Some Estie Eye Candy

[ngc2632]

My first attempt at polishing, partially complete, with LOTS of help from Bruce (OcalaFlGuy).

[OcalaFlGuy]

Ohhhh Ahhhh Shineyyyy!

 

Just wait til you get that tube of Simichrome to them.

 

You'll have to take more pics then!

 

Bruce in Ocala, FL

[Peter from Sherwood Park]

Very nice!

[johnboz]

I can almost see myself in them (which would actually be pretty strange, if you think about it!).

[Sallent]

Three beauties

[RayMan]

Very cool! What did you use to polish the pens?

[ngc2632]

Very cool! What did you use to polish the pens?

I'll leave that question for OcalaFlGuy, since he kindly shared his regimen with me...

[OcalaFlGuy]

Very cool! What did you use to polish the pens?

I'll leave that question for OcalaFlGuy, since he kindly shared his regimen with me...

 

Err...ok. To try and maintain some thread integrety here and appease the mods, I'll even add a pic at the end.

 

First a couple small disclaimers; I know this works well for Esties, I can't vouch for how it will do with other less stout

plastics. In fact, the hardness of the Esties is what necessitated me stumbling into this idea.

 

2ndly, it will work well for light and medium scratches. I haven't been so unlucky as to have gotten a badly scratched pen

yet and one with deep scratches might have to have the usual micromesh treatment. It can't hurt to try this though.

 

Some will cringe at the first polish step here but at least for Esties, you just gotta trust me here, it works!

 

First, I use automotive (green) masking tape to tape over the cap threads so they don't get gunked up and cut a small

piece to size to cover the imprint so it doesn't get worn. I find the automotive stuff sticks better than regular masking

tape but still comes off with no residue.

 

For awhile, I did what alot do and just used Simichrome. It did pretty well but still there were some scratches the Simi

just wouldn't handle without Multiple Doses. This begat me finding another "secret weapon". That secret weapon is regular

automotive rubbing compound. Yes, you heard right, that nasty, red clay looking (pretty agressive) stuff. I use the

Turtle wax brand. I use a old cut up flannel shirt and go over the pen at least twice, sometimes three times with the

compound. I have found I want the compound to take care of about 80-90% of the scratch removal duties. I DO THINK

the compound DOES leave microscopic glazing (that the Simichrome removes) that's why the Semi step is the perfect

*2nd* punch in this 1-2(3) punch attack. The aggressivness of the compound will save you ALOT of time versus just using

the Simichrome and then the Simi will really bring out the gloss.

 

After almost all the visible scratches are gone with the compound, THEN out comes the Simichrome. Last I heard NGC

was still trying to locate Simi in his area and I think he'll pick up still more gloss when he finds some and inserts this

step. I usually switch to a finer napped micro fiber cloth for this and go over the pen at least two more times with the

Simichrome. A third go over won't hurt either. At the end of the last go over with Simi, I'll remove the tape over the

imprint, rub a bit of Simi into the cloth (so it doesn't get gunked into the imprint) and go over the imprint area. This

way I take little if any of it away but still clean it up some.

 

Lastly, a couple coats of Carnauba wax. I use Meguiars pure (auto) Carnauba as it has no other cleaners or polishes in

it, just wax. You can get a hugh jass 16 oz bottle of it for about $8, the same $ most of the pen supply places will charge

for an oz or 2 of their Carnauba. I have heard from a poster who has used both the Meguiars AND that from a well

known pen supply place that starts with a "T" and he couldn't tell any difference.

 

This 1,2,3 punch will have your Estie looking like a mirror. If you can excuse my progressing photo skills here, you

can get an decent idea of how well it works.

 

Have fun! Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

 

 

[J0rdan]

Bruce, your photos make those Esties look like triple digit pens, not sub-$15 ebay junkers. I absolutely love it and will give your 1-2-3 method a try. Thanks!

NGC, your pens look great too.

 

Jordan

Edited January 8, 2009 by J0rdan

[DeaconKC]

Great job on the restoration and photos!

[6pound]

very nice indeed! just a thought, a before and after gallery might be a nifty thread idea....

[mmcaleer]

My first attempt at polishing, partially complete, with LOTS of help from Bruce (OcalaFlGuy).

 

Very nice. I love the Bell System pen. My father used to have one when I was a kid and now I am a telecom engineer for the major telcos. I would love to find one. I just missed one last week on the classified board.

 

Mike

[PaperQueen]

 

This 1,2,3 punch will have your Estie looking like a mirror.

Have fun! Bruce in Ocala, FL

 

 

Holy moly, no kidding!

 

This afternoon, my newest Estie arrived (Double Jeweled J, Dubonnet Red) looking like it had spent a lifetime at the bottom of someone's toolbox. The poor thing was so worn, the finish appeared completely matte, from end to end. Nearly broke my heart.

 

An hour later, having followed OcalaFLGuy's process (post #8, above), it looks like this.

 

I bow to you, Oh Masterful One.