After machining, there are always some scratch marks left behind. These parts are polished to attain a certain look and feel, and this is called surface finishing.

From Wikipedia: Finishing processes may be employed to: improve appearance, adhesion or wettability, solderability, corrosion resistance, tarnish resistance, chemical resistance, wear resistance, hardness, modify electrical conductivity,

Types of finishing

Generallly, they are of two types:
1. Removing or reshaping
2. Adding or altering

Examples

They vary by the material in context (e.g. Textiles, Wood, Metal, Wood, Cement, Jewellery, etc.)

Mirror Finish
Shiny finish
Matte Finish
Coarsely Grained Finished
Anti-microbial finish (Textiles)

Methods of finishing

Sanding and Polishing
- Can be done by hand, or by other techniques for hard to reach areas
Electric Discharge Machine (EDM) Spark Erosion
- Largely Replaced by Chemical Etching
Media Blasting
- Example: Silica, Glass, Aluminium Oxide, Dry Ice, Plastic Beads, etc.
Chemical Etching
Laser Etching

Some facts

Material Removal is about 0.0003" - 0.0007" for most polishing applications after machining

Examples

Common Examples

Leather

Somehow shoe polish makes leather shoes shine, when applied with polish brush. The type of brush fibers also play a role.

Metal

In school we used to use Brasso for polishing school emblem and belt. Brasso is an inflammable material.

Industrial

Plastic

An example I saw on shorts:

This seems to be an example of shiny finish.

Take the plastic trim, sand it in the sun
Rub it with an 800 Wetordry paper
Clean it up with alcohol wipes
Prime it with a plastic primer (was Plastic Spray PS 12)
- Add at least 3 coats of a normal primer
When it is done, rub it with a 1500 wetordry paper
Now apply the base coat, one that also contains a lacquer (was MOTIP Car Paint Acryl | Autolak / Autolack)
When it is dry, again rub it with a 1500 wetordry paper
Rub with a cretin compound (?) (was Menzerna MEDIUM CUT POLISH)
After plenty of rubbing, it should start to look good
Then add wax on to protect the painting (was Brillo Cera | Cera Briiho)

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