Powdered Pumice, rottenstone & Plumber's Rouge?

Still available at Lee Valley, of course.

Stillwater Lake, NS

buffing. Niiiiiiiiiiice! ;)

-- Life is full of obstacle illusions. -- Grant Frazier

My local True Value Hardware stocks them as does the Ace Hardware about 10 miles away.... Me thinks someone at the stores isn't looking hard enough for you. ;~)

John

If you must have pumice and/or rottenstone, they are both available from Amazon and other vendors.

Woodcraft has them, however any decent automotive paint store will have products from 3M, duPont, or Meguiars that work as well or better and are more convenient.

"Digger O'Dell" ?

Possibly a character from:

Can You Top This? Fibber Magee & Molly? The Great Gildersleeve?

All old radio shows.

Lew

As In "Digger O'Dell, the friendly undertaker"

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Plumber's rouge sounds like a compound used to clean copper pipe fittings before sweating. Would tripoli be the same thing?

Diatomaceous earth (dead plankton shells) is supposed to work as an ultrafine compound. Never tried it, but you can buy 5 lb bags of Safer (tm) brand, sold as an organic nonchemical insecticide. It doesn't work as a polish, feed it to the roaches.

--------------------------------- Google is your friend.

Try "Life with Riley" with Bill Bendix as Riley on the radio, later TV.

Lew

Actually the original character was Digby "Digger" O'Dell the friendly undertaker, and the original show was "The Life of Reily" featuring William Bendix. And with that, I will be shoveling along...

Yep, but cannot find locally anymore and was hoping not to have to special order online. Don't like doing financials online - for anything. Thought perhaps their might exist a more commonly available substitute.

Could be, though seems to me it was indeed known simply as a Plumber's rouge and often the final process in the application of hand rubbed finishes ...not the same as a French polish, but same goal with quite a bit less work.

If memory serves correctly, also used similar methods to remove scratches on plexiglass desktop covers when these were fashionable.

I believe plumbers used the compound to clean & polish porcelain/ baked enamel, and chrome fixtures after repair or installation. Doubt you would find a plumber today with that sort of ethic or pride, but, maybe so...

I will ask around about Tripoli and see what I can find.

Excellent suggestion! Sounds reasonable and worth further pursuit.

Thanks,

Thanks Larry,

Yep, I was aware I could order online, but really hoped I could find something suitable that was locally available. Even our local Sherwin Williams & the nearest Lowes/ Home Depot (40 miles) no longer carry these items.

Didn't know about Waterlox, something new to me, but do appreciate the heads up and will definitely investigate further.

Thanks again...

Could be you are right John, but neither one here, in North Central FL, claims any knowledge nor is willing to order. Local paint dealer is Sherwin Williams and has never heard of pumice, nor painter's pyramids, nor paraffin, nor much of anything else useful. Nearest home centers are

Yep, operative word is "online." A dreadful process and anything but convenient. Was sorta hoping for a more permanently localized solution, but, as you indicate, may not have much choice...

Thanks,

Would you be able to expand a little on the auto-paint and perhaps, in terms of course=pumice/ medium=rottenstone/ fine=rouge, point me in a comparative direction? When it comes to automotive finishes, I have absolutely no clue ...isn't that the purpose of having car insurance?

Thanks,

replied elsewhere...

Replied above -- somewhere...

Now you have it...