Question: Is monkey jam better than using red jeweler’s rouge ?

Answer:  The short answer is yes Monkey Jam is better for fine polishing Pinewood Derby axles because the grit particle size in Monkey Jam is much smaller than the majority of red jewelers rouge.  So this means that Monkey Jam is a much finer polish and will leave a much smoother axle surface.

The long answer is more detailed. One of the major difficulties in using and understanding jewelers rouge, or any abrasive compound for that matter, is that each manufacturer uses his own recipe to make the finished material.

Derby Monkey researched the above question and this is what they found. There are two types of aluminum oxide (jewelers rouge) used in polish, sometimes called “A” and “B”.  Aluminum oxides labeled as “A” and “B” are not all equal in quality or performance. The size of the alumina particle is very different. Aluminum oxide “A” is 0.3 micron in size and Aluminum “B” is an extremely small micron size of 0.05. To put this into perspective, 50,000 grit is approximately .5 micron and 100,000 grit is about .25 micron.

When we purchase a bar of red jewelers rouge we have no idea of the amount of oxide used or the size of the particle used in manufacturing the bar. This can vary greatly from manufacturer to manufacturer.

The researched determined that the material that makes up Monkey Jam, Magnesium oxide in a petroleum carrier, has an extremely small 0.05 micron partial size.  That should compare to sandpaper finer than 100,000 grit.

So, for polishing Pinewood Derby Axles, playit safe and go with the Monkey Jam.  Monkey Jam may be the very best Pinewood Derby axle polish available.  Read More

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