Welding Tips and Tricks

Alright guys, so I made a couple of roses out of steel. Now the look I was going for was to completely Polish it, so I went about completely polishing every part before I welded it. But of course, by using a oxy-acetylene torch to shape the petals, it darkened, so I was wondering if I could go about using some type of acid or cleaner to bring the shine back to the inside of the pedals? Because there's no way I'm getting in there with any type of wire weel or grinder

Dremel makes some 1/2" wire wheel and cup brushes that might get into tiny clearances. That still may not be your solution because you'd have to brush all the affected surfaces. Are you looking for an acid to produce a bright shiny surface? I wonder if some kind of patina would cover up AND provide aesthetics.

Do you mind posting photos of your roses?

yeah of course
https://m.flickr.com/#/photos/131081599 ... 244141439/

And yes, I want to find an acid or some type of liquid to get it all completely shiny. But the thing is, I want to get all inside of the rose and get all of it shiny, if there's any way to do that

You can get acid that strips all surface impurities, but it won't be shiny. Maybe try a a vibrating machine filled with something like crushed walnut shells.

Yes. A gun cartridge case vibratory cleaner/polisher might work well. Mine uses corn cob. I've used it on brass and nickel plate for a good polish.

You could make the petals individually, polish them and then do a small tack back together.

Try 'SodaBlasting'.

I like the contrast between the dark and the shiny but that's just me.
Cheers.
-Eldon

Ive though of sandblasting it all, but would there be anyway to go about polishing it after that?

The soda blasting is a different kind of process, it doesn't etch the surface at all, may be shiny after that alone.

I like the soda blasting idea.

Sand and jeweler's rouge are both abrasives, so think of soda as jeweler's rouge you can spray.

I also wonder (if these roses are stainless steel) if they could be dipped in passivating/electropolishing liquid and charged with voltage like in electroplating to achieve the same effect without having to mop every square cm of the surface?

Steve S