Vibratory for aluminum polishing

[MBG]

Okay, I got an ultra-vibe 45 from thumler's tumberl.


I got all the heavy scratches out.


Now, I bought fine walnut shells I don't believe it has rogue.

I been running the parts in the vibratory for about 16 hours so far.

It isn't working.

Please help. Trying to get a finish like this.

http://www.glacern.com/sols_blog

[ViperTX]

You need the rouge to get that finish. Do you a pic of parts as they stand?

Thanks,
Paul

[MBG]

Okay, an update.

I got the walnut with special treatment.

C & S sales set me up. It has been in the vibratory about 15 hours and no luck.


PLEASE HELP!

[BobWarfield]

MBG, a couple thoughts from my own experience.

Not sure the rouge you're using, but I have had good luck with walnut shells impregnated with green rouge, available from Grave's. It sells in smaller lots if you have a smaller tumbler.

Second, it's really important to use something a little coarser to get rid of the big scratches. I use 3/8" styrene triangles from Grainger.

For 6061, I leave the parts overnight in the styrene triangles right after they come of the mill. When they're done there, I move them on to the green rouge. I have noticed the finish will continue to improve if you leave them in as long as 4 days. 48 hours seems to be about the minimum for my tumbler.

Cheers,

BW

[MBG]

MBG, a couple thoughts from my own experience.

Not sure the rouge you're using, but I have had good luck with walnut shells impregnated with green rouge, available from Grave's. It sells in smaller lots if you have a smaller tumbler.

Second, it's really important to use something a little coarser to get rid of the big scratches. I use 3/8" styrene triangles from Grainger.

For 6061, I leave the parts overnight in the styrene triangles right after they come of the mill. When they're done there, I move them on to the green rouge. I have noticed the finish will continue to improve if you leave them in as long as 4 days. 48 hours seems to be about the minimum for my tumbler.

Cheers,

BW

Thanks, what type of tumbler do you own?

[BobWarfield]

Lyman 1200 Pro

[MBG]

Lyman 1200 Pro

oh wow that is a really small one.

And you are able to get a polished finish from aluminum? If so, I should have no problem with my ultravibe-45 model.

[BobWarfield]

Look about half the size of your ultra. The bigger they are, the faster they polish, all things considered. Of course, sometimes that just means your standards go up too, LOL.

Got a friend with one that's probably twice your size. He still leaves his parts in for 4 days. Talk about looking like mirrors!

One thing I will probably do is buy a second one so I don't have to keep changing media.

At some point I'll have to try some anodizing too.

Cheers,

BW

[LaserImage]

.

[MBG]

Look about half the size of your ultra. The bigger they are, the faster they polish, all things considered. Of course, sometimes that just means your standards go up too, LOL.

Got a friend with one that's probably twice your size. He still leaves his parts in for 4 days. Talk about looking like mirrors!

One thing I will probably do is buy a second one so I don't have to keep changing media.

At some point I'll have to try some anodizing too.

Cheers,

BW

4 days huh? I haven't left them in that long yet.

Yes, anodizing is fun but very difficult on a larger level. If you do it stick with the 5 gallon bucket set up. I did that for a while and it was easy.

When you get into bigger set up like my 40 gallon tank you get into electricity problems, cooling, heating,. Everything is differnet and needs to be designed properly.