On Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:39:27 +1300, Tom
wrote:

Ignoramus6442 wrote:
On 2008-01-22, Don Foreman wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:32:35 -0600, Ignoramus13999
wrote:


On 2008-01-21, Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:


I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Don, my motor is 1 HP, 3450 RPM. This is completely sufficient for my
8" wire wheel.

I looked at sisal wheels at McMaster, and they are all rated at 3,000
RPM at most. So I do not think that I could use a sisal wheel.

Sisal wheel is the right tool whether or not McMaster can provide. I
don't pull my suggestions outta me arse, Ig. I've described what I
use, works for me, YMMV. I get my wheels and compounds from Caswell.

1 HP will suffice for a buffer if you're patient.




Don, thanks, I will get a sisal wheel from Caswell. Hopefully, in a
week or two I will have some results and photos.

i

After reading your subject header, I wonder if you are trying to achieve
what was never there in the first place? Crescent used to sell 2 versions
of their wrenches, chrome plated and unplated. The unplated had a phosphate
finish.

Tom

Indeed. And some with a parkerized finish (military) I have examples
of all of them.

Gunner



"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

On Tue, 22 Jan 2008 18:38:04 +0000 (UTC), Cydrome Leader
wrote:

Ignoramus6442 wrote:
On 2008-01-22, Tom wrote:
After reading your subject header, I wonder if you are trying to achieve
what was never there in the first place? Crescent used to sell 2 versions
of their wrenches, chrome plated and unplated. The unplated had a phosphate
finish.

Indeed, after double checking I came to conclusion that the polishing
was never there in the first place.

i

maybe the polishing fell off. Did you look on the floor for it?


Be sure to check all the way in the back under the work bench. Stuff
tends to bounce back there.

Gunner



"Pax Americana is a philosophy. Hardly an empire.
Making sure other people play nice and dont kill each other (and us)
off in job lots is hardly empire building, particularly when you give
them self determination under "play nice" rules.

Think of it as having your older brother knock the **** out of you
for torturing the cat." Gunner

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

This is America. If you want to, plate it with gold.

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
There is not much practical reason for it,

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

Just give up. You'll never learn.

In article ,
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster.

It's a wrench, it does not need to be pretty...but that's OK.

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Step one - learn to remove light rust with a Scotchbrite (or similar
wheel or pad) rather than with a wire wheel. Sorry, Tawm. Or use a
bronze brush, perhaps.

Too late for that.

So, you're into buff city. You still might want to start with the
Scotchbrite, working up through the grades, to clean off any gross
scratches. Then move to tripoli on a hard buff, and then perhaps to
something milder on a softer buff. At that point you can send it out for
chrome plating if you like, or wax it to slow down re-rusting.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

Ignoramus4128 wrote in
:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

The Crescent wrenches that I've "restored" had all been plated [chrome?]
and, with enough rust showing, the plating would come off under aggressive
buffing. (I've even had large sections come off to display serious rusting
underneath.)

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

Best wishes,

Chris

Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i


Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

On 2008-01-21, RAM³ wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote in
:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

The Crescent wrenches that I've "restored" had all been plated [chrome?]
and, with enough rust showing, the plating would come off under aggressive
buffing. (I've even had large sections come off to display serious rusting
underneath.)


Mine is not chrome plated. There is no chrome plating on it.

i

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

I have not seen such a polish personally.

i

Ignoramus4128 wrote:

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:

Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.


I have not seen such a polish personally.

i

Try a 3M deburring wheel. Those work very well for this purpose, although
they will not follow into contours well.

GWE

--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Ignoramus4128" wrote in message
...
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

I have one of those 15" Crescent wrenches, and as you imply, they are not
chrome plated. The entire surface of the wrench aside from the two sides
of the jaws, is rough. The two sides in question appear to have been
finished and polished. The entire wrench is black oxide finished.

It would probably be pretty easy to lap the two faces on some fine polishing
cloth or paper until they satisfy you, but as far as the balance of the
wrench is concerned, it would look perfectly good if is was bead blasted and
then black oxide finished.

