Polishing of Plastics
Dynalab Corp custom plastic fabrication department machines products for use in laboratories, industry, education and even the home. There are many methods used to polish various plastics. Flame, buff, solvent, and diamond polishers, are some types. Extruded Acrylic flame polishes beautifully. A Bernz-O-Matic torch works well, and for a professional finish a hydrogen/oxygen torch is preferred. The hydrox flame is wet and doesn't allow oxidation. Cast acrylic needs to be buff polished with a soft cotton wheel and a good compound. PVC buffs well with a soft compound. Polycarbonate is a good candidate for solvent polishing. Solvent polishing is accomplished by exposing an edge to the solvents' vapors or actually wiping a solvent soaked rag along an edge. Diamond polishing is a mechanical operation in which a diamond chip attached to a wheel is spun at a very high RPM and run along an edge. Whichever method is employed you should definitely try it on some scrap first.
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Flame polishing as shown in the photo above, is a great way to improve the looks of plastic products, but can also ruin them when done improperly. The product shown is a standard cataloged pipettor stand.
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Polishing Examples and Hints with Plastics: |
SCRATCH REMOVAL HINTS:
Scratches in acrylic can actually be flame polished out as shown in photo at above.
Scratches in many other plastics can be removed with a liquid scratch remover such as Novus® #2.
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Above photo
shows a buff polisher in action cleaning the edges of a piece of clear acrylic. |
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