I've spent close to 50 hours buffing out my car that I painted over the weekend. It's no longer fun.

Having read the instructions here I'd recommend skipping directly to the 800 or 1000 grit paper. If there are large scratches left behind then step back and use a lower grit. The reason they started at 200 was to remove the anodization. On a plain stainless bowl you should be smoother to start with.

Just wanted to throw this link up again. It isn't that cheap but if it came down to polishing aluminum or getting something in stainless I'd pay the $33 to get this:

http://culinary-direct.com/catalog/item/item2587.cfm

This particular mold is the perfect size for the EYE.

You can also hold out for the Norpro.

Slightly better prices, either of these will work.

http://www.kerekesequip.com/detail.asp?id=3488
http://www.kerekesequip.com/detail.asp?id=3489

I haven't gotten one of these to test so hopefully they are fully polished inside. I'd better grab one to find out.

If you go with this one http://www.kerekesequip.com/detail.asp?id=3488 you should be able to fit your fan and ballast in the back of the enclosure too.

Hey everyone, Taking a closer look at the Norpro bowls. In my catalog it has the 1024 as being 1.3Qt/1.2L that is smaller then the one brain tested. I wonder if it would work. It may be true that Ace was selling them as a close out as Norpro is not making them anymore.

Norpro is going to check and see if it is a misprint in the catalog or that Norpro has changed the size of the bowl. Should know something Tuesday.

brain

found some more hemishere molds 18.40 each 14.70 if you buy 5
peter

http://www.jbprince.com/product.asp?0=276&1=280&3=1119

Would this one be better, it is bigger



http://www.jbprince.com/product.asp?0=276&1=280&3=1121

http://www.jbprince.com/product.asp?0=276&1=280&3=1120
How about split the difference.

From the center of the eye lamp to the end is about 3". Once you set the lamp inside the bowl it would have to be at least the 7" bowl to get it centered.

I didn't have any problems with the Norpro which is 6.25". The lamp sits at the focus which is 1/2 in and 1/2 out of the bowl.

Must just fit in there because of that step in on the ends of the lamp. Even better, the smaller bowl is cheaper too.

Those hemisphere molds looks like half-circle mirrors to me.

Thats cool. wonder if they are that shiny on the inside as well?

brain,
have you tried the "hemisphere molds" as a reflector?
i may go to a kitchen store at the mall tonight to see if i can find these.

your new pictures with the norpro bowl are awesome!!
thanks for all the hard work,
Peter

Well I emailed the company days ago to ask if the inside is polished as well and no response. I guess I'll just buy one and see :/

Ill let you know if I find some
the jb prince ones look like they have a real shine to them
not a bad price,
peter

Yep I went ahead and ordered the 7". Got 2nd day air so I should have it next week (if it's in stock).

Good news gang, the model 1024 Norpro bowl printed as 1.3Q in my Norpro catalog is wrong they ARE 1.5Q YEAAA so we are back in the game.

Which way are people leaning, toward the Norpro or the hemisphere molds?

I'm going to wait for Brain to test the hemisphere mold .

What is the diameter/height of the 1.5Q Norpro? Is it a true hemisphere?

http://www.kitchenetc.com/Products.cfm?sku...trackingid=frgl



Gleaming polished stainless steel and a sleek handle design provide this bowl with an ultra professional appearance. But then, you would expect as much from All-Clad, maker of some of the world's most respected cookware.
* Polished stainless steel
* 8 1/2" Diameter x 4 3/8" H
* 3 Qt. capacity
* Flared rim to prevent drips
* Won't react to food
* Dishwasher safe
* Lifetime Warranty

A bit pricey at $49.99

Here is something that may make two reflectors: Flip lid condiment bowl.

http://store.yahoo.com/asiana-west/ststflcobo.html

Highly polished stainless steel. 6-1/2” X 8-1/4”H with a 30 oz capacity.

Rorshach, you would have to ask Brain for the size, he has one for testing. I do not have any yet.

The size is 6.25 and the radius is 3.5. It is a true sphere except for the about 3/8" of straight added to the rim which has no affect on the usage. The Norpro works beautifully and is fairly cheap and easy to implement.

And cheaper if ordered from Lamps

This topic is getting big, and oddly enough, it keeps growing due to new finds for potential reflectors. Never thought I'd see the day I was hunting for the best bowl on the 'net.

Lamps, Can i order one from you? where do i do this?

so, what is the overall best bowel, ( balance of price and reflectability)

Welcome to the community bade!