Harold

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:55:35 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm,
Ignoramus4128 quickly quoth:

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

I have not seen such a polish personally.

WalMart, MAAS metal polish, 4oz tube, $3.27 the last I checked.
Good ****, Maynard.

--
You cannot depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus.
-- Mark Twain

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

A sewn buffing wheel, of a diameter apprpriate to the motor's HP, and
some emery buffing compound (usually black, but there seems no
standardization) would allow you to polish the surface to less than a
mirror finish. Add another wheel with some finer grit, say chrome (often
green), and you can get it to a mirror finish with some effort.
Check what you can get locally for polishing compounds, or check your
catalog sources.

Best of all worlds for polishing, is to be able to set up a polishing
lathe, little more than a arbor with several different wheels all lined
up, so as to be able to skip from one grit to the next, without having
to stop to reload the wheel, or change wheels.

If you were willing to put the time into it, it would be possible to
polish the whole unit to quite exceed the state of Snap-On's stuff.
Or you could glass bead the parts, to get an even surface, and plate
them, or blue them, or parkerize them.
Electroless nickel, maybe.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Grant Erwin wrote:

Ignoramus4128 wrote:

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:

Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.
Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.


Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use,
and it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit
like a toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.



I have not seen such a polish personally.
i


Try a 3M deburring wheel. Those work very well for this purpose, although
they will not follow into contours well.

GWE

I REALLY like the 3M deburring wheels. At $30 each, though.... Ugh!

Cheers
Trevor Jones

On 2008-01-21, Larry Jaques novalidaddress@di wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:55:35 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm,
Ignoramus4128 quickly quoth:

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

I have not seen such a polish personally.

WalMart, MAAS metal polish, 4oz tube, $3.27 the last I checked.
Good ****, Maynard.


Sounds like not much to lose, I will give that a try. Thanks Larry.

i

On 2008-01-21, Ignoramus13999 wrote:
On 2008-01-21, Larry Jaques novalidaddress@di wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 23:55:35 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm,
Ignoramus4128 quickly quoth:

On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

I have not seen such a polish personally.

WalMart, MAAS metal polish, 4oz tube, $3.27 the last I checked.
Good ****, Maynard.


Sounds like not much to lose, I will give that a try. Thanks Larry.

i

Larry, forgot to ask, is it in tool department, or jewelry?

i

In article ,
Ignoramus13999 wrote:

Simichrome is another brand of polish to look for, as is Wenol. Probably
in the Automotive section.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 07:30:00 -0600, with neither quill nor qualm,
Ignoramus13999 quickly quoth:

Larry, forgot to ask, is it in tool department, or jewelry?

The MAAS metal polish is in with the cleaning supplies and mops, of
course.

--
If it weren't for jumping to conclusions, some of us wouldn't get any exercise.

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i
You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Wear welding gloves, because the workpiece will get uncomfortably warm
very quickly. Wear full facemask. Be careful to never present a
leading edge to the wheel, because if you do the wheel can "grab" the
workpiece and make it a high-speed projectile. (Surface speed of the
wheel is about 82 mph.)

When you get done, that wrench will look like it was chrome plated.
For some reason, highly-polished steel resists rust surprisingly
well.

On 2008-01-21, Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i
You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Don, my motor is 1 HP, 3450 RPM. This is completely sufficient for my
8" wire wheel.

I looked at sisal wheels at McMaster, and they are all rated at 3,000
RPM at most. So I do not think that I could use a sisal wheel. For
now, I put their item 4832A16 into my cart, which is a 8x1x1/2" (8"
diameter, 1" wide, 1/2 ID) heavy cotton wheel.

Wear welding gloves, because the workpiece will get uncomfortably warm
very quickly. Wear full facemask. Be careful to never present a
leading edge to the wheel, because if you do the wheel can "grab" the
workpiece and make it a high-speed projectile. (Surface speed of the
wheel is about 82 mph.)

When you get done, that wrench will look like it was chrome plated.
For some reason, highly-polished steel resists rust surprisingly
well.

