Rotary tool

[mikepilk]

6 hours ago, Jon said:

I wish I knew what they put in Polywatch, because a 5g tube for a fiver,

I use this stuff I buy from ebay, about £12 for 50ml. I think it's better than Polywatch

[Neverenoughwatches]

7 hours ago, Jon said:

I'll try that. Thanks Richard!

I've been using it ever since, never even considered using poly watch. Autosol have quite a few different types

[Jon]

Just bought some from these guys https://www.infinitywax.com/search?type=product&options[prefix]=last&options[unavailable_products]=show&q=autosol

Cheaper the Amazon

[AndyGSi]

Just remembered I'd got one of these so order some 2" felt wheels to give it a try.

[VWatchie]

On 4/3/2025 at 5:56 PM, SwissSeiko said:

Ive thought about getting a micromotor, but they are so expensive! what are your plans for it?

As @Jon pointed out, it's a versatile tool whose range of uses seems to grow the longer you have it. I think it's the same principle as with a watchmaker's lathe (which I don't have)—the longer you own one, the more applications you discover. The last time I used my multitool was to create custom steel rods for manipulating anti-shock springs and dress one of my brass tweezers.

 

On 4/3/2025 at 8:24 PM, Jon said:

If Bob Mortimer does it, I can't see why not... Only joking! But, Bob Mortimer does his own dentistry!!

[AndyGSi]

So can anyone offer any insight into why the Dialux won't coat the full wheel?

[RichardHarris123]

I can only assume, it's something on the surface.  Try running it against some scrap material and then try to coat it again. 

[AndyGSi]

7 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I can only assume, it's something on the surface.  Try running it against some scrap material and then try to coat it again. 

Thanks, I had just tried that but it still only coats the original surface.

I'll have to get an old case and see how it works in practice.

[HectorLooi]

The felt wheel is not running true yet. As it wears down, it'll be ok. If you run at a low speed, the compound block will coat the surface better.

[AndyGSi]

15 minutes ago, HectorLooi said:

The felt wheel is not running true yet. As it wears down, it'll be ok. If you run at a low speed, the compound block will coat the surface better.

Thanks. I'd tried it both fast and slow with the same results but will try on a case and see if things improve.

[mikepilk]

2 hours ago, AndyGSi said:

Thanks. I'd tried it both fast and slow with the same results but will try on a case and see if things improve.

Some of those felt wheels are quite hard and take a bit of use before they wear and the Dialux covers all the surface.  I use them with Dialux Green for scratches on stainless steel. For final polishing on all surfaces, I use the mini chamois wheels. They are excellent, robust, you can get them in to tight corners, and they will give a mirror finish.

[AndyGSi]

4 minutes ago, mikepilk said:

Some of those felt wheels are quite hard and take a bit of use before they wear and the Dialux covers all the surface.  I use them with Dialux Green for scratches on stainless steel. For final polishing on all surfaces, I use the mini chamois wheels. They are excellent, robust, you can get them in to tight corners, and they will give a mirror finish.

Do you use as is or with the Green again?

I've got Grey, Blue & White at the moment.

[SwissSeiko]

On 4/4/2025 at 5:24 AM, Jon said:

That's the way I do it as well. It wasn't primarily for polishing crystals. I thought I would try it to see how it worked. The results are OK, but it better to use wet and dry and Polywatch.

I wish I knew what they put in Polywatch, because a 5g tube for a fiver, someone is making a shed load of money! I tried some T-Cut headlight polishing compound which doesn't work half as good as Polywatch

I looked up the MSDS of polywatch, and the abrasive is aluminum oxide. I assume Jon that you have Diamatine on hand, so you can make your own! That is what I do. I mix it with a bit of oil to make a paste. They obviously have other additives in there to keep the solution suspended, but the homemade version works quite well. If you're using a cotton mop, it will pull the oil from the powder and dry it out.

[mikepilk]

I used to use white for most polishing, but found it hard to remove deeper scratches from stainless steel. Green is much better at that, and also gives a mirror finish when used with the chamois. It also works on chrome and nickel plating - just be careful and do it lightly. I still use white a lot as a final polish, as it can be used on almost any finish. For gold I use red. 

[RichardHarris123]

What speed is recommended for polishing and buffing? 

[Neverenoughwatches]

40 minutes ago, SwissSeiko said:

looked up the MSDS of polywatch, and the abrasive is aluminum oxide. 

Same ingredient as autosol , it's a step down from diamond.  Corundum is a form of aluminum oxide....rubies and sapphires. I suspect what watch jewels are grown from.

4 hours ago, AndyGSi said:

Thanks. I'd tried it both fast and slow with the same results but will try on a case and see if things improve.

Felt wheels, hard mops coat better with speed, introducing some heat. You could warm the bar at a low heat. Expect it to not all stick, it can flick off quite a bit.

[AndyGSi]

28 minutes ago, Neverenoughwatches said:

Felt wheels, hard mops coat better with speed, introducing some heat. You could warm the bar at a low heat. Expect it to not all stick, it can flick off quite a bit.

Tried it on a rusty old nut spinner and it worked so will give it a go on a case tomorrow.

[mikepilk]

2 hours ago, RichardHarris123 said:

What speed is recommended for polishing and buffing? 

That's something I'd like to know. I looked at bench polishing machines, but there's a huge range of speeds. For the fixed speeds, about 3000 rpm seems popular. But what size wheels are most used? 

If we assume a 4" wheel on a 3000rpm bench machine, then on my rotary tool with a 1" wheel, I need to run at 4x speed (i.e. 12,000rpm) to get the same wheel surface speed. 

[AndyGSi]

The mini lathe I've got is listed as 4000-8000rpm and the lowest speed seems to work fine with a 2" wheel.

[Jon]

5 hours ago, SwissSeiko said:

I assume Jon that you have Diamatine on hand, so you can make your own!

I have, but it's 0.25 micron/100000 grit, so would take forever surely to remove scratches from an acrylic crystal.

I know Diamantine used to come in three grades, but I believe they only do the fine now

I just got the Autosol acrylic polish through late today, so I'll try that on the morrow

[SwissSeiko]

3 minutes ago, Jon said:

I have, but it's 0.25 micron/100000 grit, so would take forever surely to remove scratches from an acrylic crystal.

I know Diamantine used to come in three grades, but I believe they only do the fine now

I just got the Autosol acrylic polish through late today, so I'll try that on the morrow

I have the extra fine, the medium, and 0.25 micron diamond powder. The medium works quite well. Ill try out some autosol as well

[RichardHarris123]

7 minutes ago, Jon said:

just got the Autosol acrylic polish through late today, so I'll try that on the morrow

I'm waiting for the "what are you talking about, Richard. It's rubbish".  Hehe. 

[HectorLooi]

Polishing is as much an art as it is science.

There are a lot of variables to consider. Like the type of material being polished, type of polishing agent used, type of polishing wheel, rotation speed, pressure applied.

For a hard metal like stainless steel, I like to use a hard wheel like felt or even MDF particle board. It's less likely to round off a sharp edge.

Actual polishing is very fast, usually taking less than a few minutes. Getting the surface prepped to take a polish, that's the killer.

[Neverenoughwatches]

34 minutes ago, RichardHarris123 said:

I'm waiting for the "what are you talking about, Richard. It's rubbish".  Hehe. 

That would include me as well, It's also in one of my watchmaking books.

[AndyGSi]

Very happy with the results after less than a minute on the wheel.