[OP]
Contributor
The buffing wheels on my Beall Wood Buff System turned very dark after using them on a piece of Ebony wood. While attempting to clean them using 60 grit sandpaper I noticed a lot of old compound sticking to it. After a few passes the wheels were almost white again and without the stiffness from built up compound. The tripoli accumulated the most build up and took about 3 strips of sandpaper to finish the job. Now the wheels are almost the way they were new.
Moderator
I'm glad it worked but it sounds odd - I've buffed a lot of ebony (of various types) but the wheels never turned dark. All three wheels? Could you possibly be using too much compound? I buff bare Ebony wood but I always use very little compound when buffing anything.Originally Posted by Steve Mathews
Coarse sandpaper will work but I always worried about a particle of grit getting stuck in the wheel fibers somehow but maybe that won't ever happen. I saw a car once that went through a car wash where something had stuck in the spinning mops - yikes. So when needed, I like to refresh buffing wheels with a piece of hacksaw or bandsaw blade.
[OP]
Contributor
John - I'm not absolutely positive that is was just the ebony turning the wheels black as the wood was attached to some stainless steel and that was buffed at the same time. The project was a barbecue spatula. And yes, all 3 wheels turned black with the tripoli wheel being worse. Thanks for the suggestion of using a hacksaw or bandsaw blade instead. That would certainly be cheaper and easier. However, I recall Beall suggesting in one of their videos using sandpaper to initially get rid of loose fibers. But I suppose it is possible that some sandpaper grit could remain on the wheel, especially if there's a buildup of compound. I use compound sparingly but was amazed how much of it was removed by the sandpaper. It seemed to suck it up like a sponge.
Moderator
Steel will turn a buffing wheel black in a heartbeat even with a very small amount of buffing compound. I keep one buffing wheel on a bench grinder just for metals and it stays pretty dark. For metals I use a wheel that is cloth but treated with something and much harder than the Beale wheels, I think it's called a Bias or Airways wheel.
The wheel I use looks like this except it's white and not yellow. I got mine from a carving shop where they used them to polish knife blades and carving chisels.
https://www.amazon.com/Airway-Buffin.../dp/B014CP52VK
JKJ
[OP]
Contributor
John - You were correct about the stainless steel turning my buffing wheel black. I went over the ebony wood again after cleaning the wheel and it didn't darken. I'll follow your lead and get another wheel for steel polishing. I also tried using a hacksaw blade instead of sandpaper to dress the wheels and that seemed to work fine. Sorry if I mislead anyone in my initial post.
Moderator
No misleading! It's all experimenting, experiences, and sharing and everyone benefits.
Contributor
The cloth wheels can be washed. Also, "cleaning" them with sandpaper is nuts because pieces of sand will inevitably get stuck in the oily buildup and scratch your bowl.
Russell Neyman.
Writer - Woodworker - Historian
Instructor: The Woodturning Experience
Puget Sound, Washington State
"Outside of a dog, there's nothing better than a good book; inside of a dog it's too dark to read."
Contributor
The proper tool for cleaning a buffing wheel is called a rake. Beall’s own instructions call for using 80 grit sandpaper when new at least.
https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=buffing+wheel+rake&ref=is_s
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