I have only turned a few (20 or so wood and acrylic). I have yet to have a problem with acrylic, PR is a different story, you can see my BLOWOUT post as reference. I actually like Acrylic better than wood. I think that it is by far easier to finish than wood.
I would recommend also watching some vids, but if there is someone close by that can mentor you a bit, I would do that. Watching a video and having someone hold your hand are much different. CHICAGOHAND is my mentor. Without him I would probably have never bought a lathe.
Here is my process:
1) Cut blank to size
2) Drill blank - drill 1/4" down, squirt water in hole, drill another 1/4" down remove bit and shavings, squirt water down hole, continue process until you get almost to the end of the blank (mark the drill bit with a piece of tape the same length as the blank); on the last little bit go SLOW!!! VERY SLOW!!! PAINS TAKING SLOW!!! SO SLOW YOU CAN FEEL YOUR HAIR GROW!!!!
3) Sand down the corners
4) Sand, paint and glue the tubes
5) Paint inside blank if needed or desired
6) Mill the ends (on the lathe)
7) Grab my trusty Johnnycnc bushings and mount to the lathe
8) Set speed to 1800
9) Begin rounding with a gouge (ABC: Anchor, Bevel, and Cut; Anchor the tool on the rest, Place the bevel on the blank, Lift up to begin cutting)
10) Once rounded, grab a round scraper and begin to shape
11) Once shape as desired, just about a 32nd of an inch from the bushing, grab the skew. I haven't masered the Skew yet, but I use it like a scraper. The straight edge helps eliminate my uneveness left by the scraper. I also have it so sharp that I begin to see the acrylic shine as I slowly work it across the blank.
12) Once the blank in turned to final shape and size, I move my rest, cover the rails of my lathe with towel, grab my MM pads and a water-brasso mix (1 part brasso to 15 parts water)
13) I have the MM pads from the "I can't believe this finish kit" Which one is already falling apart
and proceed to finish - 6 pads in all. The first pad evens out the shape, so use this one sparingly it can gouge the surface. I keep squirting the pad throuh out the finishing process, this keeps the blank nice anc COOL.
14) Once I have a pretty good shine, I use a bright light and scan the entire surface for any scratches. If I find one I go back to the middle pad and work my way up.
15) Polish: STEP 1 - Car Headlight Lens restorer STEP 2 - Magiures PLASTIX STEP 3 - HUTS Ultra Plastic Polish (It only takes a dab of each: Wipe in with a little pressure, let spin for a few seconds and buff each product to a shine.
That's all I have to say about that. Hope it helps...at least I got it off my chest.