# How to maintain mirror surface finish



## Matus (Dec 12, 2014)

Hi,

I have a gyuto with near perfect mirror surface finish. It is a monosteel knife made out of Swedish carbon steel. I have not used it yet (it just arrived), but it will surely gain patina with use and I am wondering whether it would be possible to remove the patina here and than to restore (i.e. not scratch) the mirror finish. What tools would I need to do that?

thanks


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## icanhaschzbrgr (Dec 12, 2014)

Flitz should work. 

Are you referring to that knife that you won during recent giveaway? How about some photos?


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## CoqaVin (Dec 12, 2014)

ICANHASCHZBRGR, I found a good alternative to Flitz, since I could not get Flitz in a smaller bottle at the store, I went to a Harley Davidson store by me, and got Semmichrome, it works wonders with a nice microfiber cloth


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## ThEoRy (Dec 12, 2014)

Micromesh pads and flitz.


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## Matus (Dec 12, 2014)

icanhaschzbrgr said:


> Flitz should work.
> 
> Are you referring to that knife that you won during recent giveaway? How about some photos?



Thanks! Yes - it is THAT one - photos in very few days 

I can get both - though I have managed to find 2 very similar (bottle looks a bit different) Filz versions with large price difference. 

Would there be a reason to prefer Filz over Semichrome or the other way round?


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## Roger (Dec 13, 2014)

I ordered the whole grit progression of micromesh to use after the wet/dry sandpaper so I'll report how good it is, I'm going to use them with bare water to create a mirror like finish on one of my blades just for the fun of it.


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## Matus (Dec 13, 2014)

Roger - I am really curios about your experience with he micro mesh. Please do share then.


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## Roger (Dec 13, 2014)

I tried it on the brass handle of a pocket J knife I just received along with the polishing gear. The brass was already a smooth finish but with some small scratches here and there. I started at 4000 and got all the way up to 12K. It does a very good job but I did not got it perfect like a mirror, maybe because I didn't spend enough time doing it, it seems good enough to me like that. I will push this further on another of my blades when I have some more time. The 12K doesn't seem to add visible scratches on it's own. The micromesh pads are pretty small, I think it's a good idea to get some wet sandpaper to remove big scratches before you use them.

I think it's totally possible to make a mirror with this if you take your time and go through the proper grit progression. Making blades shiny is even more addictive than getting them sharp for me !


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## chefcomesback (Dec 13, 2014)

If you are after really good mirror polish try buffing wheel with compounds , you can still get good rests with compounds on microfibre cloth


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## chefcomesback (Dec 13, 2014)

Results I meant , this statement above is considering you went up gradually to higher grits without leaving any scratch marks from previous ones


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## pkjames (Dec 13, 2014)

I found that a strop with green compound works really well for a well prepared surface, so if your gyuto just has patina on it, i think strop would work.


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (Dec 13, 2014)

Matus said:


> Would there be a reason to prefer Filz over Semichrome or the other way round?



Simichrome is 8-10u and Flitz is ~3u. So Simichrome will be more aggressive for deeper scratches. If polishing an existing mirror I would stick to Flitz. 

Cheers,

Rick


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## bigblowfish (Dec 14, 2014)

Where can I get flitz in Canada?


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## Matus (Dec 14, 2014)

Tall Dark and Swarfy said:


> Simichrome is 8-10u and Flitz is ~3u. So Simichrome will be more aggressive for deeper scratches. If polishing an existing mirror I would stick to Flitz.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rick



I learn this right after I ordered the Simichrome. One question on the Flitz. I have found *this one* and *this one* and am wondering whether it is the same thing. The bottles looks similar, but not the same and price differs by factor 5 .. ?


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## Matus (Dec 14, 2014)

I have just found *Micro Gloss* and the description says that it should contain 1um Aluminium oxide particles and is supposed to polish out the fine scratches that micro mesh would leave. Would it be a good option for my case?


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## icanhaschzbrgr (Dec 14, 2014)

Matus said:


> I learn this right after I ordered the Simichrome. One question on the Flitz. I have found *this one* and *this one* and am wondering whether it is the same thing. The bottles looks similar, but not the same and price differs by factor 5 .. ?



May I also extend Matus question and ask about differences between liquid flitz (the ones that Matus referenced) and paste (like this one). I ordered a paste from ebay and it seems that small tube of paste will be enough for years


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (Dec 14, 2014)

I use the exact paste as chzbrgr. The link Matus asked about, which charged over 70 Euro for watered down polish, is thievery.


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## Matus (Dec 14, 2014)

The Filz paste is available here too for a much more reasonable price. 

James, the idea with strop sounds great, but a good strop costs quite a bit and I do not own one currently.


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## Mr.Wizard (Dec 14, 2014)

Tall Dark and Swarfy said:


> Simichrome is 8-10u and Flitz is ~3u. So Simichrome will be more aggressive for deeper scratches. If polishing an existing mirror I would stick to Flitz.
> 
> Cheers,
> 
> Rick



Would you tell me the source for this information? Do you happen to have a similar datum for Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish or Metal Glo? And do you know which (if any) of these use chemical polishing?


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## Tall Dark and Swarfy (Dec 14, 2014)

Mr.Wizard said:


> Would you tell me the source for this information? Do you happen to have a similar datum for Mothers Mag and Aluminum Polish or Metal Glo? And do you know which (if any) of these use chemical polishing?


Sorry, Wiz. These are just numbers that I have gathered over various forum postings, where folks have contacted the respective companies and asked for product information. Judging by the claims on their websites I expect both polishes to contain adjunct chemical cleaners and/or inhibitors. 

Cheers,

Rick


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## Jpox (Dec 14, 2014)

chefcomesback said:


> Results I meant , this statement above is considering you went up gradually to higher grits without leaving any scratch marks from previous ones


I always struggle with that part and most of the times leaves my blades with scratchmarks that over time gets partially removed from the finest stones. Especially when starting from a low (120/325) grit... Some day I'll get it right


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## Roger (Dec 14, 2014)

I just thinned and reprofiled a crooked up Sabatier and got through all the grits I had on hand. Micromesh is pretty awesome after the matador sandpaper. The finish is so shiny it's incredible.


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