Polishing fine scratches out of oiled stock

[jking]

Hi,

What do you guys use to polish scratches out of your oil finished stock? I needed to knock back a bit of oiled finish which had gone a bit rough after steaming a dent out. I used the finest grade of wire wool and stock oil but I'm still left with swirl marks.

Any suggestions?

Cheers

[Capt Christopher Jones]

0000 grade wire wool with your favourite oil on it rub in the direction of the grain

[Scully]

In the past I’ve used those emery cloth sponge pads in their finest grade. 
A bespoke fitted kitchen/ cabinet maker mate of mine used nothing else, and his furniture was smooth as a smooth thing. 
Use whichever suitable oil you prefer, and don’t EVER throw the pad away; the more it’s used the tattier it becomes and the better it works. 👍

[jking]

14 minutes ago, Capt Christopher Jones said:

0000 grade wire wool with your favourite oil on it rub in the direction of the grain

So that's what I used and the wire wool caused the scratches.....I had plenty of oil on the stock as well

14 minutes ago, Scully said:

In the past I’ve used those emery cloth sponge pads in their finest grade. 
A bespoke fitted kitchen/ cabinet maker mate of mine used nothing else, and his furniture was smooth as a smooth thing. 
Use whichever suitable oil you prefer, and don’t EVER throw the pad away; the more it’s used the tattier it becomes and the better it works. 👍

Thanks I'll take a look online

[DUNKS]

30 minutes ago, Scully said:

In the past I’ve used those emery cloth sponge pads in their finest grade. 
A bespoke fitted kitchen/ cabinet maker mate of mine used nothing else, and his furniture was smooth as a smooth thing. 
Use whichever suitable oil you prefer, and don’t EVER throw the pad away; the more it’s used the tattier it becomes and the better it works. 👍

These pads do work well!

[Capt Christopher Jones]

39 minutes ago, jking said:

So that's what I used and the wire wool caused the scratches.....I had plenty of oil on the stock as well

Thanks I'll take a look online

you stated "swirl marks" ( what grade wire wool did you use ) hence me saying "go with the grain" with 0000 grade

Edited October 15, 2020 by Capt Christopher Jones

[johnphilip]

Have a read up on " rottenstone" 

[jking]

35 minutes ago, Capt Christopher Jones said:

you stated "swirl marks" ( what grade wire wool did you use ) hence me saying "go with the grain" with 0000 grade

Good point, thanks.

I used 0000 grade, but will give it a go keeping with the grain and see how it looks. 

17 minutes ago, johnphilip said:

Have a read up on " rottenstone" 

Thanks, will do

[welshwarrior]

I use a lot a rottenstone paste and then powder for final polish depending on how I want the finish to look satin or high gloss etc. 

[paulinlincs]

Has the 0000 dulled the finish rather than scratched it?  Try palming a drop of stock oil to the affected area. 

[jking]

9 hours ago, welshwarrior said:

I use a lot a rottenstone paste and then powder for final polish depending on how I want the finish to look satin or high gloss etc. 

I've ordered some rottenstone so will give it a go next week.

 

31 minutes ago, paulinlincs said:

Has the 0000 dulled the finish rather than scratched it?  Try palming a drop of stock oil to the affected area. 

It's actually done both. Where I have not gone with the grain it has left swirl marks, and it also generally dulled the finish. I palmed in a drop of oil and it improved it massively, but I can still see those swirl marks in certain light so I'd rather polish them out before adding any more layers of oil

[Scully]

9 hours ago, welshwarrior said:

I use a lot a rottenstone paste and then powder for final polish depending on how I want the finish to look satin or high gloss etc. 

Out of interest, how does the rotten stone work? I used to use it as a fine filler but never thought of it as a polish. 

[welshwarrior]

12 hours ago, Scully said:

Out of interest, how does the rotten stone work? I used to use it as a fine filler but never thought of it as a polish. 

It makes a really fine slurry that does a great job especially on high gloss finishes. 

[Scully]

Good to know, every days a school day. 👍

[jking]

I got round to giving the rottenstone a go. I bought some felt to apply it with. A decent coverage of oil to lubricate and a bit of the powder sprinkled over the stock and it has worked a treat to remove the scratches and provide a nice flat, even finish. Now I just need to Palm in some oil to bring the shine back.

Thanks for your help

[figgy]

Rottenstone slurry is a bit like cutting compound. Dry as WW says it burnishes to a high gloss.

[jking]

What would you use to apply the rottenstone when just using the powder dry to burnish? A soft cloth or felt maybe?

7 minutes ago, figgy said:

Rottenstone slurry is a bit like cutting compound. Dry as WW says it burnishes to a high gloss.

 

[figgy]

Soft cloth, I use old cotton t shirts cut up. I dust the stock with the powder dab a bit on the cloth wrappers around my finger, then rub fast. It feels like nothing is happening but it works.

WelshWarrior may have a different method.

The use of a Chamoix leather to rub the finish with rottenstone is traditional.

[jking]

43 minutes ago, figgy said:

Soft cloth, I use old cotton t shirts cut up. I dust the stock with the powder dab a bit on the cloth wrappers around my finger, then rub fast. It feels like nothing is happening but it works.

WelshWarrior may have a different method.

The use of a Chamoix leather to rub the finish with rottenstone is traditional.

That's great, thanks very much for the advice. I'll get a couple of coats of oil on the stock first and let them dry for a couple of weeks before I polish it up