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Polishing a pastel Estie

MsLoathsome

By MsLoathsome
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MsLoathsome Rare

MsLoathsome

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Has anyone ever tried to polish a pastel Estie or buff out blemishes? Are there any special precautions to take versus a regular Estie? I read that the pastels were made of softer plastic. Thanks for any advice.

I subscribe to The Rule of 10 (pens, that is)

1) Parker Sonnet 1st gen 2) Pelikan 200 yellow 3) Parker 51 vac 4) Esterbrook trans J 5) Esterbrook LJ "Bell System Property" 6) Sheaffer Snorkel Valiant fern green 7) Waterman 52.5V 8) Parker 75 cisele 9) open 10) open (I'm hankering for a Doric)

 

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gregamckinney Antique

gregamckinney

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Has anyone ever tried to polish a pastel Estie or buff out blemishes? Are there any special precautions to take versus a regular Estie? I read that the pastels were made of softer plastic. Thanks for any advice.

 

I have not found the pastel plastic to be softer, though its lighter color seems to be a magnet for staining.

 

I don't do the kind of polishing that some here do, but I've had good results on all my Esterbrooks with Wenol (red label) and a soft cotton rag.

 

greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

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FarmBoy Museum Piece

FarmBoy

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Has anyone ever tried to polish a pastel Estie or buff out blemishes? Are there any special precautions to take versus a regular Estie? I read that the pastels were made of softer plastic. Thanks for any advice.

I'm not sure softer is the technical term I'd use to describe the difference but there is a difference. The pastels are more prone to staining and cracks in the cap lips than Js but Js tend to make up for this by cracking in the barrel threads. Bottom line, they are made from different polymers and they do behave differently.

 

The pastels will polish up nicely but like Greg, I don't really do a hard core polish on most of my pens. I do like coating them with a bit of pen wax to help the shine along.

 

Todd

San Francisco International Pen Show - The next “Funnest Pen Show” is on schedule for August 23-24-25, 2024.  Watch the show website for registration details. 
 

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gregamckinney Antique

gregamckinney

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One other thing about staining on pastels: I have seen several examples where the staining was deep enough that even a very aggressive sanding/polishing did not get rid of it.

This is not the staining that is so common on barrel threads, but a large blotch in the middle of the cap or the barrel.

When I see a pastel with this kind of staining, I now assume it is not salvagable.

 

Regards, greg

Don't feel bad. I'm old; I'm meh about most things.

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