Finishing Acrylics

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Chasper

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Joined
Mar 22, 2007
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1,987
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Indiana
I use sand paper up to 600, then micro mesh wet up to 12000. Sometimes I repeat the micro mesh if I see scratches. If there are still scratches after two times through I take it to the buffing wheels, tripoli and white diamond. Then finish it off with a wax, huts ultra gloss if I do it on the lathe, bar carnuba on the buffer wheel, or renaissance wax for a slightly less glossy wax finish.
 
Joined
Oct 3, 2008
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655
Location
Indep, MO
MicroMesh to 12,000 and then use Meguire's Scratch-X (for cars) and then Meguire's polish.

Leaves 'em purty!

Gregory of ILearnedItFromMater Forest
 

timberview4

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Dec 1, 2008
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Location
Ipswich, MA
On the few acrlyics I have done, I wet sanded to 400, wet MM up to 12000, then two coats of Mothers Plastic Polish. Polishes up nice.
 

ribanett

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Joined
Dec 15, 2007
Messages
381
Location
Kenner, LA, USA.
Wet MM thru 12000 then med lathe speed and polish with MAAS metal polish. I see no need for wax on acrylic just a perfect finish.
 

mdburn_em

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Joined
Mar 16, 2006
Messages
679
Location
Chesapeake, VA, USA
Sand to 400
Wet sand with the 6 colors of the "Plastics Sanding Kit". (3 pads, different grit on each side.)
Finish with Hut Ultra Gloss.

That's it.

(all of these are on the lathe...with it running. ;) )
 

NewLondon88

Local Chapter Leader
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May 15, 2008
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5,077
Location
Claremont NH
I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.
 

cozee

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Oct 4, 2005
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1,764
Location
Sadorus, IL.
MM out to 12,000 or Abralon to 4000 (both wet) then cut and buff with the same compounds (3) I finish a car with.
 

MikeMcM1956

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Joined
Oct 20, 2008
Messages
150
Location
Sugar Land, TX
I've only done about 10 acrylics so far, and sometimes find I am enjoying them more than wood. I was scared off when I first started turning, based on horror stories of blow-outs and needing razor sharp tools. After my first one I was hooked :biggrin:. I always keep my tools sharp anyway, so nice smooth turning with the gouge, and then final shaping and dimensioning with the skew.

The skew gives me a pretty dang smooth finish to start with, so I go straight to MM at top speed on the lathe. Start with 1500MM and move up to 12000 with a very light touch, more akin to polishing than sanding. Currently using MM dry with great results, but will try wet on the next one. Final finish with two passes of Novus2 on a small rag while spinning at full speed, shiny enough to see reflections.

I recently picked up some Meguiars Plast-X and a tub of Turtle Wax Scratch Remover/Buffing Compound. Going to play with it on a few scraps to see how it looks, much cheaper than Novus.

Anyway, that's my long-winded noob perspective :wink:....

Mike
 

hunter-27

Passed Away Aug 14, 2013
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Oct 17, 2007
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Chadron, Ne, USA.
Pretty much the same as the rest except use Brasso metal polish on final step. If you have scratches on your watch face or I-pod screen. The Brasso with a soft cloth does wonders as well.
 

DonWood

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Joined
Dec 27, 2005
Messages
178
Location
Chambersburg, PA, USA.
Acrylic Polishing

Hi Everyone - I haven't seen anyone mention Micro Gloss.

I use the Micro Mesh for plastic (all colors) and then use Micro Gloss and then buff on a plain wheel.

I was surprised that no one had been using Micro Gloss. It is available from AZ.

Thanks!!
 

jttheclockman

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Joined
Feb 22, 2005
Messages
19,082
Location
NJ, USA.
I use Micro gloss polishing compound and polish on both my acrylics and also CA pens. Beautiful shine in my opinion.
 

ribanett

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Dec 15, 2007
Messages
381
Location
Kenner, LA, USA.
Brasso to clean CD

Pretty much the same as the rest except use Brasso metal polish on final step. If you have scratches on your watch face or I-pod screen. The Brasso with a soft cloth does wonders as well.

Brasso also cleans a CD or DVD. just use light pressure and go across the disc not around the disc. I've saved a large number of DVDs this way.
 

