Last week I made a walnut wood and acrylic pendant. I sanded it until 12000grit but still I couldn’t reach that mirror finish. So I ordered a buffing wheel set and started experimenting with it.
The set I got has three wheels which go from hard to softer. Each wheel has it’s own polishing compound. The set also has two mandrels, one for the drill and one for the lathe. I actually used the one for the drill on the lathe.
First I mounted the wheel on the mandrel and then on my lathe’s chuck. Before clamping the chuck I centered the wheel with my tailstock.
Then I started buffing through the wheels. The first and most aggressive wheel did not have that much different from the 12000 grit sandpaper.
The second started creating the glass finish. The third did a really beautiful job.
Seeing the pendant in macro shots, it still had scratches left, but those cannot be seen with a naked eye!
I think it was worth it. The result is much better than before. If you don’t have a lathe, you can mount the wheels on your drill. Then mount the drill on your vise you’ll have a buffing system.
I also want to point out that my lathe was set at an average speed during the buffing process.
Before you start buffing you should put on a mask. You don’t want those tiny fibers in your lungs. Especially with the new wheels, fibers fly all around.
So I call this one a win!
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