Sanding and polishing Acrylic

[danf]

Hi all

I am new to turning pens and have just tried my first one in acrylic. Pen turned out OK but I have no experience with sanding or polishing of this material. Can anyone point me to a source that can give me some advice in this field. I have been reading many,many posts here and want to thank you all for the very helpful hints etc. There does not seem to be the large following for pen turning in Australia as in US or I just haven't found it yet. Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance.

Dan F

 

[Rick Prevett]

Dan, I've only turned one acrylic pen, but got a real good finish off it. The secrect I learned was wet sanding. Once your ready, just wet your paper (I used water and 220 grit I think)and sand with the lathe on at a slow speed. Get a slurry going and then wipe clean between grits. I went up through 3200 (MicroMesh) this way. A little Ren wax after that and that stuff shined!

Some folks will go further and use an automotive scratch removal paste or EEE?

rick

 

[rkerns]

In my opinion this plastic sanding kit is the only way to fly! Use them wet for plastics, and dry for stabilized woods. http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/cgi-bin/shopper?preadd=action&key=084-1000
The reasons being that they are so easy to use, they work great, and last a long time. 75% of the pens I make now are acrylic acetate. As you get better at finishing up your barrels with the skew, you will find that you only use a couple of the finer pads. I follow up with Novus scratch remover and polish.

cheers,
Rick

 

[Guest]

I just use micro mesh after sanding up to 320.
You can use it wet or dry.
I follow up with a good quality wax.
The pen on the left is crushed velvet acrylic.That is how I polished that pen.
http://www.penturners.org/oldalbums/Eaglesc/turnersjewler1%20004.jpg
I also do Corian that way.

 

[pen-turners]

OK,
Here is how I do acrylic. Over the past year, besides the occasional wood pen, I turn almost exclusively dymondwood and acrylic. I have tried almost every method and here is what I found that works best:

1. I use a spindle gouge to bring my blanks down to pretty much finished diameter.

2. DRY sand very lightly with 400 grit to even out any little ridges that the gouge may have left. Be very careful not to apply very much pressure and melt the acrylic.

3. WET sand with the following grits. I place a garbage bag over the top of my lathe bed when I do this so water does not drip down onto the motor. Start with 500 grit and keep it wet while you are sanding. Use a damp paper towel in between grits to remove any residue on the blanks before starting on the next higher grit.

4. Continue to wet sand with 800, 1000 and 1200 grit paper.

5. Remove all residue and apply a coat of EEE Ultra shine paste with your finger tip. After the EEE is applied I actally use my fingertip to rub back and forth on the blanks to polish them. EEE Ultra shine contains a rouge compound which will take out every little scratch and leave your finished product like glass!!! Remove all excess polish and buff with a paper towel.

6. Remove from the lathe and assemble.


I have spent many many hours experimenting with finishes on acrylics. Acrylics are very unforgiving. You either get a beautifully shiny surface or it looks like *$&%!!

This is by far the best way I have found to finish acrylics. I used to use Micro Mesh but have found I no longer need it since switching to EEE Ultra Shine.

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[Guest]

Chris
I notice you stop at 1200 grit and then move on to triple E.
Do you use the same grit with wood?
The grits on mm are finer than the 1200 you stop at,though I certainly cannot find fault with your method.
Can the EEE be used on open grain wood without filling in the pores?

 

[pen-turners]

Originally posted by Eaglesc
<br />Chris
I notice you stop at 1200 grit and then move on to triple E.
Do you use the same grit with wood?
The grits on mm are finer than the 1200 you stop at,though I certainly cannot find fault with your method.
Can the EEE be used on open grain wood without filling in the pores?

I use CA finishes on wood now but after applying CA Glue I pretty much use the same sanding method afterwards. I have never found a need to go above 1200 when using the EEE.

Chris

 

[danf]

Thanks to you all for your advice, I'll put it into practice today and show the results..(if any good that is). I have not been able to source micro mesh in Australia but I am still trying.Of course I may not need it if the method Chris outlines works for me.

Dan F