Quoted from terryb:A lot of auto restorers use wax to seal and rustproof metal parts after cleaning. The high-end solution is RPM (Rust Prevention Magic) from ECS Automotive, which has passed a 1,000 hour salt spray test. It requires a little work to apply since you have to heat the item with a heat gun before applying it.
Everbrite has some pretty good one part clear solutions.
» YouTube video
$35 for 8oz of RPM? That stuff is *not* cheap. I think I'll have to pass that up.
What's the difference between one part and two part clear?
Quoted from HighSpeed1:It's good to have different types of tumbler media, or multiple tumblers, even if it's multiple batches of crushed walnut or similar. What I have done, is used the tumbling media triangles to knock down the heavy stuff, then dry walnut media, then use an auto chrome/aluminium liquid polish added to another batch of walnut media for the final polish of parts like brass or plated parts. Then you can wax the parts after too.
I'm using fine walnut media, and have been putting in some mothers metal polish.
Quoted from KloggMonkey:My shooter knob was that dull grey till I worked on it with the green compound and that buffer. Now its mirror like.
Wax will do fine, not sure about the Ballistol stuff.
"Green compound"? What is that?
Ballistol is used for protecting the metal on firearms without harming/reacting with wood or leather. I haven't used it myself yet, but it looks like it works fairly well.
Quoted from crlush:If your seeing sand scratches its because your changing to a finer paper before you remove the previous scratches. Also try some 800 instead of jumping from 600 to 1200 grit, I usually buff with some white rouge and a round felt buffing wheel, after that I use some automotive paste buffing compound called autosol, makes it look like chrome and seems to help ptotect the finish. RPM is some really good stuff used in the automotive restoration business, they put it on bare metal parts that cant be painted for the fear of loosing points when there cars are judged at car shows.
I wasn't able to find 800 grit 9"x11" sheets in standard 5-packs. There's a couple 50-pack on amazon, but that's more sandpaper than I'd ever use. Home Depot and Lowes don't seem to carry it. Where can you typically find some?
Also, I'd just like to reiterate, this gray tarnish does not buff or polish away. I can only get rid of it by sanding.
Lastly, what techniques should I use for sanding in hard-to-reach places?