# Finish for acrylic pen blank



## William Tanner (Mar 24, 2019)

I have just started turning pens in the last couple of months. Been doing the CA thing with wood. Turned an acrylic blank today. Sanded to 2500 but not sure where to go from here. Hut Crystal Coat, CA or what? I do not have a buffing system. Suggestions would be appreciated.


----------



## Tony (Mar 24, 2019)

@Bean_counter uses some stuff he gets from Walmart, does a great job. He'll jump in soon and say what it is.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Eric Rorabaugh (Mar 24, 2019)

No CA on acrylic. I use micromesh up to 12000 then hut ultra gloss polish. I think bean uses McGuire's plastic polish

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


----------



## Tony (Mar 24, 2019)

Eric Rorabaugh said:


> No CA on acrylic. I use micromesh up to 12000 then hut ultra gloss polish. I think bean uses McGuire's plastic polish



You're right Eric, Mikey uses Mcguire's, I just couldn't remember the name of it.


----------



## Patrude (Mar 24, 2019)

You don't need a buffing system. With acrylics I like to wet sand with micromesh. Those pads are washable and reusable so you can get a lot of use out of them. I run at about 1050 rpm and wipe the slurry between grits. I finish up with McGuires polishing compound , then McGuires scratch remover and finally with Mother's Gold paste wax. And a final rub with a disposable microfiber pad. There's lots of other options for acrylics but this is the one that I like. I like to wear disposable gloves and goggles whenever I wet sand. I also place a splash pad in back of the lathe to catch the spray from the wet blank.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Informative 1


----------



## Bean_counter (Mar 24, 2019)

I’ll tag you in a post with my way of polishing.

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 1


----------



## ripjack13 (Mar 24, 2019)

I use micromesh also. But sometimes I use One-step from pennstate. Then followed by renaissance wax....


----------



## William Tanner (Mar 24, 2019)

Thanks for all of the information. Glad I didn’t try CA.


----------



## rocky1 (Mar 24, 2019)

Well, the CA wouldn't have hurt anything, but it's not needed. When you apply CA, you're essentially building an acrylic coat on the material being finished, to polish. So it's simply not necessary on an acrylic surface. There will be cases, for instance hybrid blanks, where yes, you will apply CA over acrylics. 

I wet sand to 3000 grit, use Novus Plastic Polish, comes in a 3 part kit, available on Amazon per the link. Novus 3 works good on heavy scratches, 2 on finer scratches, 1 makes things shine. Originally purchased it for buffing out the plastic windows on a Jeep soft top, they were so cloudy you couldn't see out when I started, looked like glass when I was done. Works great on plastic pickup topper windows, plastic headlights, ATV body parts, whatever. Use a blue shop towel to apply, while turning on the lathe. Final buff with a scrap of flannel, and Novus 1.

Reactions: Agree 1


----------



## rdabpenman (Mar 25, 2019)

This works for me.

Les


----------



## Herb G. (Mar 25, 2019)

I use micro mesh & some plastic polish. Good to go.


----------

