"polishing your keg" is more than a clever euphemism

[zanemoseley]

One more thing, my white gold wedding ring has been looking rough lately with doing a lot of yard work and stuff. I noticed the #5 said something about precious metals so I gave it a whirl. In about 30 seconds my ring looked good as new.

 

[Bobby_M]

Hmm, now if I could just make my grinder upsize my ring by about one to deal with my newfound sausage fingers...

 

[sirsloop]

****... spent like three hours dicking around cutting off the keg top and polishing with the angle grinder. My keg was really pristine, so I just used a medium pad to knock off the paint and around the roller rings, fine, then #2 polishing. Man... ****in hands are killin me and I type like 10 hours a day and play guitar. Tomorrow I'm going over it again with #5... probably make a couple laps around the keg with the grinder. Luckily I only have one to do! HA!

 

[zanemoseley]

Hopefully you will be fine without hitting it with the fine pad before the #2 compound. My fine pads actually took off the thin paint just fine. Funny thing though, after the first hour "fine" grinding session the back of my thighs were killing me, couldn't straighten my legs out well for a day, stooping over will kick your a$$. Another funny fact, thought I'd be slick and borrow a cheap cut off tool from work to cut the hole in the top at my buddy's non-heated garage with a big compressor, thought this would be quicker than a grinder. Wrong!!! It took 1.5 hours of me and my work bud swapping, I tried to take the brunt of the action as it was my project so I probably got a good hour in. All the cold early February air going through the cut off tool with no gloves gave me mild frost bite on my left middle finger. First time I've ever got frost bite, ohh what we'll do for good beer.

 

[zanemoseley]

ohh and I forgot to mention that the dead frost bitten skin has been peeling off my middle finger for the last two days. After I told my wife I got mild frost bite on my finger she told me "one you go black you never go back" lol I hope it doesn't get that bad.

 

[sirsloop]

I ground down the key's on the sanke valve, cut off the dip tube, cut out the spring and ball assembly... then used a fender washer and a long bolt to attach it to a 2x4. I dry wall screwed another 2x4 in an L shape, then used quick clamps to hold my angle grinder in place... ala Bobby's technique. Problem was my first cut off wheel went too deep into the keg, bent, and shattered. I figured I would give the stock grinder wheel a try, but it sucked. I ended up goin back to Lowes and got the curvy style cut off wheel for the 4.5" grinder... I set the depth to JUST BARELY cut through the top. It knocked the top off in a matter of 1 minute once propetly setup? It was like 100000x easier than standing there polishing with the grinder. Luckily I have a nice work bench that's my height, so I have the keg on there and don't have to bend over.

 

[sirsloop]

IDK... I had no problems staying warm in my 40F garage... and I was wearing shorts! HAHA!

 

[passedpawn]

Problem was my first cut off wheel went too deep into the keg, bent, and shattered.

I had exactly the same thing happen to me. I was trying to do it without a jig and pushed it too hard. I had to look myself over... I thought that maybe the cutting wheel shards had shot through me somewhere. Heh.

That's when I made this.

 

[Mirage]

Thanks Bobby! Just did up two of our kegs. I need to hit them with the polishing pads and compounds but using the fine pad with light and heavy pressure (as required) they are looking decent. It didn't take out all the scratches (some are quite deep) but it took off the oxidation layer and made the surface smooth. It is funny how in dim lighting (my basement) the swirls make the keg look all dented. Hopefully the polishing will make that go away.

 

[Bobby_M]

Good work. This sort of thing won't make the beer taste any better but it adds a little more pride of ownership.

 

[Mirage]

That, and it makes my hamstrings and back sore so I feel like I did something yesterday. Haha!

 

[sudsandswine]

Hey guys,

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!

 

[Bobby_M]

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.

 

[18DPA]

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

 

[marqoid]

Anyone who used a wire brush on their keg before polishing, how are they holding up? Has rust been a problem?

