it can make very big difference with transparents. I have had good luck and very little silver reaction from the following Ninomiyas violets and purples: N73, N74, N76, N77 and L90. That's with no flux undercoating. I wash all these very well and watch my firing times and much rather underfine and place it back in the kiln..
Good luck.

 

[Jim gordon]

Jim,
I am sure you know all this but - just in case - make sure that your silver is as clean as possible prior to first layer of enamel. My routine is quick dip in pickle followed by neutralizer (baking soda solution), then running water rinse and either fiberglass brush under running water or fine brass brush with dishwasher soap solution (pretty much Phil Barnes's treatment) and rinse, wipe with lint free cloth or top of the kiln for few minutes. The silver is gleaming and shiny, I found that if it is white-ish and matte - colours will not be as nice as they can be and react more.
I wash the enamels a lot, it can make very big difference with transparents. I have had good luck and very little silver reaction from the following Ninomiyas violets and purples: N73, N74, N76, N77 and L90. That's with no flux undercoating. I wash all these very well and watch my firing times and much rather underfine and place it back in the kiln..
Good luck.

Thank you for the tip! I will try it, I like the 'Barnes' approach, fiberglass brushes are crazy expensive wheeeew! My trial fire was on a Falcon head.
I have plenty heads ,extra for that.
Once heard a lady on Cool Tools talking about 'silver salts' affecting enamels,first time I ever heard of silver salts!
Very sincerely, jim (silver salts,just when you thunk,who new)

 

[farmer57]

You're welcome. Exactly, the "silver salts" can react with certain enamel colours (it depends which metal oxides or salts are used to give enamel the particular colour). Generally speaking, blues and greens are the most forgiving. If fired directly on silver (no flux or other undercoat) - whites, reds, oranges, yellows and pinks are the most prone to reacting. So you want to source the least reactive colours and that involves many trials with different manufacturers but there are very few pinks and reds which are non reactive. Every enameler has slightly different procedure and same colours might not behave the same for everyone. It is hard to imagine but that is the reality of enamelling.

I've struggled to find white which will not react to silver at all - got a couple whites from WG Ball which are in development stages - one works better than the other but not always. WG Ball make and sell lead free enamel and they are nice people to deal with, they do have some nice purple/violets as well so you might even want to try some of theirs. Their sample size orders are very well priced too.

 

[Jim gordon]

You're welcome. Exactly, the "silver salts" can react with certain enamel colours (it depends which metal oxides or salts are used to give enamel the particular colour). Generally speaking, blues and greens are the most forgiving. If fired directly on silver (no flux or other undercoat) - whites, reds, oranges, yellows and pinks are the most prone to reacting. So you want to source the least reactive colours and that involves many trials with different manufacturers but there are very few pinks and reds which are non reactive. Every enameler has slightly different procedure and same colours might not behave the same for everyone. It is hard to imagine but that is the reality of enamelling.

I've struggled to find white which will not react to silver at all - got a couple whites from WG Ball which are in development stages - one works better than the other but not always. WG Ball make and sell lead free enamel and they are nice people to deal with, they do have some nice purple/violets as well so you might even want to try some of theirs. Their sample size orders are very well priced too.

Farmer57 ,Thank you for the tips! I am very greatful,I will ck out WA Ball.
I really enjoy tying Enamels with the Egyptian Iconography. In the mid seventy's I visited the TUT Expo. In Seattle with friends when Egypt sponsored the world tour. I've been a fan of Egyptian art and history ever since!
Howard Carter's discovery in 1922 included more than one breast plate,'HORUS'
actually has swept wings and is about 6x8" or so. I chose a straight wing version as the geometry was simpler for me to execute, and I felt it would be learning lesson in Silver for me. Mixing some Enamel work with the Engraving has been a rewarding experiance, it seems to capture the spirit of Egyptian Hyroglyphics in a very elegant way, Thanks, Jim This is the official 'Throne Seal' for TUT. Enameled
16 of them in different colors on 2" Disc. These are an assortment of 2" disc (not enameled yet) preparing for a 'King Tut' Stained Glass panel. This is a Stained Glass panel in our front door, has five Silver Madallions integrated with glass.some images on 4 madallions,both sides total 8.This is Lion King,
With Jerry Geraffe, Bobbie Baboon,Larry Lemer,Tommy Tiger,and others,the ones in panel are Fine Silver,the ones shown are copper 'trial' punch dot and grave prior to silver work.
The small Stained Glass panels are for the 'Horus' madallions display boxes.

 

[Jim gordon]

You're welcome. Exactly, the "silver salts" can react with certain enamel colours (it depends which metal oxides or salts are used to give enamel the particular colour). Generally speaking, blues and greens are the most forgiving. If fired directly on silver (no flux or other undercoat) - whites, reds, oranges, yellows and pinks are the most prone to reacting. So you want to source the least reactive colours and that involves many trials with different manufacturers but there are very few pinks and reds which are non reactive. Every enameler has slightly different procedure and same colours might not behave the same for everyone. It is hard to imagine but that is the reality of enamelling.

I've struggled to find white which will not react to silver at all - got a couple whites from WG Ball which are in development stages - one works better than the other but not always. WG Ball make and sell lead free enamel and they are nice people to deal with, they do have some nice purple/violets as well so you might even want to try some of theirs. Their sample size orders are very well priced too.

 

[rweigel]

A couple of weeks ago, I found out the „Simichrome“ is actually a german product by a company named Happich. It is only sold to professionals, due to it‘s skin irritating properties. Seems popular in the US, for cars and motorbikes, but almost unknown in Germany… The pack I got today is labeled in english only.

I just tried it on my minihone with a 50mm (2“) copper wheel. I could heel and polish a HSS graver very well, Simichrome acts like a cutting compound. It has, as suspected before, no visible effect on carbide gravers.

So, many thanks for pointing me towards it, it comes in very useful.

I also noticed that Simichrome dissolves the patina from the copper surface, just when I dab it on. That might explain the “cleaning effect” at ceramic discs that was described here.

Cheers

Ralf

 

[Chujybear]

Haven’t tried it but I have a brick of white diamond polishing compound that I use to put the final shine on wood tools.. it should be able to lay down on a ceramic lapp