How to restore color to black hard rubber?

May 20, 2018

And what means OP?

OP usually means "Original Poster," as in the person who first posted the thread

May 20, 2018

I am just starting out on pen restorations... [snip]

Well, the downside to your process is obvious: the removal of material. It worked fine on the finial since it was a smooth surface to begin with. Had this been part of a pen made of matching BHR that had a chasing pattern or imprint on is, your buffing action would smooth it out causing a loss of detail and, commensurately, a loss of value. Buffing of HR only works when you don't have reason to care that there is going to be less pen than when you started. You may eventually find that an old vintage pen that somehow looks "showroom new" has not increased in value but may have gone in the opposite direction.

May 22, 2018

OP means the Original Post - the one that started this topic thread

Using a buffer removes material. It is a high speed rotating mop, and using a cutting buffing compound. It must be done carefully to get the best effect with the minimum of material removed.

By masking tape, I mean a self adhesive tape to wrap around the screw thread to protect it from having any material removed as the top is buffed.

Chris

May 22, 2018

Buffing like that works on small pieces like blind caps and inner caps, but it is difficult to buff and evenly remove all of the discoloration on an entire pen. The oxidation can go quite deep so its hard to remove all of it, yielding a pen that has a splotchy appearance.