Pen Cleaning And Polishing

[nefsigh]

Has anyone tried auto compounds for use on cleaning and eliminating scratches on pens? I was just thinking (a terrible thing to do late at night) and since I have used it for painted sculptures and cars, I figured it might work for pens as well. Anyone have information or experience(s) they'd care to pass along before I destroy something?

 

Thanks

Lenny

[BT_Summers]

There are some very good Youtube clips on how to polish a pen, bt some people get confused between polishing a pen and waxing, the two are very different things and if you speak to an auto detailer they will explain that poilishing a pen is intended to remove imperfections in a painted surface prior to applying a wax which is to protect the surface and to build a shine.

 

There are really no shortcuts to doing this job properly, have a look at the vids and they might help, they worked for me. A potential issue with auto products is that they may contain petroleum distillates which may not be good for the pen material. The only auto product I have seen used is Meguiars Plastic Cleaner - which I dont think is available now, and Meguiars Plastrx.

 

I am quite new to pens so I am sure that others who have more experience will be able to help.

[pajaro]

The plastic on many pen barrels is fairly thin, and I wonder how much polishing you can do.

[PaulS]

might these different words have really the same meaning ............. we polish and wax our cars to make them shine, although each may involve slightly different approaches, they are both done to achieve mostly the same end which is to create a shine - NOT to remove defects of any kind.

I think you'd have your work cut out and ending up damaging a f.p. by simply doing the occasional polish i.e. to make the pen shine.

Don't know what sort of pen material the o.p. is speaking of, but the usual, and safest products to create a shine are possibly the Micro-Mesh water based creams.

Automotive products are more like to contain ingredients which would not be recommended for pens - coatings for example that are weather resistant ........... of course you might use them, and then perhaps you could leave your pen out in the garden over-night when it was going to rain.

Edited July 29, 2017 by PaulS

[fabri00]

The plastic on many pen barrels is fairly thin, and I wonder how much polishing you can do.

you can polish as much as you want, as thickness of material removed by polishing is extremely low and not relevant.

[Chrissy]

Many auto polishes will wear away some of the plastic of your pen.

 

I would recommend you use Ron Zorn's polish. Main Street Pens

 

I've used Meguiars plastic polish in the past. It's available on Amazon.

[Ron Z]

The problem with automotive polishes and cleaning compounds is that they contain chemicals, i.e. solvents, that may be harmful to plastics. Some can be quite harsh. While some plastics are not effected by solvents, many are. Celluloid in particular is vulnerable, with the degree of vulnerability varying from manufacturer to manufacturer, color, age of material and environmental conditions to which it was exposed. Though I know in general how a given celluloid will respond, I never quite know for sure what will happen.

 

I avoid commercial waxes and cleaners on pens. There was a time that I used carnauba wax to polish pens, until a chemist friend pointed out that it contains acids. It also seals in the nitric acid that is released over time, which can cause or exacerbate breakdown of celluloid. Even acrylics, though generally more resistant, can be damaged. Polishing lacquered pens requires care too because you are removing some of the material. I've seen pens that have been over polished or roughly handled. Once you damage the finish, there is no going backwards. No, I can not fix it.

 

I use a micro crystaline abrasive in a water suspension after a light buff to polish. Nothing else. If you don't have access to a good buffing wheel (A Dremel with buffing wheel is not a good buffing wheel), then using a couple of different grades of water based polish will work.

[pen lady]

Oh how I agree about the Dremel Ron. I have a turquoise P45 with the scars to prove it.

[PaulS]

with the greatest respect to those skilled in the use of power tools to polish a pen, and especially to those who may have forgotten more about pens than I shall ever know........... I would not recommend using anything other than hand power, when needing to polish a pen.

Powered buffing wheels have potential to damage in a very short time, and assuming the pen doesn't need lots of w. & d. tlc, then a more than adequate shine can be achieved manually - provided of course the correct water based compounds are used.

[Chrissy]

The problem with automotive polishes and cleaning compounds is that they contain chemicals, i.e. solvents, that may be harmful to plastics. Some can be quite harsh. While some plastics are not effected by solvents, many are. Celluloid in particular is vulnerable, with the degree of vulnerability varying from manufacturer to manufacturer, color, age of material and environmental conditions to which it was exposed. Though I know in general how a given celluloid will respond, I never quite know for sure what will happen.

 

I avoid commercial waxes and cleaners on pens. There was a time that I used carnauba wax to polish pens, until a chemist friend pointed out that it contains acids. It also seals in the nitric acid that is released over time, which can cause or exacerbate breakdown of celluloid. Even acrylics, though generally more resistant, can be damaged. Polishing lacquered pens requires care too because you are removing some of the material. I've seen pens that have been over polished or roughly handled. Once you damage the finish, there is no going backwards. No, I can not fix it.

 

I use a micro crystaline abrasive in a water suspension after a light buff to polish. Nothing else. If you don't have access to a good buffing wheel (A Dremel with buffing wheel is not a good buffing wheel), then using a couple of different grades of water based polish will work.

 

I polish my pens manually. Is the 'micro crystalline abrasive in a water suspension' the one I bought a couple of years ago, and recommended above?

[siamackz]

I use Micro Gloss - water based abrasive. But as the last step only. It won't really take off scratches, it will just polish to a nice finish. I use 12000 grit micro mesh for hand polishing if I need to take out scratches.

[PaulS]

I'd rather forgotten that the o.p. had used the words ..........." auto compounds for use on cleaning and eliminating scratches on pens" - I don't think that ordinarily auto compounds would remove scratches - those products tend to be for applying wax etc., simply to achieve a shine - although that time honoured 'T-cut' abrasive no doubt would, and probably ruin your pen at the same time.

The people that sell Micro-Mesh products also sell w. & d. in grades that start around 1500 and go up to around 8000, after which you continue with the water based compounds we've spoken of above, where the grit size is graded to 10,000 to 12,000 or even higher.

Ron is no doubt an expert at using power tools in respect of pens, but I think there still a few of us who lack that experience and soldier on using these things manually. An example where perhaps more care is needed is on those pens with levers that require a little more dexterity when working with w. & d.

I wish I owned only those pens that needed nothing more than 12000 treatment - but guess that's the price you pay when you collect old pens - they often need something a little stronger in the way of grit.

Edited July 30, 2017 by PaulS

[Chrissy]

I'd rather forgotten that the o.p. had used the words ..........." auto compounds for use on cleaning and eliminating scratches on pens" - I don't think that ordinarily auto compounds would remove scratches - those products tend to be for applying wax etc., simply to achieve a shine - although that time honoured 'T-cut' abrasive no doubt would, and probably ruin your pen at the same time.

 

 

Pen polishing products often come as a two step (or even three step) system. Meguiars does. The cleaner will remove scratches, then the polisher makes the plastic shine. T-cut would be far too harsh and should never be used on a pen.

 

Montblanc pen polishing system