Polishing Vulcanite

[n80]

I'm a beginner. Not making my own stems yet. Ordered some unfinished vulcanite stems from Vermont Freehand. Working on one now just to see what I can do. Sanded all the mold lines off of it. Sanded down to 1000 grit and them buffed with some unknown generic yellow buffing compound. It shined up okay but not to a glass-like see-you-reflection finish.

Any tips on getting a glossier finish? Should I be using finer sandpaper? Is there a specific buffing compound that works best?

Apologies if this is a common question.

Finally, can vulcanite be heated and bent like ebonite?

Thanks for any assistance,

George

[LatakiaLover]

Ebonite and vulcanite are the same thing.

Getting the stuff to TRULY shine is a minor art form, and (probably) no two people do it the same way.

In a nutshell, don't try shortcuts---thoroughly sand with each grit, and the same with compounds, and don't use cheap versions of either. Use pro-grade automotive finishing papers, and Menzerna compounds.

[KurtHuhn]

And use sandpaper as if it were free. Or whatever you do use. I don't use sandpaper, instead I use Abralon abrasives - much higher quality than any sandpaper I've ever had in my hands.

[n80]

Ebonite and vulcanite are the same thing.

I wondered about that. I saw rods on line called ebonite of different grades and origins but semi-finished stems called vulcanite and assumed they were different. Good to know.

Getting the stuff to TRULY shine is a minor art form, and (probably) no two people do it the same way.

In a nutshell, don't try shortcuts---thoroughly sand with each grit, and the same with compounds, and don't use cheap versions of either. Use pro-grade automotive finishing papers, and Menzerna compounds.

Thanks, I'll look into the buffing compounds. My papers are the good stuff but I may get some 1500 and 2000 grit.

[Massis]

some people refer to premolded stems as vulcanite and rods as ebonite, but it's the same material.

You shouldn't need paper above 1000grit imho. Rough prepolishing compound is coarser than that anyway.

[n80]

Thanks guys. I'll give it another try. Kurt, I'll check into the Abralon products too. I'm still working out the sanding-buffing-polishing workflow.

I know everyone's workflow is different but I wonder if there is a data base that ranks papers, buffing compounds, etc in order of their relative 'abrasiveness'. That would be a big help.

George

[KurtHuhn]

I know everyone's workflow is different but I wonder if there is a data base that ranks papers, buffing compounds, etc in order of their relative 'abrasiveness'. That would be a big help.

There's some material out there. I forget where I found it, but several years ago someone (possibly an abrasives company?) had compiled a list of various abrasives used in sandpaper and similar things, showing the differences in how they are composed.

Aluminum oxide, for instance, is very effective because it has a pyramidal crystal shape and readily digs into surfaces to scrape away material- the down side is that it digs deep, relative to it's mesh/micron size, so the scratches can take lots of work to remove while using the next grit up. This can be brown, white, gold, or a handful of other colors - it's the least expensive, most general purpose abrasive.

Alumina Zirconia is similar, but is harder and more resilient - making it a good choice for metals. Generally blue, sometimes purple depending on marketing, and is a step up from plain aluminum oxide for lengevity and cutting harder materials (ferrous metals especially).

Silicon Carbide has a cubic grain structure, and the grains are generally deposited on edge, making the abrading surface more like a very small file. It leaves a smoother surface, with less gouging than aluminum oxide based media. This is what is used on most automotive sandpaper, but it can be found on other products as well. This is what Abralon uses on most of their products. Generally, if it's black, it's silicon carbide.

From there you get into more exotic media like the ceramics that knife makers swear by. There's no real benefit to these from a pipe maker's standpoint once the cost is figured in. They are great for hardened steel though.

[KurtHuhn]

One thing I forgot to mention is that, due to the different grain structure, the grit of one media is not directly equatable to the grit of another when it comes to the resulting surface finish. 400-equiv silicon carbide will produce a much finer finish than 400-equiv aluminum oxide. The exact difference can be quite subjective, but I find that 500 grit Abralon pads will give me a finish somewhere around "impossible to do with aluminum oxide". 1000 grit Abralon can give a surface on some material very nearly as fine as some polishing compounds.

And that enters an entirely new tangent of the conversation - the surface you are working on determines the media you use in the finishing process. Sometimes it's all the same, sometimes you need to use different media on different materials. Definitely a marriage of art, science, and possibly witchcraft. That is, if you care about such things. I'm sure some would tell me that I'm overanalyzing, and should just make pipes.

[caskwith]

I was going to comment but Kurts replies there are just fantastic and I don't think I can add anything other than wet vs dry, a wet abrasive will give a finer finish yet remove material more effectively than when it is dry. Only silicone carbide holds up for long periods when wet though, aluminium oxide quickly gets gummy.

[dogcatcher]

I bought all of my sandpaper from Klingspor. https://www.woodworkingshop.com/

This is a 10 pound box of roll ends for $20, it claims to be medium and fine, it is coarse and medium, it was my beginning sanding paper, the stuff used to shape and get ready for fine sanding.. https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/bb00095/
This stuff is cheap use it like someone else is paying for it, working with worn out sandpaper is wasting time.

For every other grit, 300 grit and above, I bought mostly 1" and 2" wide rolls in the 10 or 25 meter rolls.

[DocAitch]

Couple of thing about wet vs dry sanding. Wet removes material more quickly, and the paper doesn't “varnish” , however, the water goes cover deep scratches that only show up when the water dries.
I sand wet initially but then switch to dry which allows me to see scratches with a good light or in sunlight (the best),
DocAitch

[caskwith]

Couple of thing about wet vs dry sanding. Wet removes material more quickly, and the paper doesn't “varnish” , however, the water goes cover deep scratches that only show up when the water dries.
I sand wet initially but then switch to dry which allows me to see scratches with a good light or in sunlight (the best),
DocAitch

I do the exact opposite, I sand dry (with stearate costed paper) for the coarser grits so I can see how I am doing then I do the last 2 grits wet to get a better finish. If you develop a good sanding routine there won't be any scratches.

[UnderShade]

Chris is spot on IMO. I like to do the same but when moving up to final grades (600-800) I’ll wet sand, then go back to dry- like Doc, just to find any scratches that might remain. Then finish with a final wet sanding. Maybe OCD, but seems to pay off after buffing.

[sandahlpipe]

I’ve been sanding at 220 dry, then 320 dry, then a quick buff to see scratches and 320 and 400 wet. Sometimes, I need 600 to get a good finish. I’ve never seen a reason to go from wet back to dry. You can just wipe some water on with a damp rag and if a spot dries faster, there are scratches there.


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[KurtHuhn]

I never wet sand anything, though my choice of abrasive might negate that need. Not that there's anything wrong with wet sanding if it works, but nobody ever told me I should, so I never did.

[UnderShade]

One reason I do it is to keep the dust outta my nose, also keeps me from running through so much paper. Could be more of a ritual than I realize...

[Massis]

One reason I do it is to keep the dust outta my nose, also keeps me from running through so much paper. Could be more of a ritual than I realize...

It is, I love building slush with wet sandpaper and then wiping it off to see smooth ebonite appear!