# Finishing Acrylics



## GregHaugen (Jan 20, 2009)

I was wondering what is your preferred method for finishing acrylics.  After your sanding is finished what do you do/use?


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## Chasper (Jan 20, 2009)

I use sand paper up to 600, then micro mesh wet up to 12000.  Sometimes I repeat the micro mesh if I see scratches.  If there are still scratches after two times through I take it to the buffing wheels, tripoli and white diamond.  Then finish it off with a wax, huts ultra gloss if I do it on the lathe, bar carnuba on the buffer wheel, or renaissance wax for a slightly less glossy wax finish.


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## Greg O'Sherwood (Jan 20, 2009)

MicroMesh to 12,000 and then use Meguire's Scratch-X (for cars) and then Meguire's polish. 

Leaves 'em purty!

Gregory of ILearnedItFromMater Forest


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## RONB (Jan 20, 2009)

Sandpaper to 1200, then white rubbing compound ,then jewelers rouge. Nice finish.


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## timberview4 (Jan 20, 2009)

On the few acrlyics I have done, I wet sanded to 400, wet MM up to 12000, then two coats of Mothers Plastic Polish. Polishes up nice.


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## ribanett (Jan 20, 2009)

Wet MM thru 12000 then med lathe speed and polish with MAAS metal polish. I see no need for wax on acrylic just a perfect finish.


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## hughbie (Jan 20, 2009)

RONB said:


> Sandpaper to 1200, then white rubbing compound ,then jewelers rouge. Nice finish.


 ron, do you use this while the blanks are ON the lathe?


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## Blind_Squirrel (Jan 21, 2009)

Sand with 320 Arbanet, then use the Beall buffing system:

http://www.bealltool.com/products/buffing/buffer.php

Only takes about 3 minutes to finish a pen to a glass appearance.


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## mdburn_em (Jan 21, 2009)

Sand to 400
Wet sand with the 6 colors of the "Plastics Sanding Kit".  (3 pads, different grit on each side.)
Finish with Hut Ultra Gloss.  

That's it.

(all of these are on the lathe...with it running.   )


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## NewLondon88 (Jan 21, 2009)

I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.


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## cozee (Jan 21, 2009)

MM out to 12,000 or Abralon to 4000 (both wet) then cut and buff with the same compounds (3) I finish a car with.


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## MikeMcM1956 (Jan 21, 2009)

I've only done about 10 acrylics so far, and sometimes find I am enjoying them more than wood. I was scared off when I first started turning, based on horror stories of blow-outs and needing razor sharp tools. After my first one I was hooked :biggrin:. I always keep my tools sharp anyway, so nice smooth turning with the gouge, and then final shaping and dimensioning with the skew. 

The skew gives me a pretty dang smooth finish to start with, so I go straight to MM at top speed on the lathe. Start with 1500MM and move up to 12000 with a very light touch, more akin to polishing than sanding. Currently using MM dry with great results, but will try wet on the next one. Final finish with two passes of Novus2 on a small rag while spinning at full speed, shiny enough to see reflections.

I recently picked up some Meguiars Plast-X and a tub of Turtle Wax Scratch Remover/Buffing Compound. Going to play with it on a few scraps to see how it looks, much cheaper than Novus.

Anyway, that's my long-winded noob perspective :wink:....

Mike


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## texasfootball21 (Jan 21, 2009)

I just wet sand from 320 grit all the way up to 12000 grit. If I see scratches, I go back down and work my way back up through the grits.


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## rjwolfe3 (Jan 21, 2009)

> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.



:laugh::bulgy-eyes::befuddled::smile-big::rotfl:


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## hunter-27 (Jan 21, 2009)

Pretty much the same as the rest except use Brasso metal polish on final step.  If you have scratches on your watch face or I-pod screen.  The Brasso with a soft cloth does wonders as well.


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## DonWood (Jan 21, 2009)

*Acrylic Polishing*

Hi Everyone - I haven't seen anyone mention Micro Gloss.

I use the Micro Mesh for plastic (all colors) and then use Micro Gloss and then buff on a plain wheel.

I was surprised that no one had been using Micro Gloss.  It is available from AZ.

Thanks!!


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## jttheclockman (Jan 22, 2009)

I use Micro gloss polishing compound and polish on both my acrylics and also CA pens. Beautiful shine in my opinion.


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## scotti158 (Jan 22, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.


Left or right nostril?


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## ribanett (Jan 23, 2009)

*Brasso to clean CD*



hunter-27 said:


> Pretty much the same as the rest except use Brasso metal polish on final step.  If you have scratches on your watch face or I-pod screen.  The Brasso with a soft cloth does wonders as well.



Brasso also cleans a CD or DVD. just use light pressure and go across the disc not around the disc. I've saved a large number of DVDs this way.


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## Sean Troy (Jan 23, 2009)

Anyone ever try 3M Finnesse It polish? I've used it on High Gloss finishes with hollow forms and was wondering if it would be good with the Acrylics as a final polish.


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## Jeff-in-Indiana (Jan 23, 2009)

Sean Troy said:


> Anyone ever try 3M Finnesse It polish? I've used it on High Gloss finishes with hollow forms and was wondering if it would be good with the Acrylics as a final polish.


Yes, it works very well .. looks like a wet mirror at the end of the three steps .. if you sanded well and were fortunate, you might be able to use only the last two and get nearly the same results .. I have three bottles, extra cut rubbing compound, standard cut rubbing compound, finishing glaze (?) .. it works great!


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## jfrantz (Jan 25, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.