Sean Troy

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Jan 5, 2009
Messages
21
Location
Henderson Ky.
Anyone ever try 3M Finnesse It polish? I've used it on High Gloss finishes with hollow forms and was wondering if it would be good with the Acrylics as a final polish.
 
Joined
Jan 11, 2006
Messages
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Location
Bloomington, Indiana, USA.
Anyone ever try 3M Finnesse It polish? I've used it on High Gloss finishes with hollow forms and was wondering if it would be good with the Acrylics as a final polish.
Yes, it works very well .. looks like a wet mirror at the end of the three steps .. if you sanded well and were fortunate, you might be able to use only the last two and get nearly the same results .. I have three bottles, extra cut rubbing compound, standard cut rubbing compound, finishing glaze (?) .. it works great!
 

NewLondon88

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May 15, 2008
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Location
Claremont NH
Almost spit coffee on the screen LMAO Actually that might fill in scratches hmm. LOL

In the photo lab, we often used 'nose grease' on negatives to fill in scratches.
A little oil from the side of the nose fills in a scratch long enough to print it
and does no damage.
I forgot to watch a new employee close enough as he was making the
enlargements.. had told him to use a little nose grease on scratches, but
when I checked up on him I found him buried to the second knuckle.
 

RussFairfield

Passed Away 2011
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Feb 10, 2004
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Post Falls, Idaho.
The grit size is more important than what brand it is. Also, using a lubricant makes any grit size act as thought it was smaller, and an oil or wax makes it act smaller than if the lubricant were water.

Both 2000-grit sandpaper and 12,000 Micro-Mesh are a nominal 1-micron grit size. The difference is in the variability or deviation in the size of the grit particles that are on the paper or cloth. MicroMesh has a smaller deviation of the particles. MM costs more than sandpaper because the tighter size spec costs more to manufacture.

The final sanded finish will be determined by the scratch pattern that is left by the largest particles that are on the paper or cloth. Since the variation is less with MM, the finish will appear to be glossier than with the 2000-grit sandpaper. Sand with a lubricant and both will have a finer scratch pattern, and a higher gloss, than if they were used dry.

The plastic polishes have a grit size that is 0.5-micron and smaller, and they are in a liquid carrier. Both contribute to a higher gloss. After that, about all that matters is how much abrasive is in the liguid polish. Brasso works faster than many of them because it has a higher grit content than any of the white liquids. It could also be argued that the liquid in Brasso will make the same particle behave like it was a smaller size than most of the other liquid polishes that use water as their carrier.

The effectiveness of any liquid polish to remove scratches depends on the depth and how many scratches were left on the surface after sanding.
 
Last edited:

smitty9306

Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2008
Messages
27
Location
plymouth, ohio, USA.
In the photo lab, we often used 'nose grease' on negatives to fill in scratches.
A little oil from the side of the nose fills in a scratch long enough to print it
and does no damage.
I forgot to watch a new employee close enough as he was making the
enlargements.. had told him to use a little nose grease on scratches, but
when I checked up on him I found him buried to the second knuckle.

LOL Thanks for the Laugh.
 

Daniel

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Joined
Jan 1, 2004
Messages
5,921
Location
Reno, NV, USA.
I've always used MM to 1200 then Hut Crystal coat. mainly because I've never bothered to look for anything else. I have been thinking lately about the Micro Gloss though.
just a note to anyone that seems to having trouble getting a real good shine on acrylics with MM the highest two sheets are not made of the same thing as the rest and will wear out faster. I generally plan to change them three times for every time I have to change the others. It turns out that a glossy look on your sandpaper is not a good thing.
 

dlostracco

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Joined
Dec 6, 2008
Messages
5
Location
Angleton, TX
acrylic finish

No micro mesh in my shop. To finish an acrylic pen I sand to 600 grit. Then I use E Ultra shine. Then I finish with One step. No mess, and NO water around my lathe. I can get just as good of a finish as any I have seen with micro mesh only with LESS time and NO water.
 

kmla

Member
Joined
Feb 25, 2009
Messages
36
Location
Indiana
Mental note...

I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.

... always wash pens and blanks purchased from New London88.

:biggrin:
 
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