Finishing questions

[Briadha]

Hi I have just bought a scotch brite mop which says that it leaves a satin finish, although somebody has commented it actually leaves a matt finish on silver. I am wondering what kind of finish it does leave. Also as I am relatively new to all this could someone tell me what steps you go through when finishing to leave the desired affect with the scotch brite mop. Your help is much appreciated.

[mizgeorge]

It leaves a satin (which is matte) finish.

Like this:

[Briadha]

Many thanks mizgeorge. That finish is what I am looking for! Would you take it all the way through to a high shine finish then take it back to satin using the scotch brite wheel or just sand and use the scotch bright wheel. I'm just a bit confused with the steps.

[Dennis]

No, not necessarily, just experiment until you like the look of it. There are large Scotchbrite wheels for the polishing lathe and small mounted ones for the flexshaft. The green ones are coarser and will polish more fiercely. If you follow on with a brown one the effect will be more silky. The ones for the flexshaft need to be run quite slowly, or they will unravel and become useles.

It could also be called a brushed finish and you will note that George has taken care with the direction of her strokes. Dennis.

[Briadha]

Many thanks Dennis. Thanks for the tips - very useful.

[mizgeorge]

It should be noted that it's not the longest lasting finish though. I tend to brush the backs of pieces (brooches for example) where there is little wear and I don't necessarily want a high polish, but things like rings, which get a lot of wear from skin or other pieces will soon lose the really brushed effect. I quite like the slightly dull look that's left, but it's not always what customers are looking for.

[Briadha]

Many thanks mizgeorge, i'll keep that in mind.