Tell me about buffing

[Burt Alcantara]

I saw a bowl or HF on this or AAW. What I liked was the naturalnes of the wood. The poster said he only buffed it.

What's need to get set up with buffing?

Thanks,
Burt

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Burt............I use the Beal buffing system. As I didn't want or have a separate motor and stand, I got the version that I can use on my lathe. Later I'll probably set up a separate buffing wheel station.

Most buffing systems have 3 wheels of different cloth make up and each one uses a different buffing compound.

[Burt Alcantara]

Ken,
What are the different compounds?

[Dennis Peacock]

Brown Tripoli
White Diamond
and Carnuba Wax.

Don't EVER use White Diamond on a Black Walnut bowl. DAMHIKT!!:o :o

[Larry McCumber]

You can see a short video on using the Beall Buffing system at
http://www.woodcraft-gallery.com/StreamingMedia/bealbuff.wmv

[George Tokarev]

There's another "system" out there which burnishes the wood while it's still on the lathe. It's the brown bag. Old boys used shavings, but if you're a bit sloppy, a few leftover maple shavings can really ruin a chunk of cherry. You then diminish the cross-grain contrast by buffing along the grain with a new piece of the bag.

Worn-out sanding mop works pretty well, too.

[Mark Pruitt]

Don't EVER use White Diamond on a Black Walnut bowl. DAMHIKT!!:o :o
Burt, to elaborate on Dennis' warning, the reason for this is that white diamond compound will leave light colored residue in the pores of black walnut or other dark species, and it is a nightmare to remove. On such species, it's best to move from the Tripoli straight to Carnauba.

[Burt Alcantara]

What would happen if you buffed with no wax or oil? I'm looking for somewhat of a wet look but only in color depth, not gloss. Is that possible or is wax an essential?

After reading posts in this and AAW I'm not clear about speeds. Is it slow or fast? Is this just a matter of what works best for you?

Thanks,
Burt

[Mike Vickery]

You do not have to use wax if you do not want to. I usually buff at about 1800 to 2000 RPM's.

[Neal Addy]

Burt, several of us here have experimented with the "buff only" look. I really like it for rosewoods (especially Cocobola) and the like. But....

If making the color pop is what you are after then a buffing system (by itself) may not be what you are looking for. Buffing does nothing for soaking into the wood like a good oil finish. That is what you need for bringing out the grain and color of the wood. A buffing simply polishes the surface, removes small sanding scratches, and gives you a polished (i.e. glossy) look. This may help the color show better but it doesn't reach into the grain and 'make it pop'.

[Bill Wyko]

You can also do a coat of tung oil, let it dry completly then do the 3 wheel on it. It makes a beautiful, natural finish.

[Burt Alcantara]

I finish everything, which isn't all that much, with Mahoney's Walnut Oil. I guess I'm after a tad more depth. This might be the fault of my turning technique as I still can't get that baby's butt smoothness on my turnings,,,yet.

I thought buffing (with or w/o oil) would do that.

Thanks,
Burt