No, not talking about the LED.
I like to use some sort of machine, but my Dremel isn't doing the job. It's probably spinning way too fast.. Mine starts at around 10.000rpm (or even more) and it kind of burns the titanium.
By hand takes a lot of time...
How do you guys make your titanium flashlights shine?
Any tips or tricks?
I have polished my Ti pineapple, but its nearly impossible to get it as shiny as a Tool Ti
What i did use first is car polishing compound for cars with weathered paint, then 2000 grit wet sand, then buffing and polishing compound on a low speed with a dremel tool
What speed is your dremel? I think mine's is too high
I also like to get something that can really get in the hard to reach spots..
It has a variable speed. I once bought a dremel polishing set which worked very well.
You will likely need a buffing wheel and different grades of polishing compounds. Maybe look for an aluminum wheel polishing kit that uses a hand drill so you can control speed.
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Cool, thanks!
great info
I use Sunshine Cloth by hand…
but Im not starting from a beadblasted finish, Im just re-polishing Titanium that was already shiny finished and has developed slight carry swirls and scratches. It just makes the scratches shinier and less obvious.
Some titanium lights have visible maching lines (when you look up close) so I guess I need some kind of polishing machine to remove those.
true, there are concentric machining lines on the not knurled parts of my TiTool (visible under magnification)…
It would take a LOT more work to polish down those lines
there are also coarser and more obviously visible, concentric machining lines on the knurling, think of it as a traction “feature”… lol
darksucks spins that fact by saying they sell the light with an “affordable finish” that he calls “as machined”
thereby spinning the factor as a feature, not a bug
Polishing to a high gloss takes a lot of work and costs extra.
I use a 3” cotton buffing wheel on my drill.
Hornbach sell’s a Wolfcraft set of two pieces of abrasive blocks in a blister.
One for the “rough” polish and one for the “fine” polish.
They also sell Dremel polishing compound (never tried, happy with the above mentioned).
I have a Dremel, but it has an RPM from 15,000 to 30,000 and it seems this might be too high (According to a Dremel video I just found on YouTube)
I'd hate to buy another Dremel just for polishing, so I'm kind of doubting which route to go. Don't like the manual approach too much :D
oh.. now I see in the specs of the Dremel 421 (polishing paste) a RPM of 20,000.... okay, so maybe I should just get some real polishing paste instead of polishing wax I've been trying to use (Commandant) .
yes, you need products that contain abrasives
they come in different grits
note that
2. you will need a workspace with some kind of box around the spinning wheel to catch the crud, in a room you dont mind getting dirty with airborne abrasive particles…
3. Im about to also tell you to wear a mask and goggles, and clothes you dont mind getting dirty…
all those reasons is why I do it by hand instead… I use wet emery paper to remove metal, and finish with Sunshine cloth for the final shine.
I do not own a buffing wheel, nor workshop
Can you post a photo of the flashlight you want to make shiny?
hahaha, good one. Will use my goggles.
I actually have one of those little bars, (it's green) but it never worked the way I wanted. Or I was doing something wrong.
Will look at some local stores for this type of stuff, thanks again. Maybe my 15,000 RPM would still be okay after all.