Wall Street II Stylus - Need finishing tips
- Thread starter pauly99
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Monty
Group Buy Coordinator
Do you use micromesh?
pauly99
Member
I use micromesh and go up to 12,000. I think it looks good but because it is wet at this point I think it could look better. So I guess I'm looking for the ultimate finish beyond micromesh and I haven't found it yet. I've used brasso, Johnson's paste wax, and Meguire's polish.
plano_harry
Member
Micromesh alone should be shinier than what I think I am seeing in your photo. Are you stopping the lathe and sanding end to end as you rotate the spindle between each grit? Also, are you wiping of the previous grit before going to the next?
The pen should look really good when you have gone through the MM. I hit it with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish just because I am OCD when it comes to pens.
I hope that helps.
Harry
The pen should look really good when you have gone through the MM. I hit it with Meguiar's Ultimate Polish just because I am OCD when it comes to pens.
I hope that helps.
Harry
alphageek
Former Moderator
White diamond on a buffing wheel... Best thing I've seen yet. But it won't fix everything if you have issues in the earlier steps.
You say sharpen 5 times.. Tell us more - what tool, speed,etc. the only thing that dulls that fast for me is some of the trustones. An acrylic should to be that bad.
You say sharpen 5 times.. Tell us more - what tool, speed,etc. the only thing that dulls that fast for me is some of the trustones. An acrylic should to be that bad.
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longbeard
Member
After i get done with MM, i use novus #3 then #2
GeneL74
Member
When I'm done turning an acrylic, I do the final shaping/smoothing with sandpaper, starting with 150 grit. I turn the lathe off after using each grit, and sand lengthwise before going to the next higher grit. I stop sanding at 600 grit.
Then I use a firm buffing wheel, and red rouge around 1800 rpms on the drill press, and then switch to a softer white buffing pad, and finish with white compound. The acrylics come out shining like new money!
You can get the buffing mandrels for a drill press at lowes, or just about any hardware store. I like them a lot since I can buff at a slower speed. They are cheap, and very easy to use. Just chuck'em up in the drill press, and fire away...
Then I use a firm buffing wheel, and red rouge around 1800 rpms on the drill press, and then switch to a softer white buffing pad, and finish with white compound. The acrylics come out shining like new money!
You can get the buffing mandrels for a drill press at lowes, or just about any hardware store. I like them a lot since I can buff at a slower speed. They are cheap, and very easy to use. Just chuck'em up in the drill press, and fire away...
Monty
Group Buy Coordinator
Like Harry said, looks like you are already doing everything needed to get a good finish. Not sure why it doesn't look better.
WHSKYrvr1
Member
Just my two cents. Is the the result of painting the tube a dark color or not painting the tube? It just could be the blank.
LJS
Member
My final polish is a dab of toothpaste on a damp cloth followed by microcrystaline wax polish.
LJS
LJS
commercialbuilder
Member
When all else fails to bring a shine to the pen I use several of coats of ca thin to give it that luster.
Jjartwood
Member
Mothers aluminum and mag wheel polish
pauly99
Member
Harry, I honestly thing the micromesh finish was better than what I ended up with after the fact. Maybe I could just stop at micromesh for a test next time, although I've just ordered Novus 1 and Novus 2 online and will most likely pick up Hut at a local store.
pauly99
Member
Alpha, I'm relatively new at this. Started with a small roughing gouge and found out the lower speed.. meaning around 750 rpm was not nearly enough and 1100 didn't seem to do much either. I ended up using a roughing gouge and skew at 2200 rpm. The chisels that I have are from Harbor Freight and are an HSS set. I've gotten fairly good at sharpening with my wet grinder and Tormek jig. I can get through wood about 15 times faster. What I don't know is what kind of blank this was. I swear it was acrylic. Does PB sound correct?
pauly99
Member
Sounds like buffing wheels may be the way to go by the look at a couple of responses.
plano_harry
Member
Paul, one thing about the Meguiar's Ultimate, you have to be sure to go from polishing to removing the polish and buffing on a clean spot. If allowed to dry as a haze like wax, it is hard to remove. Ultimate is the only Meguair's product I have tried on pens. I had to take some very fine scratches out of a black plastic plate for my wife and Meguiar's did a better job (looked like new!) than the Novus 2 or Stick Fast and it is cheaper. (I think) That is my scientific polish evaluation test 
Harry
Harry
GeneL74
Member
Paul,
I have attached a picture of 5 (just finished 4 of them yesterday) bullet pens with camo acrylics. My pic is a little blurry, but the blanks shine like glass after buffing. The only two that the tubes have been painted, are the urban and desert camo.
You could probably buy everything you need (if you wanted to try it on a drill press) for around $30-$35, and use it for anything else you may need to buff. Two pads, and two sticks of compound last me a long time.
I have attached a picture of 5 (just finished 4 of them yesterday) bullet pens with camo acrylics. My pic is a little blurry, but the blanks shine like glass after buffing. The only two that the tubes have been painted, are the urban and desert camo.
You could probably buy everything you need (if you wanted to try it on a drill press) for around $30-$35, and use it for anything else you may need to buff. Two pads, and two sticks of compound last me a long time.
Attachments
alphageek
Former Moderator
Not sure what PB is, but there is MANY kinds of acrylic and even with one kind it can vary a lot.
I still have some HF HSS tools - they have their use and should be just fine. Reading the above, my first recommendation is to keep increasing your speed (as long as you are comfortable). 750 is way too slow IMO, and even the 2200 is slower than I do. Theres no diameter involved so speed isn't much of a safety issue. My lathe runs all the way up when I do pens. Light touch at high speed and the material "peels" off a lot better.
Hopefully someone will video tape Ed at the MAPG and post it. I think you'll be surprised at how fast and easy acrylic can turn when you get used to it.
pauly99
Member
Thinking more and more that buffing may be the way to go. Your end result is much better than anything that I've accomplished with automotive paste wax, floor paste wax, brasso or automotive polish. If not hooking up a buffing wheel straight to my lathe, then most likely looking at getting a buffer at a local store.
GeneL74
Member
Like I said, I have never tried the micro sanding pads, or any of the other waxes/polishes, but I was already familiar with buffing things (a lot of old pipe stems and various other little projects) way before I started making pens, so it was natural for me to try it. I'm sure there are a lot of other ways to do just as good of a job, but the buffing works for and satisfys me. It's a really nice finish, imho.
Good luck with whatever you chose.
Good luck with whatever you chose.
walshjp17
Member
When I finish with MM, I add two coats of PlastX Auto polish (very cheap at HF). Really brightens up the gloss and protects the shine.