# One-Step Plastic Polish



## Munsterlander

I've seen a lot of discussion about Novus and Brasso and a few other things, but I did a search and didn't see any posts on the One-Set Plastic Polish product available from PSI / WoodTurningz.  Have any of you used it and had good results, or otherwise?  I'm frequently ordering stuff from Ryan & Co, so it's convenient.  'Course I'm also frequently stopping by Walmart and some of you said their kitchen scratch and swirl remover works great too and it's only $2.

Thanks.


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## stolicky

I have used Turtle Wax polishing compound with good results.  I believe it was like $1.87 at the local autoparts store.


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## wdcav1952

Mike, I use an automotive scratch and haze polish from Wally World.  I remember it is in a yellow plastic container, but that is about it.


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## TylerRiddle

I ended up with a bottle of the plastic polish from PSI as an afterthought on an order, and have used it on many pens with good results.  Almost all of the pens I finish are done in this order: BLO, thin CA, medium CA, plastic polish, Ren wax.  The Plastic Polish seems to do the trick about as well as the bottle of Wal Mart car wax I had lying around before.


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## Brandon25

In my opinion I cant imagine a better product for polishing plastic than what I found at WalMart. Meguiars PlastX. It's like $5 and you only use a little, so it will last a long time. Does a phenomenal job shining up my acrylic as well as my CA finish after final sanding with 2000 wetordry sandpaper.


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## NewLondon88

The plastic polishes are really just like a very VERY fine sandpaper without
the paper. Sanding compound, buffing compound, rubbing compound, polishes. 
they're just abrasives suspended in some sort of medium. There's
different grades, just like sandpaper, only it is harder to find out what the
equivalent grit or grade is. (Is Novus finer than Meguiars? is Turtle wax
finer than the white diamond?)

I haven't seen that brand name yet, so haven't tried it. When you find it
you can let us know?

Everyone has a few things around the shop .. some bought by trial and
error, some loaned by someone else .. some experiment. You should, too ..
and whatever works for you, do it! (and mention it here so we can all
benefit)


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## Munsterlander

I wrongly assumed Kit Scratch Remover was an abbreviation for Kitchen - anyway, I picked up a botte of that and the Turtle Wax polishing compound today at Walmart, both for about $2.  So far have only used the Kit, but it worked great...

1 year into this and finally I would actually like to show you guys/gals some of my pens.  Soon...


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## NewLondon88

Jpegs! jpegs!  :tongue:


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## Skye

I'm not going to say that I've seen every pen on the planet, but I've never seen a 'plastic' pen that looked better than a MM'd one. I've tried basic plastic polishes but found that nothing removes all traces of sanding lines like MM.


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## NewLondon88

Skye said:


> I'm not going to say that I've seen every pen on the planet, but I've never seen a 'plastic' pen that looked better than a MM'd one. I've tried basic plastic polishes but found that nothing removes all traces of sanding lines like MM.



I always MM before I CA. Then I MM after I CA. I make sure to MM before
and after I CA for a VIP. Otherwise SWMBO will get PO'd and I'd be put on KP, but keep that on the QT. 
EIEIO


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## stolicky

NewLondon88 said:


> I always MM before I CA. Then I MM after I CA. I make sure to MM before
> and after I CA for a VIP. Otherwise SWMBO will get PO'd and I'd be put on KP, but keep that on the QT.
> EIEIO



Um, translation?  ......

I get it, you must work for the government, right?  Acronyms are the key to good government programs... : )

You know its bad when you take a class and the 2.5 pages of a book contains the "AL", or acronym list.

Anyways, if anyone could figure out the different girt levels of these polishes that would be great.  Another I have read about recently was Brasso.  Now, is that any finer or grittier than the next?  Who knows....


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## Brandon25

I dont remember which polish it was, but I remember reading on one bottle at walmart that it was most effective when used after at least 1200 grit wetordry papaer. Skye, that may be part of the issue? that those who are using the plastic polish are stopping their grits too soon? I sand to 2000 wetordry, then plastic polish, and have good results.


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## VisExp

I've been using McGuires Plastix with good results after sanding to 1000


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## NewLondon88

Brandon25 said:


> I dont remember which polish it was, but I remember reading on one bottle at walmart that it was most effective when used after at least 1200 grit wetordry papaer.



I think most polishes are meant to start after at least that high a grit.
The higher, the better.

I think the reason the micromesh is favored in here is for the consistency of
the grit.. the little granules on the sandpaper aren't always the same size.
Imagine sanding with 2000 and having one tiny piece of grit from a piece of
400 stuck in your 2000 .. and imagine what that will do to your finish!

Polishes pick up where sanding leaves off, but they're doing exactly the
same thing as the sandpaper. So it makes sense to sand to a high grit 
before 'sanding' with the polish.

A list of relative grits for polishes would be great.
We know that 1500 MicroMesh is roughly equivalent to 400 sandpaper,
and 6000 micromesh is roughly equivalent to 2000 grit sandpaper..
Would be nice to know where certain polishes fit into that grid..