I made that mistake before beginning to read this thread.

 

[Fletch]

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.

 

[marqoid]

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.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

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.

Thanks.

 

[sirsloop]

Probably not enough RPM. Use an angle grinder... not a 750-1000rpm drill.

 

[BrewBeemer]

I used a old ShopSmith 3 in one tool as a lathe with it's vari drive plus a Powerstat to reduce the rpm's more. A curbside find and complete from an estate sale. This with a 9" Milwaukee buffer with different compounds worked great. Only needed to stand up straight and hold the buffer. My friends kegs came out tits he's happy.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

Took a while, but the heat did build up enough to start to melt the compound stick. I used the green stick, and did a first pass. Looks much better already, though I think I will do a second pass when my arm isn't sore.

My drill is 1500 rpm, I agree on the angle grinder, but the pads I got in the kit are only 3".

 

[Wade E]

The polishing sticks are harder then a crayon, I applied it to the disc on the grinder with it running, to hard o ues it any other way IMO. Just hit the trigger and touched the stick to the wheel gently a little then polished a little and repeated.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Took a while, but the heat did build up enough to start to melt the compound stick. I used the green stick, and did a first pass. Looks much better already, though I think I will do a second pass when my arm isn't sore.

My drill is 1500 rpm, I agree on the angle grinder, but the pads I got in the kit are only 3".

There's quite a difference with torturing your body and buffing unit with using a 3" pad vs a 9" buffing pad. We're talking 9 times more pad surface area plus a 4-5 amp angle grinder vs a 13 amp buffer in HP alone.
You don't bring a Sears yard garden tractor to a truck tractor pull.

 

[DevilsCreekBrewing]

There's quite a difference with torturing your body and buffing unit with using a 3" pad vs a 9" buffing pad. We're talking 9 times more pad surface area plus a 4-5 amp angle grinder vs a 13 amp buffer in HP alone.
You don't bring a Sears yard garden tractor to a truck tractor pull.

I agree with you 100%. However, I don't think your analogy is quite correct. I can see that a Sears garden tractor and a truck tractor would be different off the line. I bought a kit that had the correct compounds, just weeny sewn wheels. I had nothing to compare these against, as it wasn't a tractor race.

And your amp talk confuses me, as I learned I/ E*R and P/ I*R. Not too sure what you are referencing.

EDIT: I have been drinking a few though.....

 

[BrewBeemer]

I agree with you 100%. However, I don't think your analogy is quite correct. I can see that a Sears garden tractor and a truck tractor would be different off the line. I bought a kit that had the correct compounds, just weeny sewn wheels. I had nothing to compare these against, as it wasn't a tractor race.

And your amp talk confuses me, as I learned I/ E*R and P/ I*R. Not too sure what you are referencing.

EDIT: I have been drinking a few though.....

A 5 amp call it 600 watt if 100% efficient which it isn't your at .80 hp, the 13 amp buffer your at 1,560 watt or 2.09 hp. Which one will get down and work faster in buffing power and time involved? Rather simple. Sure a Dremel can move a box car geared down properly but how long will it take to move a foot? HP rules. The best thing about a Milwaukee grinder / buffer of 7" to 9" it's a AC/DC brushed motor and works great with a Powerstat auto transformer if a speed control is needed.

 

[schoolmaster]

Just finished it up today! Thanks bobby for all the info. Now if only I knew where to get a sight-glass for it?

Cheers!
Schoolmaster

 

[Yambor44]

Just finished it up today! Thanks bobby for all the info. Now if only I knew where to get a sight-glass for it?

Cheers!
Schoolmaster

Looks great! I assume the sight glass comment was a joke since Bobby sells them??

 

[Wade E]

Nice job, that looks sweet. I cleaned mine up pretty nice but that is awesome!

 

[pilzner]

It took a while, but I followed Bobby M's directions.....and ta da!

-S

 

[Bobby_M]

She's a beaut Clark