How to Hone a Cylinder with Sandpaper

Have you ever wondered if you could hone cylinders using sandpaper? When you hear this at first, it might seem a little absurd. Not many people opt for such solutions. However, this is an excellent solution for you if you want to do it at your home and have no specialized tools.

Getting new cylinders can be costly. So, if you have the correct grit sandpaper, you can easily hone your cylinders with them. Here, we tell you how to hone a cylinder with sandpaper by yourself. Although you can go for brush hones or ball hones if you have any.

Let’s get on with the details.

Table of Contents

What Is Honing a Cylinder and Why Do I Need It?

Honing your cylinders is a crucial part of their maintenance. When you get something with a cylinder, they are always honed to perfection for the best fit and lubrication. However, over time with the constant movement, they can lose that fit. That’s when you will need to hone the cylinders so they sit well with other elements.

You will need to hone your cylinders; otherwise, your machinery may completely stop working. Honing gets rid of all the imperfections from your cylinder and makes them function perfectly. You can use different cylinder honing tools for that purpose. But if you don’t have any tool available, then you can try honing a cylinder with sandpaper.

Can You Hone a Cylinder With Sandpaper?

After people hear honing a cylinder with sandpaper, a common reaction is, Can I hone a cylinder with sandpaper? Well, in truth, the reaction is justified since it’s a bit tricky to do the job. But that doesn’t take away the fact that cylinder honing with sandpaper is something you can do. All you need is the correct grit of sandpaper. And some cylinder honing oil may come in handy as well.

Pro Tip:

You can make the job easier by getting a cylinder honing deglazer from Amazon.

Honing Cylinder with Sandpaper (Step By Step Guide)

Among many other cylinders honing techniques using sandpaper is the least common. Not many people even prefer it. But if you are left with no choice, this can be a great option you can go with at home. Let’s check out how you can hone a cylinder at home.

1
First of all, get rid of all the loose elements from the cylinders. Please make sure they are easy to move around and clean. Getting the cylinders out is a whole another topic we won’t be digging into that here.
2
Now, put some cylinder honing oil on the cylinder walls to lubricate them. It helps in honing the cylinders quickly and adequately.
3
You can then try using sandpaper by hand, or you can combine it with a drill. Using your hands will make the job harder and may cause some imperfections as well. That’s why I prefer going with a drill. To work it with a drill, you need to make a DIY cylinder honing.
4
Get sandpaper of the proper grit amount. I discuss the grit size later on. After choosing the perfect grit size, cut the sandpaper and attach it to a drill.
5
Try attaching the papers in such a way that they create a circle when they spin in speed. It should look like a bicycle tire or a fan. Also, you have to make sure the gritty area stays on the outer part of the drill.
6
Finally, attach the drill into a drill gun and start honing the cylinders. They should work well and provide you with great results once you hone the cylinders entirely.

People don’t prefer this way because of how much work it requires. Also, using sandpaper will mostly depend on the grit you use. So, a wrong grit on the sandpaper can become a deal-breaker for this process.

Learn how to hone a cylinder with sandpaper by watching the video:

What Grit Should I Use To Hone Cylinders?

The best grit for honing cylinders is a 320 grit. You want that grit because it can get through aluminum oxide quickly, removing surface scratches in the process. If you're trying to remove deep scratches in chrome-moly steel, it's much more effective to use lower grits since they are able to do so without removing too much metal.

How Much Can You Hone A Cylinder?

Honing your cylinders too much can have the opposite impact on your cylinders. You can make the hole bigger with too much honing. This may lead to parts not fitting in your cylinder correctly.

Usually, 4 to 6 strokes are the perfect way to go for cylinder honing. Or you can try out 10 to 15 seconds on each hole. This will give the cylinders crosshatch marks that consistent throughout. More than that can tamper with the size issues.

Cylinder Honing Tips

When you are honing cylinders, make sure to follow these tips below:

Always wear gloves and safety goggles before starting to hone your cylinders.
Make sure to keep the cylinder steady on hold.
Use honing oil for better results.
Keep the honing to a moderate amount. Please don’t overdo it.
Install new rings that are a bit oversized after honing your cylinders.

Final Words

There you go now; you know how to hone a cylinder with sandpaper. You can follow along with the instructions for honing a cylinder to get the job done. This cylinder honing guide was to help you hone your cylinder when you have no options but to use sandpaper.

Otherwise, using sandpaper would be the last option you should go for cylinder honing as it’s not the best way to hone your cylinders. Also, we suggest getting a cylinder hone for doing such a job. And if you are out of options, then you can use our guide to get some help.