Ric
Member
WARNING VERY LONG POST HERE>>>>More & more recently I have been noticing that bumps appear on the body of the acrylic pen blank a few months after I have finished them. So far it seems to be happening on "Aqua-pearls, & pearls" (PSI) I have a theory that it might be my fault by applying too much force when polishing, or polishing for too long at a time thereby increasing the friction building up the heat & the blank is separating from the CA adhesive.
In the past when I was a bit "Greener" I noticed that if I applied too much force on the polishing pad the heat would build up & a bump would form, so this is why I am thinking that the problem I mentioned at the first is a direct cause of my over exuberance.
Also I would be interested to know what others may consider an adequate amount of time to spend polishing to achieve the best possible finish you can. When I sand an "plastic" blank I use ALO paper up to 400 grit, then switch to WET/DRY to 600, then I use the micro sanding pad system that has the nine pads going from 1500-12,000 grit. On these pads I time myself to a minimum of three minutes of actual polishing time per pad, this does not include the time it takes to scrub the slurry off the pad & apply water on a regular basis while polishing, then if I like what I see with that pad, I move up to the next one. I continue in this manner until I am pleased that I have achieved the best possible finish I can. After I have buffed the blanks between polishings I complete the process with a minimum of three coats of plastic polish. I know this is quite a bit more than others do, but I maintain that I can tell the difference between someone who polishes his work for a minute or so per pad, usually getting bored or saying "that's good enough" long before they reach 6000 grit, let alone 12,000.
I apologize for the length of this post, seems I just get rolling,,,,& before you know it....
"if life hands you lemons...make mojitos."
In the past when I was a bit "Greener" I noticed that if I applied too much force on the polishing pad the heat would build up & a bump would form, so this is why I am thinking that the problem I mentioned at the first is a direct cause of my over exuberance.
Also I would be interested to know what others may consider an adequate amount of time to spend polishing to achieve the best possible finish you can. When I sand an "plastic" blank I use ALO paper up to 400 grit, then switch to WET/DRY to 600, then I use the micro sanding pad system that has the nine pads going from 1500-12,000 grit. On these pads I time myself to a minimum of three minutes of actual polishing time per pad, this does not include the time it takes to scrub the slurry off the pad & apply water on a regular basis while polishing, then if I like what I see with that pad, I move up to the next one. I continue in this manner until I am pleased that I have achieved the best possible finish I can. After I have buffed the blanks between polishings I complete the process with a minimum of three coats of plastic polish. I know this is quite a bit more than others do, but I maintain that I can tell the difference between someone who polishes his work for a minute or so per pad, usually getting bored or saying "that's good enough" long before they reach 6000 grit, let alone 12,000.
I apologize for the length of this post, seems I just get rolling,,,,& before you know it....
"if life hands you lemons...make mojitos."