OK, that makes sense. I have never done any buffing before. If you
apply abrasive paste to the wheel, would it not be thrown off due to
centrifugal forces?

Do you use a separate wheel for every grit?

What sequence of grit sizes would you use?

i

On 2008-01-21, SteveB wrote:

"Ignoramus4128" wrote in message
...
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

I have read great things about simple electrolytic derusting you can do with
a bucket and a battery charger. Might come in handy for other things.

One of the things on my future projects list.

One of MANY things.


It works and you can use your DC welder for it as a power supply (CC
welder set for not too many amps).

i

"Cydrome Leader" wrote in message
...
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

Just give up. You'll never learn.

applying the one strike rule and you're out ..........

PLONK! ..............

ahhhhhhhhh.............

Steve

"Ignoramus4128" wrote in message
...
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

Put it in a 3" piece of PVC full of play sand.with caps taped on lightly.
Put it on anything that will tumble it. Tumble it for a while and check.
Tumble if until it comes out looking like you want. Maybe have to
disassemble it, and then I wouldn't tumble the set screw. Try to buff up
what you end up with with soft wheels. Clear coat it if it's got any
reasonable amount of shiny stuff left. If not, buy some good spray paint
like Rustoleum and get back about two feet. Spray LIGHT sprays at it so you
can just see the paint on the thing. Let it hang for an hour or two and
repeat several times over a few days until it gets to the luster you want.
Then clear coat it. Of course, check your paint and clearcoat to make sure
they're compatible.

If someone you know has a cabinet bead blaster or sand blaster, you might
try that, although it will probably take off any remaining chrome.

Do it slowly, slowly. You don't want a really shiny new looking wrench. It
would look fake, and if it's not in pristine mint condition, it's just going
to look like a shiny restored worn item. Particularly, go slow with the
paint, wanting only to get a few speckles on each time instead of a coat.

Post a pic of how it turns out.

Anyway, that's the way I'd do it.

Steve

"Ignoramus4128" wrote in message
...
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

I have read great things about simple electrolytic derusting you can do with
a bucket and a battery charger. Might come in handy for other things.

One of the things on my future projects list.

One of MANY things.

Steve

Christopher Tidy wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i


Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

But I have a rusty tool and I want it shiny and I have a 3450 RPM motor
and I think I'm very clever and handy and don't know how to make metal
shiny!

Help Help!

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
On 2008-01-21, RAM? wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote in
:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

The Crescent wrenches that I've "restored" had all been plated [chrome?]
and, with enough rust showing, the plating would come off under aggressive
buffing. (I've even had large sections come off to display serious rusting
underneath.)


Mine is not chrome plated. There is no chrome plating on it.

i

Are you sure? Are you sure?

Ignoramus4128 wrote:
On 2008-01-21, Christopher Tidy wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:
I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

Can you buy "Peek" metal polish where you live? That's what I use, and
it works great. It's a paste which comes in a metal tube a bit like a
toothpaste tube, and it's a bit more abrasive than Brasso.

I have not seen such a polish personally.

i

Have you seen it though another person? Have you seen it though another
person?

On 2008-01-21, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Christopher Tidy wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i


Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

But I have a rusty tool and I want it shiny and I have a 3450 RPM motor
and I think I'm very clever and handy and don't know how to make metal
shiny!

Help Help!

It sounds as though you are a big expert on metal polishing. Show us
your superiority, share little bits of your learned wisdom and explain
how to polish steel wrenches.

i
holding his breath

Ignoramus13999 wrote:
On 2008-01-21, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Christopher Tidy wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i


Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

But I have a rusty tool and I want it shiny and I have a 3450 RPM motor
and I think I'm very clever and handy and don't know how to make metal
shiny!

Help Help!

It sounds as though you are a big expert on metal polishing. Show us
your superiority, share little bits of your learned wisdom and explain
how to polish steel wrenches.

i
holding his breath

I talk about my 3450 RPM 1HP motor (which is powerful enough for my
tasks) and a clever 8" wire wheel, but never actually use it. See, I'm
completely helpless and can't try anything myself.

