That, and it makes my hamstrings and back sore so I feel like I did something yesterday. Haha!
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I figure it's probably been covered in this thread or another, but I have a keg I'm polishing (started out in really good condition...it was the last keg I bought and it made me realize the others are pretty rough) and I've hit the whole thing with a medium gator pad, then the fine pad that didn't seem to make much of a difference, so now it's on to the polish pad/compound. What polishing compounds did you use? And did you get them at the same place you bought the gator pads? I saw starting with "#2" mentioned, then moving to "#5"...I'm not necessarily trying to make it look as though it was dipped in chrome, but my main goal is to get rid of the fine swirls and add a uniform shine.
Secondly, as I mentioned I have two other kegs that are in rough shape compared to the keg I am working on now. I may just wrap one in insulation and only polish a small part of it and use it for the MLT, but there's some deep-ish scratches I'm wondering if I'll need to start at a heavy pad with? Were you able to polish a scratched up keg to be presentable?
Thanks!
Last edited by sudsandswine; 03-12-2010 at 01:11 AM.
The polish options are on the first page. Lowes has converted to a different brand it seams but they are still "sticks" of varying grades of polish. Start coarse and go finer until you're happy. Do NOT use the same buffing pad when you go finer.
I'd never start with the coarse gator grit. I think you can actually grind a hole right through the keg with the coarse.
Bobby you saved me a ton of work with the gator pads. About 3.5 hours start to finish for one Sanke.
I've polished a couple motorcycle frames (aluminum) and that was a massive pain compared to this. Part of what they do and it was the same for the Motorcycle frames is there is a top coat that is, corrosion protection that if you don't use an abrasive the polishing wheels wont work.
Yes changing pads with different coarseness is key.
Does it rust? Or just keep it clean and dry after use?
Again thanks bobby
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If you use a carbon steel brush, you will get rust. Tiny bits of carbon steel get deposited in to the imperfections of the keg surface. If you use a Stainless wire wheel, no rust. I used SS wheels cleaning up three swimming pool filter housings that I converted to brew vessels.
They've been exposed to the weather for over 5 years, no rust.
I think I have found a decent cheap alternative to the gatorgrit pads. At lowe's they have 3 different grades (coarseness) of 3M stripping pads, just like a kitchen scotchbrite pad, but stiffer. They come in a rectangle about 4.5"x5.5". I simply cut a small hole in the center and fit it to my angle grinder on the backing plate. As I used it the corners tore off, but it didn't make any problem. They could easily be cut down to size to fit the backing plate more closely. These pads are only $2.50 for 2 pads.
I bought the most coarse, it cleaned up really well and only took ~10 minutes. I could have covered 2-3 kegs with one pad. It did leave some swirls, so I went over it the same way with a standard kitchen scrub. Its not a mirror finish, but it shines nicely.
I haven't found a cheap alternative for the buffing steps with compound so I haven't begun this yet.
If someone has used the compound sticks, could they please tell me what the consistency was like? I am thinking they should be crayonlike, so that they will melt some of the compound to the buffing wheel.
I just bought a SS polishing kit, and the compounds are rock hard. Nothing seems to be applied when I spin the buff pad on them with my drill.
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