Burnishing VS polishing.

[Techno]

This is mostly for aluminum rub rails but you can burnish any metal. Aluminum rub rails are made from very soft aluminum so should be easy to burnish while the harder a metal is the harder it will be to do.

Polishing is removal of metal. Tiny itty bitty grit removes small bits of metal producing almost invisible scratches. To get technical polishing is the rough, or pre work for what is actually called coloring. Coloring is what we mistakenly call polishing.

Anyway. Burnishing is an actual moving and smearing of the metal. No metal is removed and therefore no scratches are produced. Its only moved around on the surface. This is what they do with jewelry and other weird things where sanding and polishing would destroy the detail.

To burnish you need a very hard bit of metal with a very smooth surface. Some tools come to mind. Nickel or chrome plated screw driver shafts meet the need. So do drill bits and other things like this. To burnish put some lubricant on the metal. Soap or oil should do. Then apply pressure and slide the tool along the metal. This is why a screw driver is nice since its 2 handed. You keep doing this blending as you go and increasing pressure as you go. Its kind of like sanding but with a whole lot of force.
I figured rub rails are the perfect thing to do this on.
They are soft.
Already mounted to a vise, the boat.
Can immediatly see your progress.
Big enough to work on, apply the force.
Easy to apply the force since its almost in a perfect location.
Its hard to screw it up.
Its unlikely to stab your self. Real burishing tools are one handed spoon like things.
They most likely need some kind of attention simply because they are "rub" rails.
AND you should be able to deal with minor scratches without removing them first.

To make it easier it would be nice to have the tool kind of concave so it follows the convex curve of the rail better with less blending. This means use the screwdriver you bent using it as a prybar.
I wouldn't do this to a prop simply because of the sharp edges. It would be like burnishing a knife and any mistake results in an oops. Besides now you need the more specialized tools which aren't sitting in most tool boxes.

[150aintenuff]

only 1 problem... most bent screwdrivers find their way to the back of the box where thier smooth surface turns to rust, causing deep un repair able scratches as you attempt to burnish the softer aluminum... buy the right tools and do it right just my opinion..

[Techno]

If the tool is rusted then it isn't a burnishing candidate anymore.

The 'right' tool is nothing more than another simple tool with the name 'burnisher'. If you want to get the real items your out of luck. Like any craftsmans tools they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Here is what you can get today. I'm sure someone makes them but it ain't going to be easy finding them, much like 'gravers'

This is a jewelry site but they only carry this one shape.

[pyro]

I have a couple of them just like that one, but the end is curved as it tapers. I use them for brass instruments, I got them from Allied Supply out of Wisconsin.