Abrasive sticks?

[scubaalblake]

Ok,
I have a reg that I need to carefully polish out a small scratch in the brass. Vince Harlows book suggests using 'abrasive sticks'. Any suggestions as to suppliers/makes? I am in Oz and finding it pretty hard to specify what I want as I dont know who makes them.
Any pointers appreciated.
Al

 

[captain]

I am not sure if this is what Vance is referring to but Home Depot has polishing stick abrasives that are applied to a power driven cotton polishing wheel. They come in about four different grades.

 

[dsenloe]

The stuff at the home center is not for this type of work. When you try to polish or buff with a soft flexible wheel or bob, what happens is you round out the sharp corners and remove the softer base metal but the hard chrome is left in place. This creates ridges and valleys and you have more damage than what you were trying to eliminate. I have found that if a scratch is too deep in a sealing surface [ i.e. where a piston rides ] it is sometimes impossible to remove and you need a new part. That being said, I hope someone else will chime in with their opinion. Good luck Scott

 

[knotical]

You could PM this guy: ScubaBoard - View Profile: oxyhacker
He probably knows what he meant when he wrote the book.

 

[herman]

The only time I have seen abrasive sticks mentioned in reg servicing is for polishing the HP volcanos. I use a 1/2 dowel ( sanded down if needed) with a strip of wet/dry sandpaper across the end of the dowel. I use at least 800 grit and most of the time finer.

 

[trappist]

My dear buddy Dave, just suggested the same for one of my reg that is causing issues at my LDS... he said that good eraser and careful use of them could help if it is a really minor damage. I still had my LDS to change the part so I will be able to play around with the old one
I'm sure he will interven when he reads this post !

 

[dave4868]

My dear buddy Dave, just suggested the same for one of my reg that is causing issues at my LDS... he said that good eraser and careful use of them could help if it is a really minor damage. I still had my LDS to change the part so I will be able to play around with the old one
I'm sure he will interven when he reads this post !

Stealing ideas is my LIFE!

Vance Harlow's Scuba Regulator Maintenance and Repair covers using abrasive sticks, including pen erasers. Great book!

SCUBA REGULATOR MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR by Vance Harlow

Herman's suggestion of 800 grit wet/dry abrasive paper on the end of a wooden dowel is a good one, especially for built-in high pressure crowns that are harder to reach, like yours, trappist. I'll set one up for you and bring it with me next time we meet.

Dave C

 

[herman]

Be sure to clean the reg well, metal dust and sandpaper grit are bad news inside a reg. The old first grade pencils (big fat ones) work too......do the kids still use those?

 

[keyshunter]

Herman,
You must be a lot younger than I am. When I was in first grade, the pencils did not have erasers.

I have used the pencil eraser method, for a rough non removable volcano orifice on an Apeks, and it worked fine.

 

[ba_hiker]

check out Cratex. they make abrasives in rubber.