"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 2 Nov 2007 15:25:58 -0400, with neither quill nor qualm, "Ed
Huntress" quickly quoth:

"Dan_Musicant" wrote in message
. ..

I called Harbor Freight and they only have a kit with one bar, who knows
what it is.

Whatever grit dirt and color of crayons they find on the floor that
day? I like the Lee Valley green crayons for my strop. Good stuff,
Maynard. I haven't tried it on the buffer.


I recalled an old quite large hardware store that I figured for
something. When I called a few days ago, asked if they have Dico, I was
told "no," and I took it for an answer. So, I call back today and ask
what they DO have (I figured they HAVE to have something!). A guy says
he doesn't know (read I'm too lazy to find out). I was persistent and he
finds out... He says they have a package of 4 tubes for different types
of metal. I ask him how much, he says $7.49, I ask what brand, he says
"Dico!" Bingo. One of the tubes is for stainless and from what he
described I figure it for 2-3 liquid ounces per tube. I guess I'll truck
on over there today and pick it up. I suppose it's cheaper than getting
something shipped.

Jeez, I hate it when some lazy s.o.b. does that to save himself 30 seconds
and a few steps, in the process costing you maybe hours, dollars, and
miles
driven. The retail business has gone to hell except for a few businesses
that know the value of treating customers right.

My favorite is when they go look, take ten minutes to do so, and then
have forgotten to check the price when they finally do get back to
tell me that they did, indeed, have the product.


Aging fart's rant off Anyway, those tubes are filled with hard, wax-base
polishing agents, not liquid. I have two different size tubes of Dico
polishes, one set maybe 1" diameter that I bought 40 years ago, and a few
newer ones that I bought at various times over the last 10 years, which
are
around 2" diameter. Their red rouge, which probably is in the package as
well, is the best I've ever used.

Those are buffing crayons, boys. Sheesh, why don't you get it right?



The way they're used is that you push the open end of the tube up against
your buffing wheel while it's spinning. You don't cut the carboard tube
back; let the wheel cut right into the cardboard. If you find that
aesthetically displeasing you can cut the cardboard back as you go, but
watch out, the wax melts quickly from the heat of friction and you can
lose
a lot of your buffing compound.

Yeah, I learned to let it eat through like you're describing. I took
to wearing a dust mask (and buttoned-up collar) at the buffer, too.
Dem tings is messy!

And not nice on your lungs, I hear. Of course, safety glasses should go
without saying.



I find the Dico stainless polish to be very good on all types of steel, as
long as it's pretty smooth to begin with. Although it's relatively
aggressive, it's too fine to polish through rust pits. I use the emery
compound for that first, then go to the stainless polish.

I hope it works as you expect. Good luck with it.

Oh, BTW: if you need a little bit in a liquid form, for hand polishing
with
the rouge, for example, it dissolves easily with a wide variety of
solvents.
Lighter fluid or paint thinner are as good as anything. If you have a heat
gun or a hair dryer you don't care about, I'll tell you how I use the
stainless polish for honing blades (everything from my German straight
razor
to plane irons and quality pocket knives) after sharpening them on a hard
Arkansas stone. I can shave with my antique Casteel plane irons, but I
don't
recommend doing it as a regular thing. d8-)

Shaving isn't a test of real plane iron sharpness, Ed. ScarySharp(tm)
is miles beyond that particular form of dullness.

Tell us about ScarySharp. I could use a good scare.

BTW, I made the mistake of using that stropping treatment on one of my
fillet knives when I was younger and foolisher. It was so sharp I couldn't
skin a fish with it. The blade went right through the skin, no matter how
well you tried to control the blade.

--
Ed Huntress