Buffing Compounds - Sort them?

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joe_m

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At an estate sale back in 1998 or so I bought a big box of 3" felt buffing wheels and a couple dozen tubes and bars of polishing compounds. IIRC, the original owner was into rocks but I thought they could be used to make metal stuff shiny too so I bought them. 14 years later I'm still digging through the box.

Is there any master list that says what compound is harder/softer/faster/better/worse than the other?

I've got bars of Red Rouge and Vigor Rouge (Vigor is, I think, the maker - but it's not red rouge, it's green).
I've got a mammoth bar of Superior Bobbing Compound (for shining up fishing bobbers???)
And tubes - Aluminum Oxide, Jade Blend, Tin Oxide, Cerium Oxide, Linde "A" and Chromium Oxide.

Are any of these worthless on metals (Jade blend?????) and should be tossed? Is bobbing compound even used for polishing?

Of the ones that are good for metal - which ones are for rough cleaning and which ones are for general shining and which ones are for "shining so bright you can count your nose hairs in the reflection"?
Any of them that shouldn't touch brass/tin/aluminum etc because they'll rust it, rot it, or rough it up?

thanks
Joe
 
If you have a KBC catalog, there is some relevant info on page 612. I might also help you identify what you have.

If you don't have a catalog, go to www.KBCTools.com to order one. They are free and delivery was quick in my case.


Sounds like you have a very nice assortment. I wouldn't toss any of it. I am sure that you get answers to all your questions with the internet being what it is.
 
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffman.htm Here's a lot of info about buffing in general. Theres a chart at the bottom for most of the common compounds. I still wouldn't throw any of it out just yet. You might have to look up some of the items individually online for more specifics.
 
In general, are colors of buffing compounds consistent between vendors? That is, is the intended application the same for the same color?
 
MaverickNH said:
In general, are colors of buffing compounds consistent between vendors? That is, is the intended application the same for the same color?
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Somewhat, yes. The color is the raw abrasive. It gets tough to tell in the reds and browns, though. You would get bad results on aluminum if you mistook jeweler's rouge for Tripoli. Or maybe that's the other way around. But color is a good starting point if you have a bunch to compare side by side.
 
pontiac428 said:
Somewhat, yes. The color is the raw abrasive. It gets tough to tell in the reds and browns, though. You would get bad results on aluminum if you mistook jeweler's rouge for Tripoli. Or maybe that's the other way around. But color is a good starting point if you have a bunch to compare side by side.
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Biggest problem with mistaking compounds is using a fine one (rouge) before a coarse one (like Tripoli). [or polishing vs. cutting]
 
I see some vendors that recommend buffing compound/ buffing wheel combination. Does that mean the compound on a cloth wheel followed by the buffing wheel, rather than the compound on the buffing wheel?

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Following along. I also have tons of this stuff I got from a deceased jeweler
 
MaverickNH said:
I see some vendors that recommend buffing compound/ buffing wheel combination. Does that mean the compound on a cloth wheel followed by the buffing wheel, rather than the compound on the buffing wheel?
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Never, ever mix compounds on a wheel/buff: the coarser material will contaminate the wheel/buff and you won't get rid of the fine scratches.

I don't buff/polish very often (but when I do, it's Dos Equis – no, no, that's something else), but have separately bagged wheels & buffs for each compound.
 
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