How to polish a Panda action?

[Endyo]

I'm drooling at those knives. Excellent illustration of hand polishing vs buffer.

The first picture looked fantastic I thought you proved the point for hand polishing then I scrolled down..

 

[shortgrass]

GSXR, it's painfully obvious you know little about polishing metals. It has nothing to do with heat or RPM, but is about the technique used. By the way, your "buffer polish" blade appears rippled, to me, though a pic can never do justice to any finish. Some folks will just never know the difference.

 

[expiper]

Dear GSX,,,,those knives are full of imperfections,,!!!! ooo wait,,,that is my reflection that Im seeing,,,hahah,,,Roger

 

[Tim Singleton]

GSXR
Are those knives you have polished?

 

[Alexander-M]

I am not suggesting that the process shown in the following video (46 seconds into the video) is the only one they used, but it must have been a big part of the overall polishing process.

I do appreciate all your comments!

Nando

 

[LHSmith]

I have probably polished and buffed more material than you have ever touched! What is "painful", is your lack of experience. Friction and heat generate shine! BTW: There is no ripples in that finish. What you see is reflection. The difference is clear. RPM contributes to the finish. You're trying to achieve shine…. not removal of material! Low RPM for shine. High RPM for material removal.

???? Hmmmm Is this out of the same textbook from your engineer wife that states that most metals expand when cooled and contract when heated?

 

[sdneil]

Alex... I have seen some of your work and I am sure you can polish or is that Polish anything you set out to ...Neil G

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I guess this is the last one!!

 

[zanemoseley]

Man that is one sexy action. I'm going to guess they'll get enough backlash on their lack of polishing that they will be finding a new talented employee with polishing experience.

 

[JRS]

Man that is one sexy action. I'm going to guess they'll get enough backlash on their lack of polishing that they will be finding a new talented employee with polishing experience.

Their money is made in the manufacturing of actions and rifle building. Not polishing. That employee is performing other tasks..

 

[J-rod]

I believe mine was one of the last ones to be polished based off of conversations I had with Kelby...its a shame too because the guy did an amazing job.

 

[zanemoseley]

Their money is made in the manufacturing of actions and rifle building. Not polishing. That employee is performing other tasks..

But polishing their actions differentiated their product. Now there's not as much pulling people to the product over a BAT, Stiller, Stolle or others.

 

[Cold Bore]

Dontcha just hate it when you try to delete a post, but the content of that post stays in the later quotes??

DOH!!

 

[JRS]

There's no reason to leave posts in place for the same little group of people to attack. The OP was looking for help. Evidently, I shouldn't have offered it. You can find the response from Jim Kelbly addressing the reason why they will no longer offer the polishing, barrel vices, action wrenches, etc; etc.

 

[expiper]

I am glad Kelblys is focoused on production ,,,my satin finish action shoots just fine and doesnt show fingerprints,,,I am more concerned with accuracy than trying to impress with glitter and glitz,,,Roger

 

[sstkmkrr]

The Price of Butter Milk just went up!

Steve Murphy

 

[JRS]

Alex,

If you're afraid to use a buffer, you can produce a mirror like finish on your action using a very fine Japanese whetstone. Be prepared to spend a number of hours on it.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

OP, on aluminum I use sand paper on a granite surface plate to refine the scratch pattern and keep flat surfaces flat. work up to about 600 grit. Then on a loose muslin wheel you can bring it up to that mirror finish, just use your head and dont dwell on numbers or edges or you will round them off. I usually use green compound even though its not specifically for aluminum it seems to work great for both aluminum and steel.

 

[shortgrass]

???? Hmmmm Is this out of the same textbook from your engineer wife that states that most metals expand when cooled and contract when heated?

DOH!! [/QUOTE]

Dontcha just hate it when you try to delete a post, but the content of that post stays in the later quotes??

DOH!!

If i'd have posted as much mis-information as GSXR has I'd be trying to delete it, too!

 

[Alexander-M]

I'll try the polishing methods that have been suggested, and will practice on scrap pieces of aluminum of different grades, which I have in my shop, as I don't expect to receive the new Panda action for several weeks. Right now I need to really concentrate on the matches I will be shooting this year with my F-T/R rifle; yes, with a polished Panda action, which shoots as great as it looks... I think.

Thanks again!
Nando (Alex)