Keg Polishing

[35mastr]

Anyone have a rock solid procedure to do a pretty decent keg going in?

[Truckinbutch]

Just my own opinion : keep the inside clean and do your polishing on your product . Shined shoes don't have much influnce on where the feet in them are headed .

[BentJar]

I used auto polishing compound and a buffing machine(slow moving side grinder) with buff pad.
Worked real well but it will sling compound so wear an apron.

[Stainless dude]

Yep Bentjar is right lots of work and lots of mess but worth it if you take pride in your gear. I use a pedestal buffer, start with sisal buffs then move to cotton. Use ss black compound.. In tight spots I use a 6" wheel on die grinders..

[Prairiepiss]

4" angle grinder with gator pads from Lowes. And polishing compound from harbor freight. Start with a course pad work down to a fine pad. I used the course compound with the fine pad. Then the polishing pad and compound. Working a small area at a time. Took me a good three days of hard work for one keg. I will never do it again. It was a build for someone else.

[Jimbo]

She's a beauty P, nice!

[bellybuster]

I've got a shiny spot on one of my kegs. Started then said Fug it

[Prairiepiss]

I've got a shiny spot on one of my kegs. Started then said Fug it

I never even started on mine. And said the same thing.
I would probably do it again. If I was building for someone else. But mine can keep looking like hell.

[Due51]

Prairie, is that blue 55 gallon drum you fermenter or coolant holding tank?

[Halfbaked]

I gotta say P that is fine . Is the ring on the floor the ring off the keg?

[Prairiepiss]

Prairie, is that blue 55 gallon drum you fermenter or coolant holding tank?

Sugar storage. Have another one for grain storage. The fermenters are to the right of that pic. There should be some pics of them in this thread.
http://homedistiller.org/forum/viewtopi ... =2&t=35751

Halfbaked yes it is. I cut the bottom ring off. Used it for the foot. With 1" angle for legs. flipped the keg upside down. Used the sanky as a drain and added a 4" and 2" to the top. One for fill and one for column. Then a 2" on the side for an element. It's a really nice setup. Wish it was mine.

[Cardinalbags]

Mine was sooooooo shiny that it almost made me blind.....

So i hid it under a bunch of insulation......

[DAD300]

Mine is so dull/ugly, no one says anything about it living on my deck!

[Janitor47]

I am new to distilling, but very old to polishing.

Realistically, I could make a keg awesome looking in 15 mins or less, but I have a 10HP machine in my shop.
For folk at home, I would use either a hand grinder (if you have to) or a hand polisher (if you can, it's basically a grinder with more torque), any spiral sewn wheel 6-8", and some high shine compound. Don't worry about removing the scratches, just go for shiny. It will look good in pics and from 3+ feet away, if you did a decent job.

[Janitor47]

Oh yeah, and Prairiepiss, you did a great job!

[Prairiepiss]

I would like to see someone polish a used keg in 15 min.

[Jimbo]

Did you see the 10HP part? Seems the biggest challenge would be hangin on to the damn thing with that many horses buffing away.

[bellybuster]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

[Prairiepiss]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

Jack your truck up. Pull a wheel off. And bolt it to the axle. Lol

[Soggy Bottom Boy]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

Hmmmmm, ......I know a guy that uses a very large lathe and special built cutting tool to molest kegs into keggles! I'll have to see if he'll let me "borrow" his lathe for a polishing job.

[Husker]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

Jack your truck up. Pull a wheel off. And bolt it to the axle. Lol

I was thinking the same thing. 420hp to the rear wheels big block chevy.. Hell, you could do 2 kegs at once, lol

[Janitor47]

You know what's funny? After all the running my mouth about being a professional metal polisher and blah blah blah, I'm sitting here looking at my dirty old keg and all the dirty pre-soldered copper pipes and parts like :/

You know the mechanic who drives the Chev POS?
Or the glass guy with poly taped in where his side window used to be?
That's me right now. I had all these grand plans of before/ after pics to show y'all.
And now? :/

[ga flatwoods]

Tis true more work than most janitors are used to doing. Especially if it turns out gleeming! Hard to clean a torazzo floor without stripping waxing and buffing. If a year old sour mop wont clean it to hell with it! Sick mentality.
GA Flatwoods

[Hound Dog]

All that polish don't make good liquor.

[ga flatwoods]

So, neither can janitor!
GA

[Cardinalbags]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

Jack your truck up. Pull a wheel off. And bolt it to the axle. Lol

I was thinking the same thing. 420hp to the rear wheels big block chevy.. Hell, you could do 2 kegs at once, lol

Two at once is the recommended method actually, unless you want to run after the truck with your polisher in hand

[rad14701]

was looking but can't find it. There was a video of a guy polishing a keg on a large metal lathe, the keg was spinning and he was using a huge buffer. That sucker was shinin within a minute. Now... if I can only find that giant metal lathe and chuck in the garage.....

Jack your truck up. Pull a wheel off. And bolt it to the axle. Lol

I was thinking the same thing. 420hp to the rear wheels big block chevy.. Hell, you could do 2 kegs at once, lol

Bolt those puppies on and do a few burnouts in a sand lot... Done...!!!

[Janitor47]

Ha ha, GA, very funny.

I did start it last night despite my not wanting to.
Me denying my talent would be like Michelangelo NOT doing the Sistine chapel.

Or so GA can understand, it'd be like Dale Earnhardt Jr. not climbing into that ol' speed wagon ta shuck rubber on dat dem der asphalt.

[ga flatwoods]

Nascar sucks! Damn watching a bunch cars go round and round. Rigged like wrestling. Gran prix is real racing like in Europe not USA.
Ga Flatwoods

[BigSwede]

I'm one of those guys, when I'm in the build, I make her shine... almost obsessive-compulsive, and the pics I post of my first build are gonna be shiny.

I know, after it goes to work, I'll probably never shine or polish up again, other than some basic wiping down. Copper, brass, bronze, all develop a nice patina with just a cotton cloth. I like to keep it between crusty green and brilliant new-penny.

But for a few weeks, it's a glorious thing to have shiny metal!

P.S. I come from an aviation background, and there are pilots who fly vintage airplanes who have the full-on obsessive-compulsive thing going on, and they keep their all-aluminum airplanes buffed to an insane shine. You need a welding helmet to get near them in sunlight. Empty gallon cans of nevr-dull litter their hangars. The work involved is immense. Got to respect that!