Polishing compound for Parker 51 barrel and hood

[BoxerDad]

What type of compound is used to polish the barrel and hood of a Parker 51 that has minor scuffs /abrasions, not gouges ?

 

I'm assuming it's done by hand or made a dremmel with a very light touch as to not overheat the barrel or hood.

[Kelly G]

I would suggest not using a Dremel rotary tool - ever, to polish a pen. It simply turns too fast and even with the lightest of touch you risk damaging the plastic.

If you want to use a Dremel - find one of their shoe buffers - the kind that has a black buff on one side and a red buff on the other side. Then convert it to accept 4" flannel buffs. It works great as a low speed, low power buffer. I use a plastic finishing compound from www.eastwood.com on one buff and then use an empty buff for the final polish. As with all of these techniques, practice on some junk first. And be careful.

[Ron Z]

Try some of Giovanni's pen polish, followed by the carnuba wax. They're products that I use on a regular basis in my shop.

[kpfeifle]

Ron:

 

Out of the many different polishs that Giovanni carries, which ones do you use?

[Paddler]

What Ron Z said. Works for me. The outfit that sells the polishing compound and wax is Tryphon Enterprises.

 

I have also used toothpaste to polish the scuffs out and then used acrylic floor polish to shine the pen. So far, all the "secret ingredients" have not had any adverse effects.

 

Paddler

 

[Ron Z]

Ron:

 

Out of the many different polishs that Giovanni carries, which ones do you use?

 

I use the pen polish (brown stuff), the celluloid polish, and the carnauba wax. If you're protecting hard rubber pens, use the muxeum wax or Renaissance wax.

 

The celluloid polish works very well, and is my preference on mottled pens like the Waterman red and gold, or Conklin and Chilton black and gold plastics. The colors have different densities, so you can end up with a rippled surface if you buff them. I also use the plastic or celluloid polish on Parker VS pens. The plastic on a VS will melt and go ugly long before it polishes, so they should NOT be buffed, even with a wide slow buffing wheel.

[Opus104]

The plastic on a VS will melt and go ugly long before it polishes, so they should NOT be buffed, even with a wide slow buffing wheel.

 

Sounds like the voice of experience! This is why I don't do much on my own (can't afford the experience).

[Ron Z]

The plastic on a VS will melt and go ugly long before it polishes, so they should NOT be buffed, even with a wide slow buffing wheel.

 

Sounds like the voice of experience! This is why I don't do much on my own (can't afford the experience).

 

....as indeed it is. :bonk:

 

There's a lot that I write here - both positive instruction and negative, that comes out of experience. Not that I know everything, but one hopes that something would be learned in about 17 years of doing repairs.

[PointyThings]

Unless you're polishing a BUNCH of pens, you can polish by hand using 1000 grit sandpaper, followed by 2000 grit, then Novus plastic polish (Heavy, then Light scratch formulas).

 

Mask off the imprint at the top of the barrel first (Scotch Magic tape will work, use a few turns to cover the imprint).

 

Using only the pressure of your fingers, sand the entire barrel (and later hood, if necessary) in the same direction, pressing a little harder to work out deeper scratches.

 

Do the same with the 2000 grit, but work towards even coverage.

 

Polish with Novus Heavy Scratch Polish. Work it into a clean shop rag first.

 

Remove the tape from the imprint and give the pen a final polish with Novus Light Scratch polish (work polish into a paper towel or soft cloth).

 

That's it. The barrel will shine with a liquid gloss.

 

--Karl

 

PS: For deeper scratches and gouges, I sometimes start with a padded nail file, coarse side, then move to 800 Grit sandpaper, then 1000, then 2000, etc.

[Bibliophage]

Or just use the Novus Heavy Scratch Polish, and do it while you're waiting for the program to compile or server to reboot.

 

Does it really _matter_ how long it takes you, as long as you've got the time?