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View Full Version : silicone and raidal polishing wheels.. do i need them both??



4ngi3
06-12-2012, 02:29 PM
Hi,

I was wondering if anyone can please shine a bit of light on the difference between silicone and raidal polishing wheels? I make sterling silver and fine silver pendants and rings (a very small home business/hobby). I just need something that will allow me to smooth out any rough surfaces and scratches on my silver pieces. And maybe if one of these would be good at smoothing out marring on silver too that would be really great :)

I need to keep my costs down and I have a dremel stylus and thought if I get a set of either the silicone or radial polising wheels to add to my tool collection. But which one will do me? Do I really need both?

You are probably goind to tell me they both do completely differnt things but I would love your opinion on which one you think would be more suited to my needs.

Thanks in advance.

ps. I've never used these before and was wondering if you can use the wheels from the coarsest white thru to pink and get a mirror shine? thats kinda what I'd be looking to get :)

Patstone
06-12-2012, 03:01 PM
Hi
I am still learning which ones to use too, but I have found the radial finest discs very good for getting into corners that are difficult to reach, also I use the very fine Eveflex Cooksons Product Code : 970 300 they are very useful too, never tried the silicone ones, but I am sure someone will be able to tell you.
Pat

Dennis
06-12-2012, 03:17 PM
Here's the difference:

Polishing wheels are about 2.8mm thick and although you can buy all the grades, it is possible to manage with two, or three. They are most useful for giving a polish to narrow edges after filing and emery paper (that dark grey abrasive paper you can get at DIY stores).

Wheels can be reshaped or custom shaped by running them on the least used part of a file near the handle, or better still on a diamond instrument (which will remain unharmed). In view of that there is no need to buy the less useful knife edge ones.

If you can only afford one type of wheel, I would recommend these RW22 http://www.kemdent.co.uk/product-detail.asp?id=15
which cut coarsely and smoothly according to speed and pressure.

If your pieces have lots of flat surfaces, you are better of with a small selection of MicroMesh sheets which are available online. These are soft and flexible and achieve a high mirror finish with the finest grade. Bits can also be superglued to wooden sticks and stirrers and shaped with a craft knife for narrow areas.

If your pieces are quite intricate, then about four grades of radial disk are the thing. For a final shine, Silvo and a soft baby tooth brush are a low cost option. Dennis.

silken
10-12-2012, 12:26 AM
I have both but generally get much more use out of the radial discs. I bought the radial disc kit (http://www.cooksongold.com/Jewellery-Tools/Radial-Disc-Kit-6-Each-3-Grades--3-Mandrels-prcode-999-1967) and I must say, it is my go to kit when it comes to polishing. If you start with the yellow, you can remove all traces of firescale (even in hard to reach recesses) and achieve a sort of satin finish. Then onto the blue which gives a slightly finer finish then finally finish with the light green for a near enough mirror shine. I use them with my Dremel 4000 + flexshaft attachment but they'd be just as effective running at approx 10,000 - 15,000 RPM with any hobby drill type device. My pieces are generally small and usually have set stones so having something flexible to get into all the nooks and crannies is a must and the radial discs are perfect.

I did recently get a set of the Eveflex rubber cylinders with 4 different grades and find them easy to use and fairly effective.

However, if I had to choose between then, I'd go for a set of radial discs. The set I linked to is very good and even though you only get three different grades you can still achieve a nice high polish. You can always buy more and add them to your set :)

cary1961
10-12-2012, 07:20 PM
Hi Emily,

I agree. I have just bought the radial disc set you recommend and it does just as you say. A very useful addition to my tools - highly recommended.

Cary :)

Love Your Jewellery.co.uk

silken
11-12-2012, 03:36 AM
Glad to hear you're pleased with them! I didn't buy them until fairly recently but when I did I was kicking myself that I hadn't got them sooner!

Just thought you might want to have a look at this tutorial, it just shows you the basics of polishing with silicone discs and radial discs but it is a good watch :)

http://www.beaducation.com/vids/detail/159