Consistancy of polishing compound??

S

Steelwolf

Joined
Jul 19, 1999
Messages
443
I was very intrigued with the talk of using strops and polishing compoounds, so I finally went and got some to try. Now call me dumb or something, but what, exactly, is the consistancy of the compound supposed to be?
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I bought a block of Abbott & Ashby tripoli compound and it is so rock hard I can't seem to load up my strop with it. Heck, I could use it as a sharpening stone on its own!

So tell me, is this the way it should be or is the consistancy supposed to be something closer to paste?

Thanks in advance.
 
Every manufacturer has different recipes.
Bar compound is formulated for different applications by varying the hardness and lubrication base. One of the manufacturers who maintains a warehouse locally has over 25 different formulations of brown Tripoli bar, in each, the abrasive is the same but by varying the hardness it can be hand fed if softer and machine fed if very hard, varying the lubrication base the same bar can work for brass and bronze castings(little lubrication) or aluminum extrusions(lots of lubrication). (brown Tripoli bars will not work for steel or stainless steel just non ferrous metals)

For every metal and condition there is a special formulation that works best. You must have gotten hold of some compound that is inappropriate for your application. A good metal finishing supply house would be your best bet.

Liquid compounds are usually reserved for automatic buffing and polishing operations because they are very messy.



------------------
george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
it could also be that it is old and has gotten dried up and hard....dont know by your post....but most compounds are made to be used on an electric buffer and come off readily when pressed into the buffing wheel.
 
I'm guessing that Tom Mayo is right. The back of the bar looks sunken in and there are a few cracks that look the same way a cake of mud would when it's dried, though the front of the bar looks perfectly alright. The back of the package talks about using a loose leaf calico mop. Does that mean anything? I assumed that when it talks about loose leaf something, the compound should be soft enough to be applied, not so hard that I should need a hacksaw to make a mark in it.

Is there any way I can get the bar "rehydrated", or should I just bin it and try again?
 
It is very hard to get leather to take any compound. Try rubbing a bar of soap on the leather and when it starts to take the soap it will take the compound.
Mike
 
Thanks for the suggestions Mike and George. When I have some time, I guess I'll make another trip to the local hardware and try searching for a softer compound. Maybe even go to the autoshop for one of those "Cut and Polish" types of polishes? (I was told by a friend that it's about the equivalent of 1200 grit, and at least I know that polishing compound is a soft paste
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).

But for tonight, I'll hacksaw off a small bit of the bar that I currently have and try soaking it in a bit of methylated spirits that I have lying around. Will post the results of that.
 
Well, it's done. I hacksawed off a small portion of the bar and soaked it in methylated spirits, in a small air tight container, for a day. It softened up completely and the outermost surfaces were actually coming off. A day later, the small block was completely dissolved in the spirits. Then I stirred in a little bit of vaseline and allowed the spirits to evaporate completely. Now I have a paste-like substance which is easy to get on to a piece of cloth. As for the strop, I think I need to soften it up somewhat before the paste will take. Thanks everyone for your help and suggestions.
 
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