buffing compounds

[ncrowner]

Are buff compounds color coded from coarse to fine and are all man ufacturers of compounds using the same color systm?? Thanks

 

[kuraki]

That's a good question and a really complicated answer. The short answer is no to both. The long answer is "yes...but."

There are 2 types of compounds. "Color" compounds and "cut" compounds. Color compounds are not as sharp, and burnish the steel as much as they abrade it. That's why they're called color compounds because this burnishing can affect how the polished piece reflects light, leading to blues and browns and other colors in the appearance of the steel.

Cut compounds are abrasive in nature and more aggressively remove material. In general they leave a highly white finish on steel.

So grit size is not the only consideration in buffing compound. For most of our purposes you could say Brown Tripoli, White Rouge, and Green Rouge or Green Chrome are coarse, fine, and finest.

But then you get into a plethora of unique formulations and various colors and compounding material and the sky is the limit to how complex you want to make it.

The three I listed above in addition to "Pink Scratchless" are all I currently use. A lot of people here use something called White Diamond that I need to try as well.

 

[LARRYZ10]

Kuraki, You have summed it up well. There is one compound that I have been using that you might want to try. It is called 51000 and it comes from Texas Knife Supply. It is a white rouge that is about 1300 to 1400 grit equivalent and on a loose buff will polish knife scales without coloring them greenish like the ever so popular green chrome. They also sell a white chrome that is about 700 grit and will polish stainless steel really well without cloudiness. Larry

 

[kuraki]

Thanks Larry I will look into that stuff.

 

[LARRYZ10]

Thanks Larry I will look into that stuff.

Kuraki, I have been hearing a lot of buzz about "White Diamond". I would like to try that also and find more info on it. Also, a few really good knife makers have been raving about a white compound that Pop's knife Supply has been selling. I wonder if it's the same thing. I'm always looking for a better compound or a better belt. It's a sickness I think. Larry

 

[john april]

i use the matchless compounds from pops. but i forgot who suggested it i use the 525 white to remove the 1500 grit hand sanding scratches, then the HF1 mirror to remove the 525 scratches. in my opinion the HF1 is only slightly more coarse than the pink scratchless. using the pink after the HF1 barely makes any difference. your results may vary depending on what wheels etc you use.

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

In the old days it was more simple. Black was emery, brown was tripoli, gray was medium alumina, white was fine (800 grit), green was chrome, and red was rouge ( very fine).


White diamond was a name brand final high polish. It was not quite as fine as red rouge, but wouldn't stain everything. Everyone pretty much replaced red rouge with it and started calling it white rouge. The FTA got on manufacturers for calling it rouge (red iron oxide), when it was actually a mix of tin oxide and aluminum oxide, so some manufacturers added a tiny amount of red rouge to it and called it things like Pink Rouge and No-Scratch Pink. The Feds eventually gave up on defending the term rouge, and now any fine polish can be called rouge.



Today, there is no guess as what grade it is by mere color. Black can be several grades of coarse. Grey can be almost anything. And, white is a symbol of fineness in a polish as much as a white wedding dress is a symbol of virginity nowadays.
Today, the exact same term can be applied to several polishes ... all of which are different. "White Polish" can range from 500 to 8000 grit.
There is a true rainbow of colored specialty polish compounds including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet. Some of these cost $30 an ounce, others $5 a pound.

 

[LARRYZ10]

I want to correct my earlier post about white rouges sold by Texas Knife supply. The white chrome is claimed to be about 600 grit equivalent and is a good substitute for green chrome which is about 700 grit but can color your scales a greenish tint. The white compound I like for finishing on a loose buff is called Jackson 51 white rouge and is non coloring and very light cutting at about 1200 to 1400 grit. I had been using the pink "no scratch" compound but I find that the Jackson 51 white compound eliminates the need for the pink compound in my experience. Larry

 

[REK Knives]

does anyone have a good recommendation for a compound to use with high carbide steels? I've got no scratch pink, white, black, and even white diamond but nothing seems to really bring out the shine on things like 90v and such.