Final sanding/polishing

[fritz]

ready to sand/polish boo blank after impregnation. Using 0000 steel wool. Is there any integrity loss should the corners (not flat side) of the hex be rounded (by accident of course)?

[mr. blur]

there's no reason to round off the corners.
try to preserve the corners of the hex.

[jklett]

If it was impregnated properly under pressure, the corners will be fine. If it was just soaked in a "impregnating" solution for a while, it might be a problem. That being said, I agree with mr. blur when he says to preserve the corners. Just take your time and be careful.

[fritz]

Thanks to both of you. In re-thinking this, perhaps it would be preferable to use a polishing size grit of "paper" wrapped around a rigid flat surface than to chance using steel wool.

[mr. blur]

fwiw I sand down each flat to 400 grit (100, 150, 220, 320, 400) using a small glass sanding block and use 0000 steel wool for final smoothing. that said I've never worked on or built an impregnated rod. it's not that tough and I wouldn't worry about it. it gets toughest to maintain the hex profile while varnishing, especially over the wraps near the tip. be advised you can sand these as well (I use 1000 grit or even finer). the wraps will look like hell but the next coat of varnish cleans them up.

[herefishy]

Mr. Blur, do you mean I can get back my hex shape on my wraps by sanding them, then revarnishing them?

[mr. blur]

Mr. Blur, do you mean I can get back my hex shape on my wraps by sanding them, then revarnishing them?

to that I would say approach with caution. get too aggressive on one wrap and you'll have to rewrap them all, which would probably be the best way to approach that particular project.