rolex_dud Posted October 28, 2010 Report Share Posted October 28, 2010 Hello all, I'm looking for information on polishing / buffing a mirror finish stainless steel watch case. I have a set of polishing wheels already, and have done some tests with a brown (tripoli) compound, and green rouge as a final step to remove scratches. They work well for the most part, but as I look at the case uner the right light I can see very fine micro lines from the buffing wheel, and at times just a bit of "haze" to the overall look. Am I using the green rouge correctly as the final step in acheiving a mirror finish? I'm using a 6" loose polishing wheel in the final buffing with the green rouge. It feels like I'm 95% there, but not quite a factory finish. I'm getting conflicting answers from jewelers when I ask them which compound to use (some say white, some blue, some green). Any help would be appreciated! Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mefor22 Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Maybe your polishing compound wheel is not right. To remove fine lines you need to use tripoli meant for platinum. Stainless steel is much harder than other precious metal thus regular tripoli doesn't work. You may use regular Muslin polishing wheel+tripoli for platinum for buffing followed with felt polishing wheel+GROBETLUX polishing compound (grey) and final shine with your regular green rouge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
highoeyazmuhudee Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 your technique is wrong. i use the green stuff but if you dont sand all the way from 400- to at least 2,000 grit first you will get this. i personally sand to 8,000 grit. beyond that it is also all in the way you sand, your actual hand technique when both sanding and then polishing afterwards. it took me awhile to get it perfect but i can now return any case i work on back to a factory mirror finish. before i used to get "hazing" or these fine lines when viewed at different angles in different lighting. for compound most people use green and it works perfectly for me as well, its rated for stainless steel. i apply it with a dremel and a hard felt buffing wheel i am very satisfied with this outcome and i am very picky wen it comes to polishing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krpster Posted October 2, 2011 Report Share Posted October 2, 2011 Have a look here http://www.enkaypoli...nstructions.pdf. As for the compound green is only in the middle when it comes to rouge and blue are finer which theoretically should give you a better result. Also, as mentioned the type of buff used will affect the results. If you search by polishing here you should see a post or two that have more details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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