In article ,
Ignoramus13999 wrote:

OK, that makes sense. I have never done any buffing before. If you
apply abrasive paste to the wheel, would it not be thrown off due to
centrifugal forces?

It's got a sticky binder to help it cling, and there's never all that
much on there - in fact, trying to apply too much is a typical begnner
error - just a bit, and renew a bit when needed.

Do you use a separate wheel for every grit?

You have to, the wheel becomes a "whatever the coarsest crap that's been
put on it" wheel as soon as it's put into use. Not having set up a
multi-wheel arrnagement yet, I store the buffs and the bar of abrasive
in a ziplock - one ziplock for each type/grit. Also, you often want a
softer wheel to go with a finer compound.

What sequence of grit sizes would you use?

Just go read this, it will save all of us time:

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/index.html

and particularly:

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffing.htm

Which would appear to suggest "black/white/blue" for your purposes, from
their selection. Blue might well be overkill for a wrench. Any of it
might actually degrade the usefulness of the tool - a somewhat pitted
old wrench is less likely to slip out of your sweaty/greasy hand when
you are applying it to something with force than a mirror-polished
wall-hanger.

--
Cats, coffee, chocolate...vices to live by

On 2008-01-21, Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
Ignoramus13999 wrote:

OK, that makes sense. I have never done any buffing before. If you
apply abrasive paste to the wheel, would it not be thrown off due to
centrifugal forces?

It's got a sticky binder to help it cling, and there's never all that
much on there - in fact, trying to apply too much is a typical begnner
error - just a bit, and renew a bit when needed.

Great.

Do you use a separate wheel for every grit?

You have to, the wheel becomes a "whatever the coarsest crap that's been
put on it" wheel as soon as it's put into use. Not having set up a
multi-wheel arrnagement yet, I store the buffs and the bar of abrasive
in a ziplock - one ziplock for each type/grit. Also, you often want a
softer wheel to go with a finer compound.

What sequence of grit sizes would you use?

Just go read this, it will save all of us time:

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/index.html

and particularly:

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffing.htm

This one is even better:

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

It answered, more or less, all my questions.

Which would appear to suggest "black/white/blue" for your purposes, from
their selection. Blue might well be overkill for a wrench. Any of it
might actually degrade the usefulness of the tool - a somewhat pitted
old wrench is less likely to slip out of your sweaty/greasy hand when
you are applying it to something with force than a mirror-polished
wall-hanger.

I agree. I have ordered some wheels and sticks and will experiment. I
think that they will have usefulness beyond this wrench polishing
exercise, as I could improve appearance of many things that pass
through my hands.

I use the wire wheel many times per week.

i

On Jan 21, 12:09*pm, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Christopher Tidy wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

But I have a rusty tool and I want it shiny and I have a 3450 RPM motor
and I think I'm very clever and handy and don't know how to make metal
shiny!

Help Help!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

clean and chome it

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:32:35 -0600, Ignoramus13999
wrote:

On 2008-01-21, Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i
You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Don, my motor is 1 HP, 3450 RPM. This is completely sufficient for my
8" wire wheel.

I looked at sisal wheels at McMaster, and they are all rated at 3,000
RPM at most. So I do not think that I could use a sisal wheel.

Sisal wheel is the right tool whether or not McMaster can provide. I
don't pull my suggestions outta me arse, Ig. I've described what I
use, works for me, YMMV. I get my wheels and compounds from Caswell.

1 HP will suffice for a buffer if you're patient.

On 2008-01-22, Don Foreman wrote:
On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:32:35 -0600, Ignoramus13999
wrote:

On 2008-01-21, Don Foreman wrote:
On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i
You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Don, my motor is 1 HP, 3450 RPM. This is completely sufficient for my
8" wire wheel.

I looked at sisal wheels at McMaster, and they are all rated at 3,000
RPM at most. So I do not think that I could use a sisal wheel.

