Cleaning pin holes

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qquake

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I just finished half a pen. The blank has pin holes in it that I didn't notice, and they got filled with slurry when I wet sanded it. I've tried a brush and compressed air, but neither worked. Any ideas? Acetone or denatured alcohol, maybe? Will either attack the plastic? The upper body has holes in it too, that may or may not turn out. The blank is a Rhino called My Two Cents.
 

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CREID

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The acetone may attack the plastic, alcohol, probably not, but I have never tried it. For what it is worth, I watched a video from Exotic Blanks and he had this come up when turning Faux Stone and he used BLO, but he also put a CA finish on afterward.
 

mecompco

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I've had fair results fixing this issue by dousing with DNA and going after the schmutz in the holes with a dental pick. Time consuming and annoying and sometimes unsuccessful as if ANY of the residue remains, it will show.
 

jttheclockman

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Why not fill the holes with a slurry of saw dust and CA or epoxy. Strip the finish off and start over.
 
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mecompco

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Why not fill the holes with a slurry of saw dust and CA or epoxy. Strip the finish off and start over.

I'm pretty sure that is an acrylic/whatever blank. I've tried mixing mica dust into thick CA to fix pin holes in my own PR blanks with limited success. Still, you have to pick out all the sanding remnants or it shows up like a sore thumb.
 

qquake

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So far, I've tried rubbing alcohol; a dental pick; a sharpened piece of paper clip; and a blowgun with a very thin tip. All I've managed to do is put a scratch in one of the bodies.
 

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magpens

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A dental pick has been suggested ....... I use a straight pin held in a pin chuck.
Time consuming but worth it if you value the blank. You don't seem to have too many holes so the process shouldn't be too bad. . Blow on the blank as you pick away ... or use a piece of scotch tape to take off the tiny bits.
 

jttheclockman

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What you are doing is making it worse because now you are scratching the inside of that hole with picks and hard objects. It is like adding a scratch to a shiney finish. It is probably not dust and it is acrylic that was not polished. Tint some epoxy and fill the hole. It is so small no one is going to notice. Or dab some colored paint in there and top coat with CA. You need to fill the hole. Just an opinion. Hope you work it out. Sure looks like a lot of air bubbles in that blank.
 
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magpens

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Yes, of course ... top coat with CA after removing the crap from the holes ... I think it IS dust .
 

SteveG

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I have had some success coloring the goo-junk that chooses to reside in pin holes using a Sharpie or similar marker. I use some color that is darker than the blank material. This approach is similar to John T.'s suggestion, but employs the possibility that the stuff in the small cavity will absorb the marker ink, and thus provide a more complete coloration. It is surprising how OK and almost unnoticed a small darker dot of color will appear, compared to the light/white color of slurry residue. I have repeated this a few times to the same pin hole after each of the final steps of finish and polish. Once the color issue is handled, if a small cavity remains, then is when I would apply some clear epoxy or CA to bring it up to level.
 

qquake

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I have had some success coloring the goo-junk that chooses to reside in pin holes using a Sharpie or similar marker. I use some color that is darker than the blank material. This approach is similar to John T.'s suggestion, but employs the possibility that the stuff in the small cavity will absorb the marker ink, and thus provide a more complete coloration. It is surprising how OK and almost unnoticed a small darker dot of color will appear, compared to the light/white color of slurry residue. I have repeated this a few times to the same pin hole after each of the final steps of finish and polish. Once the color issue is handled, if a small cavity remains, then is when I would apply some clear epoxy or CA to bring it up to level.

Now that's not a bad idea.
 

qquake

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I have had some success coloring the goo-junk that chooses to reside in pin holes using a Sharpie or similar marker. I use some color that is darker than the blank material. This approach is similar to John T.'s suggestion, but employs the possibility that the stuff in the small cavity will absorb the marker ink, and thus provide a more complete coloration. It is surprising how OK and almost unnoticed a small darker dot of color will appear, compared to the light/white color of slurry residue. I have repeated this a few times to the same pin hole after each of the final steps of finish and polish. Once the color issue is handled, if a small cavity remains, then is when I would apply some clear epoxy or CA to bring it up to level.

I just happen to have gold and bronze Sharpies...
 

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Joey-Nieves

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I fill the holes while I'm turning with CA, I dry sand the blank and remove all the scratches, then bow with compressed air and give it a nice rub with DR. kirk's and apply CA for the finish.
 
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