# Finishing acrylic, PR, alumilite blanks



## grz5 (Sep 13, 2011)

I have reciently purchased several alumilite, PR and acrylic blanks and I was wondering what the common practice for finishing a pen made of these materials was?

Do you only need to sand up to 12000grit then apply a polish (20/20 or huts untrashine) or is it recommended to take the blanks through the "3 step Beal" system?


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## Lenny (Sep 13, 2011)

grz5 said:


> I have reciently purchased several alumilite, PR and acrylic blanks and I was wondering what the common practice for finishing a pen made of these materials was?
> 
> Do you only need to sand up to 12000grit then apply a polish (20/20 or huts untrashine) or is it recommended to take the blanks through the "3 step Beal" system?


 
One or the other. 

Personally I wet sand to 12000 with mm then polish with Novus2 followed by PlastX.


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## its_virgil (Sep 13, 2011)

I too wet sand with MM or another similar set of pads. Then use NOVUS 3 and 2, HUT ultragloss Plastic Polish, Flitz, or other similar polishes for removing swirls and scratrches. 

There is nothing magical about the Beall buffing system. It is a good buffing system but so are several others...even homamade ones for much less $$$. The buffing compound and the buffing wheels are the secret.

Try several methods and you will find the rountine that works for you. Aluimilite is the most difficult for me but does well with a good CA finish. 

Do a good turn daily!
Don



grz5 said:


> I have reciently purchased several alumilite, PR and acrylic blanks and I was wondering what the common practice for finishing a pen made of these materials was?
> 
> Do you only need to sand up to 12000grit then apply a polish (20/20 or huts untrashine) or is it recommended to take the blanks through the "3 step Beal" system?


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## ed4copies (Sep 13, 2011)

I buff.

Two wheels--tripoli and white diamond--

Same finish as polishing (did novus for years, before I got the buff and yes, Beall is good, but not the only good), but much faster.

So, there's three good opinions---go try both and form YOUR opinion---you will be just as RIGHT as we are.


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## Buzzzz4 (Sep 13, 2011)

When I started with acrylics/resins, I did the micromesh and plastic polish. I then went to buffing after the first couple of micromesh pads and haven't looked back. PR is fine to polish by itself, but Alumilite needs the CA for a good shine. You can leave Alumilite without the CA, but it will be more dull than PR. Have fun!


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## PenMan1 (Sep 13, 2011)

If you are ever thinking about doing a CA finish over wood, I recommend the new Stick Fast system. 

I got a package for evaluation. Kinda funny, because I rarely make wood pens. When I got the evaluation "kit", I made a few pens from wood. The Stick Fast was head and shoulders above any other finish I had used.

I had a bunch of the "two step" polish left over (and I like the way it smells), so I decided to use this finish on Acrylics, PR, Ivory, horn and every other thing I could think of. IT IS ABSOLUTELY OUTSTANDING for resins, too. IMHO, far superior to Novus, hut or MacGuires!

I still have some "evalution" polish left (thank God). I'm afraid to price it. I'm sure it has to be much more expensive than what I was using, because it is so much better.


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## MesquiteMan (Sep 14, 2011)

Are you Alumilite based blanks pure Alumilite or are they "worthless wood" (wood resin combos)?  If they are worthless wood, then by all means, treat them like you would a wood blank.  In other words, if you use CA for your wood pens, then use CA for your worthless wood blanks.

If they are pure Alumilite, you can get a good polish if you wet sand and buff.  It is more work to get a good shine with Alumilite but it is possible to get just as good of a shine as other acrylics.  If, however, you want to take the easier route, just put a CA finish on it and be done with it.


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