Custom Bats Cricket Forum
Equipment => Bats => Bat Making => Topic started by: E-Unit on August 02, 2008, 10:47:44 AM
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Just wondering how i can get a good finish on a bat? i use sand paper sometimes even in the 400s but i just cant get the silky smooth finish that bats come with. How can i achieve this? i know they use some type of wax, what is it?
Cheers
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i think some companies use horses shinbones to polish the bat and give it a finished look, fine grade sandpapers are also used. they do use wax and chalk of somekind but not sure what.
i just use really fine sandpaper, seems to work for me
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Yeah, sometimes i find with the sand paper it still leaves the scratches
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i've found sandpaper leaves scratches in the wood if the bat is slightly older and/or is not of the highest quality. i use a sanding pad, which is even finer than the finest sandpaper you will find, you can get them in general harware stores i think
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Fusion use some kind of wax compound on a buffing wheel to get the final finish. Not sure of the exact wax type or make though.
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Sometimes when i have done a refurb to get a good finish i use an old piece of really worn out sandpaper... but nothing beats the buffing wheel!
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i use a 220 grit for final sanding, then use a buffing wheel with a chalk compound or you can use bee's wax to get the final finish on the bat
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With the bees wax, how would you be able to use that at home without the wheel?
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Use Steel wool that will give it a great finish!
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whats that nozza?
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i use beeswax compound polish, it seems to work 4 me.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel_wool
this stuff it is bloody brilliant!
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If you are still getting scratching the buffing won't really help.... you've skip the scratched bit at some stage with one of the grade. Just go back over that bit with the grades of sandpaper you use and the scratch will come out.
Beewax without a wheel involves a hairdryer a cloth and a bit of extra work.... if doing a few the drum on a cheap spongy cushion drum sander if useful to load the wax onto for polishing
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The scratching is just as i put it on an angle in the light you can see it. With the bees wax, how much would you youse? and how does the bees wax come? in a bottle? etc..
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Pure beeswax in a bar like soap.... if doing it via the hairdryer method get the bar rub it over the bat...
hairdryer and cloth in hand
heat and rub
smooth with hand
heat and rub bobbly bits
admire sheen :o
[don't heat to much though for obvious reasons]
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So its like surf wax, i kindve get it lol, might give it a go. Where is bees wax sold?
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Yep that's a-la Mr Zoggs
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Sand papers have different no's here so I use a Zero for final finishing and No 0.5 for course work. I think any thing other then a Zero would scratch though 0 helps in removing scratch marks. I am looking for bee's wax these days as I plan on refurbing a couple of bats. If i am succesful, i will post pictures soon.
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My mum uses bee's wax to shine her Jarrah kitchen. I put it on my bat post season and it looks new.
I think she gets it at Bunnings.
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I have heard never to put wax on your bat, as this stops any linseed oil you put on the bat penetrating the fibres. Oiling you bat at least twice a year, as you should, would then be a pointless exercise.
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You heard wrong the compounds and or bees wax used provide a protect layer but allow linseed oil through
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look around you can get big wheels for bats
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i recently picked up a extremly fine grade sandpaper from 3M (available at Homebase). It has done wonders. Could not see any scratch marks after i used it. The trick is to sand with very soft hands.
I then used some sort of a wood buffing thing (again from 3M).It like a small pad.
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600 grade wet n dry for finish works for me.
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I use Klingspor PL 31 320 to 420 grit finishing paper also find wet and dry dirtys the bat gets into the grains and then is hard to remove
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?????? Your using the wrong wet n dry if that's happening.
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?????? Your using the wrong wet n dry if that's happening.
Thanks for the tip.
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Thanks for the tip.
I might have just got lucky with the brand i got. I thought the dark abrasive would get into the bat. but it just didn't rub off
and gave me a lovely finish. Got mine from wicks dirt cheap. Obviously I didn't wet it
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Being a tool I get my sandpapers and whatnot from Toolstation. They do 400 grit wet 'n' dry that gives the bat a lovely finish and the abrasive doesn't come off or mark the wood at all.
For how nice 400 get the surface I bet you can see reflections in the face of you go up to 600 grit
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600 grade wet n dry for finish works for me.
Epic 6.5 year thread revival!
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Epic 6.5 year thread revival!
Since it's already been revived, might as well share what I just did.
I sanded a bat using random orbital sander from 80-400 grit sand paper. Once that was done I buffed it with the circular electric buffer with cotton and furry buffing pads.
Oiled it last night and will buff it again after two more coats of oil.
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where do you get 400 grit thingies for the orbital?
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where do you get 400 grit thingies for the orbital?
I have only seen 400 grit for 125mm sanders on ebay, screwfix only go up to 240.
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I had some full sheets starting from 60-600 sitting around from last year. So decided to cut them to 5" circular size and glue it to an old used circular sheet. You don't get the dust collection/suction part but does the job.
I also saw some in Amazon.
Edit: Link
http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000XY0VZM/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1427291070&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SY200_QL40&keywords=400+grit+orbital+sander+pads&dpPl=1&dpID=613E5LARxgL&ref=plSrch
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400 is a bit too much I reckon. I usually do 120, 240 and 320. Once I get there, I give a light coat of cellulose sanding sealer and let that dry, before scrubbing with 0000 wire wool. Then a coat of white diamond buffing compoung on a buffing wheel. After that, a coat of oil, let that dry overnight, one of beeswax. Let that dry, buff off and a final coat of oil. The bat is now oiled and ready to knock in as well, and you get a nice mirror shine to it!