Hi sullivan18,

I will make a page people can go to to order. And pay using Paypal.

Anyone know if that bowl is sold in a box or was it just sitting out on the self with no box.

Waiting for Brain to get the mold bowl to test and see if he likes it better then the Norpro bowl. I don't want to order a bunch of Norpro bowls ($100 min order) then find out we have something that would work much better.

Sounds great lamps, cant wait!

-Sullivan

Lamps
I picked up the bigger Norpro at Ace and it came in a box, so I would imagine the smaller one would also have a box.

This stuff works great for polishing bare aluminum to a mirrior and works very fast also

This is my 100cc gas burner that I built for one of my R.C. airplanes. I used the mothers to polish the case. It only took about a hour to do by hand.

[This stuff works great for polishing bare aluminum to a mirrior and works very fast also ]

Has anyone tried it on stainless steel yet? for there is that little insertion:-" works on all metals"

Nice motor.

Thank's brainchild. The prop at 26" is almost the same length as my Projector box.

I once had the dream to fly RC planes but had to drive for lots of miles to get to a place to fly it. How much did that motor cost you? I had a nice RC trainer plane many years ago with a .60 motor (I think that is what it was). things cost so much more back then.

Off topic - If you still want to fly, look in to the electrics - they've come a LONG way and you can fly them in a much smaller area. (and no oily goo to wipe off your Monokote!) The class of plane is called "parkflyers." Lots 'o fun...

On topic - I got the spherical cake pans and made an attempt at polishing one up using my dremel and polishing compoud. Result: Yes, you can polish them to a mirror finish, but it will take you LOTS of time and buffing wheels. I managed about 4sq. inches in ~1.5 hrs. Simply not worth it to me, I'm gonna go with the Norpro.

i picked up the baseball cake bowl that was posted earlier in this forum, it polished out very nicely, i do not have pictures yet for im trying to see how clean i can get the reflection, i am only working with a dremel and 400 grit paper right now, the mothers polish and a cloth wheel on the dremel works great, its just that the dremel is small, will take you about 2 hours to polish up, the cake bowl was only 5 bucks and it comes with 2 semi circles.

2 questions:

How much of the 2 hours did you dedicate to the 400 grit sanding?

Where did you get the Mother's polish?

Tnx.

i spent like maybe 30 mins sanding if that, and you get the polish at autozone or a car parts place. i got the bowl at garden ridge pottery.

Hi Lamps thanks for the great balast. It is very true that back in the old days it cost alot of money to fly Rc. Now days You can get a trainer, motor and a radio for about $200.00. It's a great sport for parents and kids to get into as RC is alot of fun. My 100cc motor is worth about $800.00 but that cannot even compare to the money I have spent on my turbine jets and my helies. When you got over $10.000 in the air you have to be carfull not to screw the pooch! knock on wood..

I found all diffrent sizes of norpro bowld at yhis site http://www.usahardware.com
drom3 too 5 dollers on clearence. I ordered 2 differnt sizes too try (I can use some new bowls anyway)

Hi super,
I think $200 was around what I spend on just the 4 channel radio then another $160 for the trainer plane

So they now make a real working jet engine for RC planes?

Helies looked fun to fly but I hear they have a stiff learning curve and are a lot more $$.

Can you get camers for the planes now?

You know for about another $10,000 you can get a 2 person powered parachute.

Then you can fly into work!

Lamps, when will you have the bowls in?

These are not the same bowls as the Norpro that Brain is using. These don't look spherical and probably have a flat bottom since I don't see base rings sold along side of them.

None of those are the 1024 model, and they don't list the actual mesurements (in inches) of the bowls. Let us know which models you ordered and what the dimensions are when you get them.

Thanks!

look at the model #'s -these bowls are everything but the 1024-all the numbers around it. I think they are the same bowls just different sizes

OK - also, the sizes are listed in cups - divide by 4 to find the size in quarts. The closest to the 1024 in size is the 4.5 cup (1.125 quart) deep mixing bowl (Model 1021), but it may be too small. The next size up is the Model 1023 at 9 cups (or 2.25 quarts) Compare these figures to the 1.5 quart capacity of the 1024 - assuming they are all hemispherical in proportions.

I will post the pictures as soon as I get them.worst case senario I will have some nice stainless steel bowls. If it works out I will post pictures of my results,thanks

Hey Craig, you might want to edit your user name to remove your email (it can be anything you want). Spam bots harvest email addesses from sites such as ours.