How to Use an End Brush to Get Into Tight Areas

How to Use an End Brush to Get Into Tight Areas

I know I have slowed down a bit in bringing you tips and posts to the JewelryMonk website, but don’t worry, I am still going to be around bringing you Jewelry-Tip goodness. I am going to continue updating this blog 2-3 times each week. In the meantime, I am doing other writing to create different resources in the future. I have also backed off on the podcast, but will continue to create content there as well, and hope to be up to a once a week schedule in the future.

So here is your trick of the day: How to polish inside hard to get areas with an End Brush.

There are times when I have a piece that has a recessed area that most of my polishing wheels cannot get into without rounding off the edges or destroying the borders. I have end brushes for just such pieces.

What I do is take my end brush and add Gray Star Polishing Compound with a few drops of Mineral Oil added to it. What this does is keeps the compound in the brush and creates a puddle like a slurry. This will get into those tight corners and remove fire scale and discoloration, and give a good pre-polished surface.

Another compound I like to use that is very aggressive but is not very well known in the jewelry industry is called Valve Grinding Compound. This compound is used in the automotive industry to re-surface metal valves and comes in oil based and water based, I like to use the oil based compound. It is fairly inexpensive, comes in a tube, and can be purchased at any auto parts store. I keep it in a smaller container for easy access.

I use this compound similar to the Gray Star compound, creating a pool or slurry to polish or grind away the imperfection. You can see the difference in the finish of the two processes, the valve grinding compound is more of a sanding action. Pay no attention to the pits in the piece, I didn’t fill them first because I was just wanting to show the process. I will fill and burnish them at a later date.

I hope you try both of these compounds and processes, they are very quick and will save you time and frustration.

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Thanks again for stopping by.

Now remember, this is not the end…… just the end-brush. Go make someone smile!

Doug