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## thewishman

Someone was talking about a jeweler's polish at 40,000 grit. That was almost two years ago.


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## NewLondon88

stolicky said:


> Um, translation?  ......
> 
> I get it, you must work for the government, right?  Acronyms are the key to good government programs... : )



Well, everyone knows that an AL is necessary for a GGP. :tongue:


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## fernhills

Hmmm, i was always working on the assumption that the polish was used to protect the finish not to get scratches out.  That should be done before you polish


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## NewLondon88

fernhills said:


> Hmmm, i was always working on the assumption that the polish was used to protect the finish not to get scratches out.  That should be done before you polish



Well, that's another meaning of 'polish' .. 

I was referring to another definition which refers to wearing down the
irregularities of a surface to bring out the specular reflection. It is usually
done with abrasives, but applying an oil or wax can also fill in the scratches,
leaving a reflective finish. I guess for our purposes we have three or four
different definitions of the word. There's the verb, smoothing out the surface
by mechanical abrasion (as in polishing a gemstone), a noun .. the product
that helps to accomplish the abrasion, another noun which is a wax or oil to
fill in the surface irregularities, and another verb which means to apply those
products.

No wonder it gets confusing..


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## DSallee

I basically turn to size, dry sand with reg 400 sandpaper, wet sand with 400 wet/dry, micro mesh all steps from 1500 to 12000 (wiping with a clean wet towel after each), 2 coats of Meguiars ScratchX scratch and swirl remover, 2 coats of Black Magic Wet Shine liquid wax.... absolutely no scratches even with a desk lamp / 15x lighted magnifier (I use to check for scratches)

Not really a "one step" solution but has worked like a charm for me...

Dave


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## mdburn_em

I asked the question of the makers of Novus 2.  The reply I got was that the grit was equivalent to 1200 grit.

Beta Diamond  is the company that has the diamond paste.  They have a penturners set.  It comes in two syringes.  1 is 1 micron paste and the other is 1/2 micron.  I believe that 12,000 MM is equivalent to approx 3 micron.  I think Lou (DCBluesman) was the source for this information.  I could be wrong.

I asked but never got an answer for the grit of Hut perfect pen polish.  

I was 50% on receiving answers to my questions.  Ask the manufacturer of your favorite polishing compound the question and if you get an answer, share it with us.  If you don't get an answer, share that with us too.


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## woody350ep

so, is this micron paste number better to be higher or lower?  As in, is 1 micron better to finish with than 3?  Seems like it would be so, but I am just wanting to verify for myself.  Thanks


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## NewLondon88

woody350ep said:


> so, is this micron paste number better to be higher or lower?  As in, is 1 micron better to finish with than 3?  Seems like it would be so, but I am just wanting to verify for myself.  Thanks



1 micron is finer than 3 micron.

I'm not sure about the 12000 micro mesh, but the 4000 is about 5 micron,
the 8000 is around 3 micron. 1 micron is a pretty fine polish.


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## woody350ep

So, by deduction, one might guess 12000 to be around 1 then?  Following a simple pattern of course, with no science to prove it.  I MM to 12000 and then do Meguiars PlastX, and maybe its just me, but there seems to be quite a shine difference between the 2 surfaces.  I might call Meguiars and find out.


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## woody350ep

Well, don't bother calling Meguiar's about their products.  I talked to someone and they were happy to help, except that they didn't have the information.  He gave me another number for the department I needed and said they have the information and would be able to give it to me.  I call them up, and this guy, Mike, answers.  He was pretty rude from the start, and "didn't have that number".  Also, even if he did have it "it would be proprietary information".  I'm pretty good at knowing when someone is lying to me, and I don't appreciate being treated like an idiot.  He could have just said that is information that isn't available to the public instead of going about it the way he did.  Why wouldn't they give this information out?  I would think they would want people to know so that they could be more informed on the product they are using.  It's not like it was going to hurt them for someone to know the microns.  Oh well, back to guessing I suppose.


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## mdburn_em

Here's a link to a chart comparing MM to other stuff.
I would guess that the 12,000 is about 2 micron.
http://www.micro-surface.com/default.cfm?page_id=174

I did a Jr. Statesman in Gabon Ebony.  Nothing like an all black pen to display your finishing weaknesses.  After using the diamond paste...well, even I was impressed.  (I am absolutely my own worst critic.)


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## Wolfcoast

For acrylics or wood (once CA or WOP has been applied)  I MM up to 12000.

Polish with Brasso 
Clean Thoroughly
Polish with PlastX
Clean again

One or two coats of regular Johnsons Paste Wax and buff to high shine.  Same stuff I use on my table saw surface, etc.  (actually 2 different cans to prevent contamination but you get the idea)

Have had real good luck with those products.


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## mdburn_em

I just read something interesting on the website of the link I posted above.  The company offers a micro-gloss product as well.  Under the professional wood workers kit is the description:

"For larger jobs up to 60 square feet in size. This kit can be used on bare wood, waterbase coatings, urethane coatings, varnished finishes, oil finishes, lacquer finishes. For a super high finish, add MICRO-GLOSS liquid abrasive polish as a final polish on your piece. This large kit is a great value for the serious woodworker. Made up of the entire series in sheets, 18 total. Use by hand."