Sisal wheel is the right tool whether or not McMaster can provide. I
don't pull my suggestions outta me arse, Ig. I've described what I
use, works for me, YMMV. I get my wheels and compounds from Caswell.

1 HP will suffice for a buffer if you're patient.



Don, thanks, I will get a sisal wheel from Caswell. Hopefully, in a
week or two I will have some results and photos.

i

Ignoramus13999 wrote:


OK, that makes sense. I have never done any buffing before. If you
apply abrasive paste to the wheel, would it not be thrown off due to
centrifugal forces?

Yup. If you do any amount of the stuff, you won't be allowed into the
house, until you have bathed under the hose.

Wear a decent respirator/filter.

Do you use a separate wheel for every grit?

Should. Really only matters if you are going to use a wide range of
grits. Once the coarse grit is into the wheel, there is always the
possibility of it still being there when you want or need the fine grit.
Picture s heet of 600 grit sandpaper, with a couple 100 grit grains
embedded....

What sequence of grit sizes would you use?

Depends on the material and the degree of material removal required.

Emery is a good start. Check the recommendations in the catalog, or on
the package.

Cheers
Trevor Jones

Ecnerwal wrote:
In article ,
Ignoramus13999 wrote:

Simichrome is another brand of polish to look for, as is Wenol. Probably
in the Automotive section.




Restoring luster to an old rusted tool

Younger wife, Viagra and polish it often.

(O;

porgeboy23 wrote:
On Jan 21, 12:09?pm, Cydrome Leader wrote:
Christopher Tidy wrote:
Cydrome Leader wrote:
Ignoramus4128 wrote:

I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

Just give up. You'll never learn.

Do you think you could resist the urge to troll for a while, Cydrome?

Chris

But I have a rusty tool and I want it shiny and I have a 3450 RPM motor
and I think I'm very clever and handy and don't know how to make metal
shiny!

Help Help!- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

clean and chome it

But I don't know how to clean metal! What is metal?

Ignoramus6442 wrote:
On 2008-01-22, Don Foreman wrote:

On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:32:35 -0600, Ignoramus13999
wrote:


On 2008-01-21, Don Foreman wrote:

On Sun, 20 Jan 2008 22:05:31 -0600, Ignoramus4128
wrote:


I have a old Crescent 15" adjustable wrench. It is well made and works
well. It is decades old. It was covered by a thin layer of rust. I
removed this rust with a wire wheel and oiled it with CorrosionX to
prevent further rust.

While there is no more rust, the surface looks dull due to its
miscroscopic irregularity.

My question is whether there is some non-insane way of restoring its
luster. (possibly it never had luster at all). But I would like it to
have, if possible, a somewhat polished appearance.

Perhaps, mounting a buffing wheel on my 3450 RPM motor, and buffing
it, would help? Any suggestions for a buffing wheel?

There is not much practical reason for it, but perhaps I could learn
something useful.

i

You're on the right track.

Metal polishes from a jar remove tarnish, but they don't do much for
microscopic pits. That requires buffing.

Get an 8" sisal wheel and a bar of aggressive emery compound. Mount
the wheel on your 3450 RPM motor and have at it. I seem to recall
that yours is a 2HP motor, which is about right for this job. My
buffer is a 2HP 3450 RPM motor.

Don, my motor is 1 HP, 3450 RPM. This is completely sufficient for my
8" wire wheel.

I looked at sisal wheels at McMaster, and they are all rated at 3,000
RPM at most. So I do not think that I could use a sisal wheel.

Sisal wheel is the right tool whether or not McMaster can provide. I
don't pull my suggestions outta me arse, Ig. I've described what I
use, works for me, YMMV. I get my wheels and compounds from Caswell.

1 HP will suffice for a buffer if you're patient.




Don, thanks, I will get a sisal wheel from Caswell. Hopefully, in a
week or two I will have some results and photos.

i

After reading your subject header, I wonder if you are trying to achieve
what was never there in the first place? Crescent used to sell 2 versions
of their wrenches, chrome plated and unplated. The unplated had a phosphate
finish.

Tom