Some might call it a polished turd...........

[Aloha]

I have always like the Croc and it has been a terrific companion to my Wave, Surge, and ST300.  I had and extra Wave that I have been wanting to polish and so as I finished I took a stab at polishing the Croc.  It needs some more work but I can see the shine wanting to come thru.

I'll post up more pics as the process comes along.  My second polished Wave came out pretty good I'll take some more pics of it as well. 

[Higgins617]

Looks great! I got to put my Croc to work today

[Breezy12]

looking good, Aloha!

I agree about the Croc... I actually like it, and I think it makes a great companion to the Wave/Charge/Surge. I already have a bit driver on my ReCharge, so I have no need for the 1/4" driver that the Piranha provides. I fully admit that the Piranha is sturdier and higher quality, but my Croc hasn't snapped yet.

[captain spaulding]

Great work! I am also one who like the Croc. 

[JAfromMn]

I never thought about doing that. COOL mod Aloha007

I should polish mine one day.

Classy Croc.

[NKlamerus]

Can anyone share a link or instructions on the best method to polish?

I also though this thread was about the Shoe after the first sentence

But I do really like the tool!

[HarleyXJGuy]

That thing is a polished turd.

[HarleyXJGuy]

Can anyone share a link or instructions on the best method to polish?

Oh I want to know this also.

[ducttapetech]

That looks sharp!

Nate

[Chako]

Why this thread is just a whole bunch of Croc! 

Looking good.

[HarleyXJGuy]

Why this thread is just a whole bunch of Croc! 

Looking good.

 

[bdAmmo]

Nice job, they look great

[bdAmmo]

Can anyone share a link or instructions on the best method to polish?

Oh I want to know this also.

To get the best shine you want to first get the metal smooth, do this by sanding the heck out of it. Start off with a somewhat abrasive sandpaper, maybe around 400 grit, once done with that go to a less abrasive paper and sand it again. You ultimately want to keep sanding until you get a smooth finish with a 1500 grit or even 2000 grit sandpaper.

Once you're all done sanding, get yourself a bench grinder, a polishing wheel and some polishing compound and go to town. With the proper compound and wheel, the metal will look like a mirror in no time.

The sanding is really the hardest, most labor intensive part.

That's how I do it anyway. Anybody else know of an easier way to polish metal to a mirror finish?

[NKlamerus]

Do you break it down to the scales? And any preference on compound?

Sorry Aloha for hijacking, if you request we can make a new thread.

[Kampfer]

  I like the Croc

[bdAmmo]

Do you break it down to the scales? And any preference on compound?

Sorry Aloha for hijacking, if you request we can make a new thread.

You don't have to break it down, you'd probably end up with better results if you did though.

You can get yourself a kit like this and be good for most metal types.

[NKlamerus]

Oh great, more to add to the multitool accessories and tools-for-the-multitools list

My significant other will not be happy tomorrow....

[HarleyXJGuy]

Do you break it down to the scales? And any preference on compound?

Sorry Aloha for hijacking, if you request we can make a new thread.

You don't have to break it down, you'd probably end up with better results if you did though.

You can get yourself a kit like this and be good for most metal types.

You wet san or dry sand?

The directions for the compound are complete/easy to figure out?

Got any pics of tools you have polished?

Thanks BD.

[Ashley]

When I polish I went 200 grit to 2000 grit by hand dry. I then used flitz and a polishing cloth to get my result.






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[Aloha]

The steps to polishing are
Patience
varying degree of sandpaper ( I used wet/dry ) 220-1500
varying degree of compound ( same as BA showed )

I start by sanding dry by hand in one direction till I see the sanding marks uniformly form then go in opposing direction.

Before moving to next grit make sure all previous sanding lines are gone.  Do not move on if you see previous sanding indications. 

I use this same technique for all grits sand paper.  I also use the 1000-1200-1500 wet.

Felt disc on my dremil moving my way thru the compounds not letting part get too hot ( I use my wrist to test ).

Final stage I use mothers polish mag wheel ( I cant find flitz here in CA stores ) by dremil.

I didn't take either of my Waves apart to do the polishing tho it would have been much easier and better job.     

[Syph007]

You know, whenever this subject comes up people usually say flintz and IVe tried it so many times but never get it to work for me.

To polish all my steel or brass parts I do the same thing, wet metal sandpaper, in 220/400/800 then jewelers rouge to turn it into a mirror.

Apparently according to the rules of polishing metal ( look up buffs and the terms cut and color ), I use the wrong rouge for brass, but when I try the brass rouge it sucks, so I use the one for steel.  It works and if Im doing it wrong I dont see how it matters if the end result is shiny metal.   

[Aloha]

You can still see the manufacturing grinding on my Surge and 1st Wave I polished.  I was getting impatient and rushed thru the polishing stages.  The middle Wave came out much better but there is always more polishing to do on the tools to get the mirror finish some have gotten.

The blades on the LMs can get wicked sharp BTW and a bit of stropping produces a good polished edge.  My tools are users and over the years have held up well to both scratches and corrosion. 

Happy polishing.   

[Aloha]

I only have 3 compounds Grey, White and Green and they came from Lowes.  I've had great success with them and in many cases only them.  I cannot find flitz and have stopped looking since getting the mothers mag wheel polish. 

[Syph007]

Oh one other tip with sanding I forgot to mention, when you go through the grits, if you can, sand orthogonal to the last grit, that way when all the lines are gone you know you are done with that grit, then rotate 90 degrees and go to the next grit.  It's also a good idea to use new rinse water for each grit so you dont contaminate 400 grit with say 220 and mess up your work.  I found this critical if Im sanding Ti to a high polish.   

[Aloha]

Oh one other tip with sanding I forgot to mention, when you go through the grits, if you can, sand orthogonal to the last grit, that way when all the lines are gone you know you are done with that grit, then rotate 90 degrees and go to the next grit.  It's also a good idea to use new rinse water for each grit so you dont contaminate 400 grit with say 220 and mess up your work.  I found this critical if Im sanding Ti to a high polish.   

Great tips 

[Kampfer]

A7
Will you polish my Skeletool & Micra for me?

[Aloha]

A7
Will you polish my Skeletool & Micra for me?

UH  are you being a dirty bird? 

You have my address ( send them my way ) but this month is a busy one for me. If you'll miss them wait till 2nd week or February to send to me.  I'll have time next month for sure. 

I'm also wrapping up my prybar comparison, Finally 

[Kampfer]

I'm also wrapping up my prybar comparison, Finally 

[HarleyXJGuy]

Great info here everyone thanks.

[captain spaulding]

A7
Will you polish my Skeletool & Micra for me?

UH  are you being a dirty bird? 

You have my address ( send them my way ) but this month is a busy one for me. If you'll miss them wait till 2nd week or February to send to me.  I'll have time next month for sure. 

I'm also wrapping up my prybar comparison, Finally 

Damn! I was just going to ask about sending the Wave we talked about. I don't really need it polished right now though.