# Chrome Polish on Acrylic Pens



## agoetz2005 (Dec 29, 2006)

Well my first bout with acrylic ended in my blank in 1,000,000,000's of iny little shards as I took to deep a cut and it went "poof"

My second bout was successful.  Nice light cuts and piles of little foamy shavings all over.

I skipped the micromesh this time and tried something different.  I wet sanded with 400 grit wet/dry paper and mineral spirits and then dried the blanks off.  I applied a liberal coat of Turtle Wax "Chrome Polish and Rust Remover", and turned the speed to 2500rpm.  I used a quilted paper towel folded to make a pad to buff the pen.  I think I buffed 3 times each time re applying.

I must say it's stunning in person, and I even used some to polish the bits on my lathe while I was polishing the pen 

No noticeable color alteration, smell, or residue either.  Only downside is it smells HORRIBLE when you turn it.  Like nail polish directly in the nose.













Andrew


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## johncrane (Dec 29, 2006)

looks like a top finish Andrew thanks for the info. l also use a car wax too polish my acrylic/plastic pens []


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## TellicoTurning (Dec 30, 2006)

Andrew,
If you are getting the glass shard effect, you may be using wrong tool... went through that for a while until I picked up one of the videos in the library about turning this stuff... a good sharp skew works best (after shattering about 20 blanks over the years) .. since I went to the skew, I haven't lost a single blank.

Good idea on the auto polish... will try that.. your pen looks great... like the blue and white with the pearl finish.


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## agoetz2005 (Dec 31, 2006)

I shattered it with a round nose scraper.  I tried to take too big a bite on the end and the corners peeled apart and it turned to dust

the second 2 I did I used a 1" razor sharp spindle roughing gouge from start to finish and had no probs at all.

I was suprised at the chrome polish too.  Factually I got lazy and didn't want to hunt for the box the micromesh was in to I threw that on there and viola

Andrew


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## ctEaglesc (Dec 31, 2006)

BAsed on the picture I would say it is acceptable but not a great finish for an acrylic or plastic pen. Try using MM and then the same treatment, you will see the difference.
I do the same thing with Brasso on pens That have a CA finish whether they are wood or fabric.


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## Mikey (Dec 31, 2006)

Gad, I'd have to agree with Eagle. It looks from the pics like you can either see the polishing lines or the sanding lines. Once done in the lathe, you should go lengthwise and that stuff will disappear. I always use MM on my acrylic up to about 6000 and then car polish and then carnauba wax and don't have any problems. if anything I get upset because the nice finish allows you to feel any sort of imperfection as you slide your fingers down the tube.


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## jwoodwright (Dec 31, 2006)

Andrew, great job on the pen.  Like the blank, nice kit to go with it.  
I hate the "ribbons" of Corian or Accrylic.  However, these show that you are cutting, rather than scraping.  A nice Burr on a Scaper actually gives a nice fininshed cut.  Nothing beats the Skew thought.

Not the best photo.  I use MAAS Concentrated Polish to finish Corian and Accrylic.  I've also use Auto Polishing Compound and Auto Buffing Compound.


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## Thumbs (Dec 31, 2006)

I used to use MM all the way to 12000 and then Turtle Wax Polishing compound.  I thought it was fantastic.  Then I cut back to 6000 MM followed by the compound.  I couldn't see or feel a difference.  Saved a few steps there!  A while back, I finally broke down and bought a set of those vari-colored 2x2 pads with a micromesh compound applied.  I use them with water and wet sand followed by either a liquid or cream polishing compound.  A bit sloppy but as good or better than any other method I've tried.  Takes less time and is certainly a break in the routine!  

(And no, you don't have to believe me; because I'll never post a picture to prove to anyone whether what I say is true or not!)


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## DCBluesman (Dec 31, 2006)

Andrew - I like the finish a great deal and I'm fairly particular when it comes to finish.  While there are minor imperfections, the picture (on my monitor) is about 150% of the original size.  I copied it over th Photoshop and resized it to the actual slimline length and these imperfections disappear.  I would bet that they are unnoticeable in person as well, since the camera lens is not able to account for the stero-vision that we have.


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## Joe Melton (Jan 3, 2007)

I think if you use Micromesh and also a plastic polish, you are duplicating effort. I sand to about 240 and then go straight to polish. After twenty seconds, I have a great finish.
If you don't already have a polishing compound, go to an auto parts store and ask for a product used to clean up convertible windows. It costs less than five dollars, as I recall, and lasts a lifetime. I apply it with an old t-shirt or shotgun patch.
Joe


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## Jeff-in-Indiana (Jan 4, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Thumbs_
> <br /> {snip}  A while back, I finally broke down and bought a set of those vari-colored 2x2 pads with a micromesh compound applied.  I use them with water and wet sand followed by either a liquid or cream polishing compound.  A bit sloppy but as good or better than any other method I've tried.  Takes less time and is certainly a break in the routine!



[B)] [xx(] [|)] [V] Man, where did *I* go wrong with those 2x2 squares ?!?!?!   I use my MM sheets almost every day, with water, or DNA (once in a blue moon, dry) .. those little squares disintegrated almost immediately for me! (a couple of the 'lower' grits and one or two of the 'higher' grits) And this is after wet sanding with 600 or 800 auto paper !?!? I used the squares wet (water) on some of my polyresin blanks; light touch, slow speed (500-700) and the abrasive ""sluffed off"" in maybe two or three uses .... and it looked like the abrasive was around 0.001" thick ... 

Maybe it was just bad luck ... nah ...


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## Thumbs (Jan 4, 2007)

Jeff, I don't know about what brand of pads these are but I've found them virtually indestructible![:0]  I've ordered more but I think I might be wasting my money buying them.  I'm still on my first set after somewhere between 40-45 pens.  I remember they are the Multi-colored ones that Barry Gross uses.  I think I got them from PSI thru WoodTurningz.  I only use them with water for Corian or Acrylics though.  Like I said before, there just doesn't seem to be any wearout to these!  Maybe I just got lucky or they've changed their formulation because nobody was buying their product more than once!  LOL![]


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## Skye (Jan 4, 2007)

I'd have to see it in person bedore I stop using MM.


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## wdcav1952 (Jan 4, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Skye_
> <br />I'd have to see it in person bedore I stop using MM.



Excellent point, Skye!  What makes this site so great is those who take pictures and show what they are talking about.  Speaking just for myself, not sharing by showing, yet still giving and taking advice is parasitic.  As the saying goes, one picture is worth a thousand words.  I cannot tell you how much I have learned from people on this forum.  I hope my efforts have helped others in some small way.  Taking knowledge from others while pontificating about not showing your own efforts and ideas does NOT add worth to the forum at all, IMHO.


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## Thumbs (Jan 5, 2007)

Actually, anyone with more maturity than a third grader can decide for themselves the relative values of opinions and advice offered in this forum without having to draw them pictures.  Most don't even have to have someone's statements re-interpreted for them.  Name calling and personal antagonism is a definite sign of immaturity as expressed by too many here.  Sadly, I confess to doing it myself too often.  Can we at least act a bit more grown up?

My apologies to all you new members who have witnessed some of our less than exemplary behavior recently.[B)]


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## Jeff-in-Indiana (Jan 5, 2007)

> _Originally posted by Thumbs_
> <br />Jeff, I don't know about what brand of pads these are but I've found them virtually indestructible![:0]   I got them from PSI thru WoodTurningz.



Thanks for the reply .. If I recall correctly, I got them from PSI via Ryan (Woodturningz)  at TheWoodworkingShow.com travelling show in Indy ...


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