 
Yup, nothing like a big juicy greenie to bring the shine out!!


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## smitty9306 (Jan 26, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.



Almost spit coffee on the screen LMAO Actually that might fill in scratches hmm. LOL


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## NewLondon88 (Jan 26, 2009)

smitty9306 said:


> Almost spit coffee on the screen LMAO Actually that might fill in scratches hmm. LOL



In the photo lab, we often used 'nose grease' on negatives to fill in scratches.
A little oil from the side of the nose fills in a scratch long enough to print it
and does no damage.
I forgot to watch a new employee close enough as he was making the
enlargements.. had told him to use a little nose grease on scratches, but
when I checked up on him I found him buried to the second knuckle.


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## RussFairfield (Jan 26, 2009)

The grit size is more important than what brand it is. Also, using a lubricant makes any grit size act as thought it was smaller, and an oil or wax makes it act smaller than if the lubricant were water. 

Both 2000-grit sandpaper and 12,000 Micro-Mesh are a nominal 1-micron grit size. The difference is in the variability or deviation in the size of the grit particles that are on the paper or cloth. MicroMesh has a smaller deviation of the particles. MM costs more than sandpaper because the tighter size spec costs more to manufacture.

The final sanded finish will be determined by the scratch pattern that is left by the largest particles that are on the paper or cloth. Since the variation is less with MM, the finish will appear to be glossier than with the 2000-grit sandpaper. Sand with a lubricant and both will have a finer scratch pattern, and a higher gloss, than if they were used dry.

The plastic polishes have a grit size that is 0.5-micron and smaller, and they are in a liquid carrier. Both contribute to a higher gloss. After that, about all that matters is how much abrasive is in the liguid polish. Brasso works faster than many of them because it has a higher grit content than any of the white liquids. It could also be argued that the liquid in Brasso will make the same particle behave like it was a smaller size than most of the other liquid polishes that use water as their carrier. 

The effectiveness of any liquid polish to remove scratches depends on the depth and how many scratches were left on the surface after sanding.


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## smitty9306 (Jan 26, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> In the photo lab, we often used 'nose grease' on negatives to fill in scratches.
> A little oil from the side of the nose fills in a scratch long enough to print it
> and does no damage.
> I forgot to watch a new employee close enough as he was making the
> ...



LOL Thanks for the Laugh.


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## Ligget (Feb 3, 2009)

jfrantz said:


> Yup, nothing like a big juicy greenie to bring the shine out!!


 
AAAAAAAAAAAAARG, I am, no make that was eating a Chinese take-away with greasy noodles!:tongue:


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## TellicoTurning (Feb 5, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.



Once you have the nose pick on the blank, how do you spread it evenly??:devil:


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## Daniel (Feb 5, 2009)

I've always used MM to 1200 then Hut Crystal coat. mainly because I've never bothered to look for anything else. I have been thinking lately about the Micro Gloss though.
just a note to anyone that seems to having trouble getting a real good shine on acrylics with MM the highest two sheets are not made of the same thing as the rest and will wear out faster. I generally plan to change them three times for every time I have to change the others. It turns out that a glossy look on your sandpaper is not a good thing.


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## NewLondon88 (Feb 5, 2009)

ozmandus said:


> Once you have the nose pick on the blank, how do you spread it evenly??:devil:



It is called a Special Feature.


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## dlostracco (May 26, 2009)

*acrylic finish*

No micro mesh in my shop. To finish an acrylic pen I sand to 600 grit. Then I use E Ultra shine. Then I finish with One step. No mess, and NO water around my lathe. I can get just as good of a finish as any I have seen with micro mesh only with LESS time and NO water.


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## kmla (May 26, 2009)

*Mental note...*



NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.


 
... always wash pens and blanks purchased from New London88.

:biggrin:


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## TBone (May 26, 2009)

What he said.  I have Novus and Scratch-X and use whatever happens to be closer.  I'll probably just use Scratch.-X when the Novus is gone.



Greg O'Sherwood said:


> MicroMesh to 12,000 and then use Meguire's Scratch-X (for cars) and then Meguire's polish.
> 
> Leaves 'em purty!
> 
> Gregory of ILearnedItFromMater Forest


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## cnirenberg (May 26, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.



Charlie,
I was wondering why those blanks you sent me were stuck together.  Industrial strength stuff you got there brother.


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## NewLondon88 (May 26, 2009)

cnirenberg said:


> Charlie,
> I was wondering why those blanks you sent me were stuck together.  Industrial strength stuff you got there brother.



yeah.. comes from breathing all those resin fumes :tongue:


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## seawolf (May 26, 2009)

Hey new london 88 try ear wax to polish. Works for me. LOL
LOML thinks we may be a little sick!!!
Mark & BJ


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## mickr (May 27, 2009)

I read that!!!! I'm surprised you "picked" up on my secret method


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## RussFairfield (May 28, 2009)

My answer is on my website at:

http://www.woodturner-russ.com/FSOriginal4.html

Plastic pens are about 3/4 of the way down the page.


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## JerrySambrook (May 28, 2009)

NewLondon88 said:


> I sand through 400 or 600 and then wet MicroMesh to 12000
> and pick my nose and wipe it on the blank.
> Ok, I just wanted to see who reads these.



Now I know why your stuff sticks to us when we leave a meeting. And here you are accusing us of thievery

Thanks


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## NewLondon88 (May 28, 2009)

JerrySambrook said:


> Now I know why your stuff sticks to us when we leave a meeting. And here you are accusing us of thievery
> 
> Thanks



Oh, quit complaining and shake my hand..


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