how to polish a MAG bezel (PICS ADDED)

[737mech]

I am wanting to remove the anodizing and lettering from a stock MAG D bezel and was looking for the best way to do so. I am going for the polished look to match my FM tailcap. I was thinking of soaking in some Drano and taking it to the polishing wheel. Any tips or ideas?

 

[jimmyswan]

Re: how to polish a MAG bezel

I tried this the other day to attempt my first at home anodizing. Anodizing did not go well but was able to polish entire light. I used draino first, then went to a belt sander. I sharpen knives on it so I have belts all the way up to 9 micron as well as a leather belt. After the leather belt, it looked like a mirror. I did not sand down enough to take off the letters but that should not be a problem. Hopefully that helps you somewhat.

 

[737mech]

Re: how to polish a MAG bezel

Thanks for the advice, unfortunately I don't have a setup like yours but wish I did for my knives! I practiced on an old red bezel I had. I soaked it in Drano for about 10 minutes then rinsed and wiped off, soaked again for 10 more minutes then rinsed it again. I would say about 95% of the anodizing came off. I then used some red scothchbrite to go over it and that got the rest of it and took off the dull appearance left from the Drano. I then used my dremel with a sanding disc to remove some of the dings, dents and imperfections as this was a well abused bezel. I finished it of with some aluminum polish and the dremel with a polishing wheel. It turned out looking good. There are some tooling marks left from the dremel. I am going to try this on a new bezel and it should be perfect because I wont have to sand out the nicks.

 

[737mech]

Ok I just finished polishing 2 bezels. One was black the other pewter from a C MAG. For some reason the pewter was a lot tougher to remove all the writing. It wasn't hard just took a bit more sanding. I included some pictures of the process. This was very easy and I think they turned out perfect and it makes a custom Mag just a bit more custom. For this process I used no power tools just some elbow grease. It took me about an hour to finish the two once the anodizing was removed with the Drano. I used an old beat up 3D Mag host I have around that I used to hold the bezel while I sanded and polished. I think this made it way easier because all I had to do was twist the Mag around while cupping the bezel with sandpaper in my other hand.

1. Removed the dull finish with scotchbrite.

2. Used Wet/Dry sandpaper 100 grit (dry) then 180 (dry) and finished with 400 (wet).

3. Polished it with a terrycloth towel and aluminum polish .

 

[jasonck08]

Cool. Does it really have a mirror finish? Or are there light scratches we can't see in the pictures...?

I've polished the bases of a couple CPU heatsinks to make a smoother surface, to keep temperatures down so I could overclock better. I used 200, 400, 800, 1200 then 2000 grit sandpaper and finished with some brasso and a cotton cloth. That gave a very nice mirror finish to the copper.

I have a hard time believing that moving from 400 grit to polishing with a cloth and some aluminum polish is going to give a nice mirror finish... Good work none the less.

 

[737mech]

Your right, its not an absolute mirror finish. It could be though with some more work but then I would have to buy more paper!. I just used what I had on hand. IMO the finish looks great and I like it better than stock. I think the pics I posted are a good representation of what it looks like in person.

 

[Magic Matt]

I like things that don't have a perfect mirror finish... they look more 'holdable' as if it's a perfect mirror finish I would always worry about scratching it. What I really like is a slightly brushed metal look.

Those are stunning. :twothumbs

How long did it take you?

 

[737mech]

Thanks, About an hour for 2 bezels. Brushed is a perfect description.

 

[netprince]

I like the results! Thanks for posting the pictures and details, I may have to try this sometime...

 

[Aircraft800]

I got a tip from the RC guys, and it works great. Get some Greassed Lightning heavy duty degreaser, soak the part in a small plastic cup for a half hour, scrub with a brush (like a nail brish) and repeat. After all of the color is removed, rub it with some Mothers Milk Aluminum polish. It will have a perfect mirror finish when you are done!! No pitting or discolorization at all, but it takes a little longer soak time. I couldn't find Greassed Lightning the first time, so I used Purple Power heavy duty degreaser, and it also did a great job.