This kit contains the 12,000 grit sheet as well.  Sooo, it appears that the micro-gloss may be a smaller grit than the 12,000.  I sent an email to the company asking about this.  I'll let you know what they say.

*******************************************************************

On another site, it states that micro-gloss contains 1 micron abrasives.  
(edited to add this.)


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## avbill

Well I have also researched this area. and many of the manufacturers will not give out their micron information.  Here is what I understand;

grit / mm  / micron

1. 2000 /  6000 / 3
2. 2500 /                   /  is the grocery bags ---- source Russ Fairfield so the bag is finer than 2000 grit.  good to burnish the wood. 
3. 0 /      8000  / 3     /  I have seen two different sources on  the micron  3 being either 6,000   grit or 8,000 grit.
4. 0 / 12,000  /  
==========================

Above the double line is sandpaper below starts the polishes
  Micro-mesh gloss = 14,000 = 1 micron 
  Hut Ultra-Gloss  =  less than 1 micron

  In my research the answers of what I the micron level of white diamond  comes back “that’s proprietary info.” From my own testing, and seeing the results I do not believe that white diamond has a micron level below 12,000 grit. 


 
If you want to read a good article  see the below link.

http://www.aspipes.org/faq/faq/ASP_Buffing_Polishing_FAQ.pdf


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## mdburn_em

I received a reply and the MM micro-gloss is 1 micron...


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## Munsterlander

Skye said:


> I'm not going to say that I've seen every pen on the planet, but I've never seen a 'plastic' pen that looked better than a MM'd one. I've tried basic plastic polishes but found that nothing removes all traces of sanding lines like MM.



It could be a deficiency in my MM technique, but I definitely get an improvement when I use the Kit product after MM.  Not across the board (as in everywhere on the barrel) - but invariably there will be 1 or 2 tiny places that are not quite perfect after 12000MM and almost always the scratch remover gets it out.  I do agree, though, that outside of those tiny blemishes I don't see a difference between the 12000MM and the polish.    

Very interesting discussion, thanks for all the research.


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## jkeithrussell

I MM through 4000 only.  The last 3 pads, to me, make no difference in the finish (talking about a CA finish with about 10-20 coats of thin CA).  I find them to be too grabby on the blank anyway.  HUT Ultra Gloss information says to sand through 800 and then apply.  I've found that MM'ing through 4000, followed by 2 or 3 coats of HUT Ultra, followed by 2 or 3 coats of caranauba (mother's car wax) produces a very rich and durable shine.


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## polarbear1

I'm on my 3rd or 4th jar of one step plastic polish in about 2 years,  I use MM and wet sand through all the grits to 12000 or whatever the top is, and lastly I use the polish and a soft paper towel. The pens look flawless with no scratches when I'm done.  I may be doing more than needed my pens may look just as nice without all the steps.  But I sure like the feel of the pen after the plastic polish and I use so little one small bottle seems to do hundreds of pens


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## NewLondon88

polarbear1 said:


> I may be doing more than needed my pens may look just as nice without all the steps.  But I sure like the feel of the pen



Stop right there. :biggrin:


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## Jackosbo

*2 things I learned about fininshing today...*

1. Micro mesh is not indestructable. If left it in one place too long and it melted into the acrylic I was trying to finish. 

2. When using the finish polish, you can overheat the end and warp the end, rendering the pen useless....

Happy New Year.


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## Munsterlander

NewLondon88 said:


> Jpegs! jpegs!  :tongue:



OK, they're over in the "Show off your pens" forum...


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## marcruby

I forget what the comparison table is, but 2000 grit polish is approximately the same as 12000 micromesh.  Under my loupe the polish does improve the 12K MM surface - probably because I'm using a t-shirt scrap to apply it so I get a slightly softer application.  

With plastic which includes CA, that means I can bypass buffing.  Which is fine by me.

Marc


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## Tinman

Ok   what is MM?


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## edman2

Tinman said:


> Ok   what is MM?



MM stands for Micro Mesh.  Available from a variety of sources.  I get mine from Wood-n-Whimsies because of price.  Interesting old thread.  I missed it the first time.


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## jimdude

I also apply 20 coats of thin CA and MM wet to 12000 then using a soft cotton shirt scrap apply polish.  The resulting pens look nice.


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## gallianp

I am glad that this was bumped and appeared on New Thread --  very interesting read.

My wife worked in  a nuclear power plant and learned to just nod my head when the acronyms started.  

Paul


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## avbill

you all. might want to read this article too!

http://www.penturners.org/forum/f30/buffing-kicked-up-notch-55476/


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## mbuckley52

i always Ca at least once, than mm and ca again going up to 4000 mm than use psi one step, than carnuba wax until it's hot, shines like a new penny


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## erbymcbrayer

Please tell us what mm , sorry I am unfamiliar with it.


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## ed4copies

mm=micromesh
(very high grit sandpaper)


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