"polishing your keg" is more than a clever euphemism - Page 9

**conpewter** · 05-10-2008, 02:00 PM

What do you guys think about the abrasive ball sort of things from harbor freight

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=96945

I think this could work well for cleaning up a keg if you don't have an angle grinder. It might work even better because of the irregularities of a keg side.

**Bobby_M** · 05-10-2008, 03:12 PM

It will clean it up but certainly leave a matte finish and take forever on a drill.

G-E-R-M-A-N · 05-19-2008, 09:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriso

Sorry, could you explain that in a little more detail? I don't understand the process, but really want to do this. Sorry I'm daft.

Sorry for the really long delay, but the greasless compound comes in tubes about 1ft long and different grits. You take your buffing wheel (sewn cotton) and spin it on whatever you have to spin it (drill, buffing machine) and then take tube and load the wheel up with compound. This only takes a sec to load the wheel literally.

After the wheel is loaded up you get a hairdryer, and dry the compound on your wheel. Only takes a minute to harden. You now have a nice easy way to sand stuff smoothly via cotton wheel.

The advantage is that it is not overly harsh(when right grit is used) and sands uniformly and gives a great polishing surface. You can achieve this by sanding like normal, but it takes 40x amount of time. If I am going to polish something, this is a staple before actually using a polishing rouge.

The key to polishing metal is assessing what grit to start at, and when your ready to go to the next finer grit.

**Chriso** · 05-19-2008, 10:38 PM

Thanks very much, makes a lot more sense now. I couldn't figure out what was drying, the cotton or the keg!

G-E-R-M-A-N · 05-20-2008, 05:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chriso

Thanks very much, makes a lot more sense now. I couldn't figure out what was drying, the cotton or the keg!

Here is a good link for them.

http://www.eastwoodco.com/jump.jsp?itemID=435&itemType=CATEGORY&iMainCat=433 &iSubCat=435

Caswell has them also.

The Pol · 05-20-2008, 04:42 PM

God is telling me to build a Brutus 10 and to polish my kegs. Why? This thread, and I have stumbled upon (3) converted kegs (bulkheads and thermowells) for $175. I will begin rubbing my kegs when I get home!!

**Bobby_M** · 05-20-2008, 04:50 PM

I also found this: http://www.englishcustompolishing.com/usca/abrasives.html

However, I just placed an order at Caswell for various buffing wheels and cutting compounds for the last two kegs in my rig. Of course when I get around to it, I'll post what I bought and how well it went.

The Pol · 05-21-2008, 01:29 PM

I am going the Gator Grit and polishing compound route... 3 hours ber keg isnt a huge deal to me really. It is going to take me 12 months to build and scavenge all of the parts I need for my Brutus 10 build anyhow. My wife and I are planning to build a wooden brewing rig, something that is stained and nice enough to place in a semi finished basement at some point. There is one posted here on HBT somewhere, dark stain and laquer finish, and highly polished kegs... that will be HOT.

The Pol · 05-22-2008, 09:51 PM

ANYONE try the GATOR GRIT POLISHING discs? I saw them at Lowes, didnt see any plishing compound... anyone try these? ALSO, is the FINE Gator Grit pad enough to prep the keg for polishing? THANKS!

**Bobby_M** · 05-23-2008, 02:42 AM

Yeah, if you read through the earlier part of this thread I show all the pads and compounds I used. The fine pad is a good place to start if your keg is in decent condition. Then you go to the polishing pad and use the #5 compound. Then switch to a fresh pad and use #2 compound. You should get one keg done on two fine pads and two polishing pads.