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400 is a bit too much I reckon. I usually do 120, 240 and 320. Once I get there, I give a light coat of cellulose sanding sealer and let that dry, before scrubbing with 0000 wire wool. Then a coat of white diamond buffing compoung on a buffing wheel. After that, a coat of oil, let that dry overnight, one of beeswax. Let that dry, buff off and a final coat of oil. The bat is now oiled and ready to knock in as well, and you get a nice mirror shine to it!
Never used the sanding sealer. I prob would try it as have 5 more bats to go.
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I think you are all insane. I don't understand why you would go above 240 grit. A bat will get seam marks, red marks, scrape marks all over it and you want to achieve a finish a French polisher would be proud of. I look after my gear well but this is unnecessary.
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I think you are all insane. I don't understand why you would go above 240 grit. A bat will get seam marks, red marks, scrape marks all over it and you want to achieve a finish a French polisher would be proud of. I look after my gear well but this is unnecessary.
For me it's like an escape and a stress reliever. When I am doing these refurbs, all I think of is the piece of willow in front of me.
Also keeps me from binge watching Netflix.
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It pains me to say but you can get them here. http://www.axminster.co.uk/hermes-longlife-multi-hole-abrasive-discs-125mm (http://www.axminster.co.uk/hermes-longlife-multi-hole-abrasive-discs-125mm)
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I think you are all insane. I don't understand why you would go above 240 grit. A bat will get seam marks, red marks, scrape marks all over it and you want to achieve a finish a French polisher would be proud of. I look after my gear well but this is unnecessary.
Personally I go up to 400 for two reasons. And I'm a bit sad and actually enjoy sanding the bat and watching it go from rough to shiny. It's a relaxing way to spend my time and refurbing bats is quite therapeutic I've found as I can forget everything else while I'm playing with my wood.
1 - the 240 on the orbital does a good job but may not reach every patch equally, so hand sanding ensures I've done the whole bat.
2 - I take a pride in my kit and the refurbs I do. The shop have the bats almost shining on the shelf, so I try to replicate that finish so a refurbished bat looks (almost as good as new). Also the guys I repair bats for have seen the OVd levels I go to with my own, (even as far as wiping ball marks off the face during a drinks break!) do if I dont get their bats shining like I do my own they'll know I charged them full wack for a half cut service.
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Whats the best way to sand concaved backs, that's what I've always struggled with, bearing in mind I do it in a manshed with limited tools.
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Sand concave bat back by hand or use a plane/spokeshave to make a convex 'pad' to wrap the glass paper round. Only worth doing that it you are going to do a lot.
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......I take a pride in my kit and the refurbs I do.....
You said the other day about the bat with the cracked toe that you may not have knocked it in properly. :)
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Personally I go up to 400 for two reasons. And I'm a bit sad and actually enjoy sanding the bat and watching it go from rough to shiny. It's a relaxing way to spend my time and refurbing bats is quite therapeutic I've found as I can forget everything else while I'm playing with my wood.
1 - the 240 on the orbital does a good job but may not reach every patch equally, so hand sanding ensures I've done the whole bat.
2 - I take a pride in my kit and the refurbs I do. The shop have the bats almost shining on the shelf, so I try to replicate that finish so a refurbished bat looks (almost as good as new). Also the guys I repair bats for have seen the OVd levels I go to with my own, (even as far as wiping ball marks off the face during a drinks break!) do if I dont get their bats shining like I do my own they'll know I charged them full wack for a half cut service.
I can vouch for Cameron's refurbs - bought a Six6 off him a few months back and it may as well have been brand new to be honest!
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You said the other day about the bat with the cracked toe that you may not have knocked it in properly. :)
I may not have done, but I had still knocked it in to a level I was happy to take it into the nets so it wasn't like I took a brand new stick in and wondered why it broke. Freak accident or under preparation, I'll never know for certain...
That said it was a £25 net bat mate, it was ready for it's purpose. Did I spend hours on it though? Nope
I did however spend 8 weeks knocking in a bat daily for a teammate, and have spent roughly 6 hours so far on my own SS master (and counting). The net bat is an exception not the norm.
And for the record, cheap balls tend to damage bats regardless if they're straight out the packet or fully prepared. (Hence buying the cheap bat for winter nets...)
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Thanks Adam. As for it may a well have been brand new the knocking in I saved you said otherwise! ;)
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Haha you can say that again! Only using it as a net bat at the moment but it's definitely a goer
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I think you are all insane. I don't understand why you would go above 240 grit. A bat will get seam marks, red marks, scrape marks all over it and you want to achieve a finish a French polisher would be proud of. I look after my gear well but this is unnecessary.
when it comes to bats
Insane ? yes you are probably correct.
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Whats the best way to sand concaved backs, that's what I've always struggled with, bearing in mind I do it in a manshed with limited tools.
Hand sand using a sponge! Wrap the sandpaper over the sponge and go to work. The sponge moulds to the shape of the bat.