How To Mirror Polish Outer Stainless Tube Joints

Need a quick and easy way to mirror polish outer stainless tube joints? You’re in the right place… our step-by-step guide along with Cibo’s Time Saving Kit 06 are all you need. We have all of the essential abrasive products for you to complete the process and achieve top quality results – all in one box.

TSK Mirror Polishing Stainless Steel Tubes

What are Time Saving Kits?

A Cibo Time Saving Kit contains all the products and information you need to complete your desired process. There are 3 kits for satin finishing and 3 for mirror polishing stainless steel. See all kits here.

Process Overview

Use both medium and very fine Rapid Combi discs to sand the weld.

Blend and refine the surface finish with the unitised SAG disc.

Coat the felt VAP disc in pink polishing compound and polish the metal to a mirror finish.

After polishing remove any residue polish using Vienna Chalk.

Continue reading our guide below for further instructions of the TSK06 process…

Step 1: Preparation

Attach your RCD/ME/125 disc to your variable speed angle grinder. We highly recommend the FiniPower machine.

Abrasive tip: Setting your machine speed between 3000 and 4000 RPM will avoid burn marks on your workpiece and maximise disc life.

Dress the grit of your new RCD by grinding a test piece of stainless steel. If you miss this step, the disc may be too aggressive on first use.

Step 2: Sanding The Weld

Move the RCD/ME/125 back and forth in the longitudinal direction of the tube, ensuring that the sanding lines follow the circumference of your workpiece.

Work at an angle of 10 to 15 degrees whilst applying light pressure equal to the weight of your machine.

Sand up to the area where the two tubes meet at the highest point – the corner should be sharp and round.

Once satisfied with this result, repeat on the other side.

Then, repeat with the RCD/VF/125.

Step 3: Erasing Grinding Lines

At this point in the process, there may be visible fine grinding lines and surface scratches on your workpiece – these can easily be removed using Cibo’s unitised discs.

Simply attach the SAG/5/125 disc on to your FiniPower machine.

Now, sand in a perpendicular direction to that of the RCDs and continue sanding to leave a pre-polished bright finish on your stainless steel.

Step 4: Mirror Polishing

Fix the VAP/Z/125 felt disc to your FiniPower machine, ensuring the speed is set to 4,000 RPM.

Allow the disc to turn against the PV/102 pink polishing compound until it is fully coated.

Use the disc in a longitudinal direction (opposite to that of the SAG disc) and polish until the desired mirror polish finish is achieved.

Step 5: Cleaning Up

To remove any polish residue from your workpiece, simply use the PV/103 Inoxiclean Vienna Chalk in combination with a soft microfibre cloth to wipe down the tube.

Completing this step will remove any grease from the stainless steel without the risk of surface scratches.

What is Included in Time Saving Kit 06?

All of the essential products you need for the mirror polish process are inside the box;

RCD/ME/125 (x2 Discs) Medium Rapid Combi Disc for sanding down the weld. (125mm⌀ with a 22mm⌀ centre hole.)
RCD/VF/125 (x2 Discs) Very fine Rapid Combi Disc for sanding the weld after the medium grade disc. (125mm⌀ with a 22mm⌀ centre hole.)
SAG/5/125 (x1 Disc) Unitised disc for the removal of grinding lines. (125mm⌀ with a 22mm⌀ centre hole.)
VAP/Z/125 (x1 Disc) Soft felt disc for mirror polishing. (125mm⌀ with a 22mm⌀ centre hole.)
PV/102 (x1 300g Bar) Pink polishing compound for a bright, highly reflective finish.
PV/103 (x1 150g Tub) Vienna chalk to remove polishing compound residue and leave the surface grease-free.