As said above wool mop, there as many different polishing mops as there are stars in the heavens most people will favor one or the other, pretty much the same with compounds try a few different types until you find one that suits you, a good one to try is Dialux another one is Menzerna the process is probably more significant than the products as most of the well known brands will give good results with good technique
Last edited by china; 19-12-2016 at 04:49 AM.
Some will still use tripoli and rouge, some will have moved on to Luxi because it's cleaner and now others swear by Menzerna which was originally a car polish. I'm in the middle, having moved on to Luxi but still find myself grabbing the rouge and sometimes tripoli and to hell with the mess, I find it cuts through any firestain better. As China said it's another thing that becomes a personal preference
Id also say woolen mop.
I still use tripoli and rouge, and the high shine that you mention is all based on the surface finish of the metal that you have achieved before polishing the piece.
Nick
I've found Menzerna P175 or M5 excellent for finishing silver and gold
I usually use WDR (White Double Raised also known as Swansdown) for finishing but Moleroda also produce an even softer verion called WHR
I've learnt from many on this forum and by experience the that as Nick says, preparation is probably as or more important than the products used. If you don't work up through the grades of emery and if necessary polishes, all you get is shiny scratches.
Amy at Moleroda is very helpful for polishing queries and they have some good online resources as do Cookies and many other polishing suppliers.
Like Caroline I also use Tripoli as an initial polish or if there is firestain that needs a good beasting. Dialux rouge is also on my bench if I want something a bit stickier than the Menzerna products but yes it is messy. Try wiping your face with a paper towel after using it!
It pays to experiment with different mops and products. Flat surfaces are particularly challenging to polish well. I once spent nearly 3 days polishing a tie clip until I got it nearly right.
If you have a bench polisher, mop maintenance and cleaning is also important..
hope that helps.
[QUOTE
Like Caroline I also use Tripoli as an initial polish or if there is firestain that needs a good beasting. Dialux rouge is also on my bench if I want something a bit stickier than the Menzerna products but yes it is messy. Try wiping your face with a paper towel after using it!
It pays to experiment with different mops and products. Flat surfaces are particularly challenging to polish well. I once spent nearly 3 days polishing a tie clip until I got it nearly right. .[/QUOTE]
Haha Tim , you obviously haven't seen my polishing outfit left over from my Art College days when we didn't have anything but tripoli and rouge. Scarf round head, sometimes a hat, old shirt of the husbands on top of my apron and I can't get it in my eyes now so protective glasses on top of my specs, oh and scarf round my mouth because a mask makes my glasses steam up! And that's with a bench polisher with extraction. It's not a good look and it's the only photo OH takes of me at work:/
Last edited by CJ57; 23-12-2016 at 06:14 PM.
The ideal fishing system for flat surfaces , if you're not an ace polisher, is to rub them on Micromesh sheets flat on the bench. About four grades will do, using say:2400, 3600, 6000 and finishing with 8000.
You will get a pretty good version of a silver mirror and no mess. Dennis.
Bookmarks