Finishing PVC

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green-eyes

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I am wondering if anyone can tell me how to finish PVC. I turned a pen and sanded like I would any pen, starting at 150 and going to 400, then going through all of the MM wet sanding. I still have a ton of scratches and don't know what to do now.
 
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DCBluesman

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You definitely want to go with either a plastic polish (like Novus) or an automotive "swirl remover". A little high speed buffing will work wonders.
 
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rduncan

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Not to "hijack" this thread but is "PVC" the same as the "Bowling Ball Material" I also see advertised?? I hated to start a new thread for what I hope is a simple question. [?]
 
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DCBluesman

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The material is not the same, Rick, but the finishing is. BTW, do not allow bowling ball material to get hot while sanding. It makes an awful, sticky mess! DAMHIKT
 
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pastorbill1952

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I would think that finishing PVC, acrylics, BB material would be very much the same. I discovered that as you sand not to hold the paper still but keep it moving back & forth that way the grit doesn't dig as deep. Also after the 1st couple of grits start using lighter touches letting the sandpaper do most of the work. I use wet sanmding from 320 thru 12000 (there is a mm for plastic just don't remmeber what it is called) cleaning in between the grits. Finally the auto rubbiing compound & a coat of wax.
 
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Old Griz

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Becky, when I get into small scratches like that, I use automotive polishing compound on a very damp piece of tshirt followed by plastic polish or automotive antiswirl cream... just make sure you keep the cloth your using damp. If it dries out you might actually put more scratches into the finish...
PVC especially needs a wet sanding with a very light touch.. as Fred said it is SOFT PLASTIC...
 
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green-eyes

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I used a dry t-shirt cloth and scratch remover. I will have to get some swirl remover and use a damp cloth next time. I got ants in my pants and thought, good enough, and put it together. It looks pretty good for a first attempt at pvc and a cigar pen. I also decided to stretch my creative bone and combined colors. Maybe next time I will try one new thing at a time, na..... no fun in doing that!! Hopefully I will get some shop time today to try again! Thanks for your suggestions everyone!!![:)]
 
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