usable shelf life of Tripoli?

[Roger Chandler]

In my other thread I mentioned the tripoli that I got when I purchased the Beal Buffing system about three years ago is pretty hard now..........does that diminish its usefulness, or is it okay? It will still come off on the buffing wheel....only not as heavily as before, which may be a good thing.

The last time I used it on some lighter wood, which was a bit porous, it left reddish residue in the pores......I ended up putting that one in the wood stove. That was nearly two years ago.

[Eric Gourieux]

Roger,
I also have some old tripoli, so I'm eager to hear if anybody has input on the subject. The only time I had a reddish residue while buffing with Tripoli was when I applied too much to my buffer pad. Before I buff, I always clean off the pad by spinning at 1200-1500 RPM's and "buff" the edge or corner of a clean scrap piece of wood. Then I apply a fresh coat of Tripoli. That may or may not be the right thing to do. It's just what I have become accustomed to doing.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger,
I also have some old tripoli, so I'm eager to hear if anybody has input on the subject. The only time I had a reddish residue while buffing with Tripoli was when I applied too much to my buffer pad. Before I buff, I always clean off the pad by spinning at 1200-1500 RPM's and "buff" the edge or corner of a clean scrap piece of wood. Then I apply a fresh coat of Tripoli. That may or may not be the right thing to do. It's just what I have become accustomed to doing.


thanks Eric....I think I also put too much on one time.........I will try your buff the edge technique and see if it will work for my buffing wheel.

[Thom Sturgill]

The white diamond compound *should* clean out the tripoli residue and is easier to remove. I have sucessfully removed white diamond from walnut using a clean wheel. Tripoli is in a wax base, IIRC, and that you should be able to remove by buffing off or washing off with mineral spirits.

Working in my dad's shop twenty-five years ago, I used tripoli bars that were probably older than I was. My dad was a depression era child and never threw anything away if there was any possibility of future use. That is a practice I try to break as I have too much 'stuff' in my life, so now I just try to pass it on to someone who can use it (unless its a tool, of course. Those I keep forever.)

[Curt Fuller]

The last time I used it on some lighter wood, which was a bit porous, it left reddish residue in the pores......I ended up putting that one in the wood stove. That was nearly two years ago.
Roger, I'm having a senior moment where I can't remember a name to save me. But there was a guy that passed away a few years ago, he was a prominent turner that did a lot of tutorials. His buffing tutorial was the best. I mention him because he stressed the importance of using just a minimal amount of compound (tripoli, white diamond, or wax) on your buffing wheels. If you're seeing a red residue from the tripoli, you've overloaded the wheel for sure. I've had hugely better results once I started following his suggestions. Take a bare piece of scrap wood and clean as much compound off your wheels as you can. Then just touch the stick of tripoli to the wheel for a second or so. That's plenty to buff a fairly large piece. Same with the other compounds and carnuba wax. Too much and it just smears and is nearly impossible to get a good buff job.
Also in reply to your question on your other post about buffing walnut. I've found that I get the best results on walnut by not using tripoli or white diamond. The dark grain is too open and invariably you get specks of the compound in the pores that is very hard to get out. Instead, I like to use a scotchbrite type pad once the WOP is cured to knock down any little specks or blemishes in the WOP. Then wipe it down good to remove any specks and just buff with the wax. And although you can get a nice shine with carnuba wax, you'll get an even nicer shine with ren wax. Hope that helps.


It finally came to me.....Russ Fairfield.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, I'm having a senior moment where I can't remember a name to save me. But there was a guy that passed away a few years ago, he was a prominent turner that did a lot of tutorials. His buffing tutorial was the best. I mention him because he stressed the importance of using just a minimal amount of compound (tripoli, white diamond, or wax) on your buffing wheels. If you're seeing a red residue from the tripoli, you've overloaded the wheel for sure. I've had hugely better results once I started following his suggestions. Take a bare piece of scrap wood and clean as much compound off your wheels as you can. Then just touch the stick of tripoli to the wheel for a second or so. That's plenty to buff a fairly large piece. Same with the other compounds and carnuba wax. Too much and it just smears and is nearly impossible to get a good buff job.
Also in reply to your question on your other post about buffing walnut. I've found that I get the best results on walnut by not using tripoli or white diamond. The dark grain is too open and invariably you get specks of the compound in the pores that is very hard to get out. Instead, I like to use a scotchbrite type pad once the WOP is cured to knock down any little specks or blemishes in the WOP. Then wipe it down good to remove any specks and just buff with the wax. And although you can get a nice shine with carnuba wax, you'll get an even nicer shine with ren wax. Hope that helps.


It finally came to me.....Russ Fairfield.

Thanks Curt for the good info..........I appreciate you taking the time to share it with me!!!

[BILL DONAHUE]

Roger, I have Tripoli older than yours and its still fine. The secret seems to be in keeping it sealed in plastic. Overloading a wheel though will certainly harden and make buffing difficult or ineffective. There are several ways to clean a buffing wheel using sandpaper, screw drivers, etc., and they can be found by searching on this forum. Good luck.

[Richard Coers]

It's tripoli in wax, what's to go bad?