BAN019 hex bolt+big washer 0,6mm

Polishing the edges back

Polishing is a step often left out with small hardware, although it is precisely the one that decides the impression a finished part makes. The procedure is simple: the component is allowed to darken all over or is sprayed, and as soon as the surface is hard the tops of the edges are wiped so that bare metal appears beneath them again. The contrast that results between a dark base and light edges matches the way real hardware looks on a machine that has been taken apart at least once.

What to do it with

• A piece of chamois stretched over a stick, the gentlest variant.
• A glass-fiber pencil brush, quick but merciless.
• A dry brush with a minimum of light metallic paint, when the base is not to be touched.

Where the limit lies

Six tenths of a millimeter is roughly the smallest size at which polishing can be done selectively. Below it the tool catches the whole head at once and, instead of emphasized edges, an evenly light face with no shape is produced. In this band it therefore pays to work under a magnifier and with the wrist supported, otherwise the result differs from piece to piece.

Description of the part

The head has an external hexagonal outline, and a widened washer disc seats beneath it. The neighboring grades of the same family step up and down by a tenth of a millimeter.

It is advisable to seal the result with a very thin clear flat varnish, otherwise the exposed metal high points will in time be soiled again by fingerprints and the difference from the base will fade. The seal is applied in a single light pass, so that the laboriously won contrast is not flooded.