revisiting polish - compounds?

[KCat]

Gerry mentioned a preference for a plastic polishing material to bring back the "glow" or shine.

 

Are there others you like to use, folks?

 

I've toyed with the idea of buying a couple of the things that Tryphon sells but haven't made the commitment. I recently restored a couple of pens for my sister (simple sac and nib restorations) and spent a significant amount of time polishing by hand. The only polish I have other than flitz (takes out the scratches) is "Terry's Modern Pen Polish" from FPH. It's fair, but i was hoping for something that would put more shine on the pen. That's where Tryphon's stuff comes to mind.

 

soo.. whatcha think? has anyone tried the various scratch removers and polishing compounds from Tryphon?

 

what about the carnauba wax? Does it really do anything for the look of the pen? heh... i have carnauba lip balm, didn't notice it helped.

[Guest Denis Richard]

I use "Micro-Gloss", which came with my Micro-Mesh set. I'm very happy with it. It does give a nice shine.

 

Denis.

[Gerry]

I use "Micro-Gloss", which came with my Micro-Mesh set. I'm very happy with it. It does give a nice shine.

 

Denis.

I use Micro-Gloss as well. For one or two pens - it's excellent, only requiring a fair amount of elbow-grease. If you are doing more than a few at a time, or are restoring a heavily worn pen, you may find other methods more efficient, or at least less effort.

 

There are other abrasive polishing pastes out there as well. I recall seeing another that was available in 1 and 5 micron grade abrasive material, but the name escapes me at the moment. When I find it, I'll post it.

 

For very minor abrasions - i.e. a rubbed surface, a paste wax does work. The fix is somewhat temporary, but there is no wear to the surface. It succeeds by filling in the microscopic abrasion marks, and restoring the gloss to the pen. I don't think anything is risked by trying it either. I have used a carnauba based floor wax with good results.

 

I think that Dennis has mentioned Simichrome - a polish that also contains a fine abrasive. Although I have not yet tried it (difficult to find in Canada) I have heard that it is also very good.

 

Gerry

[Keith with a capital K]

I have been using the Tryphon pen polishes for several months and have been very pleased with their overall performance and in addition to this I also use my old stand bys of Simichrome and Flitz.

 

If all you had were the products from Tryphon you'd be pretty well set up to handle most of your polishing requirements.

[georgem]

I think that Dennis has mentioned Simichrome - a polish that also contains a fine abrasive.

 

I haven't tried any polishes on my pens (except the silver ones) on which I've used Simichrome and more lately, Wenol.

 

Wenol, like Simichrome, is an all purpose metal polish. I haven't seen Simichrome for years. Wenol is available at places like Williams-Sonoma. It looks like and even smells like Simichrome.

 

Come to think of it, I'll be using it on the silver and brass candlesticks getting ready for the holidays.

 

I STRONGLY suggest disposable gloves when using it.

[KCat]

(re:Wenol)

 

I STRONGLY suggest disposable gloves when using it.

does it have the lovely sulfur smell some of these polishes have?

[corienb]

I've got two very good ones that give the same results :

 

1) Turtle wax, the green stuff your hubby puts on the car. Very good value for money. Smells, but pleasant enough, no sulfer at all . High gloss.

 

2) Tryphon Scratch remover ( I've also got the polishing stuff and the shine stuff, but the scratch remover does it all if you ask me.. ). Lemon scented ( stronger smell than the turtle wax ). This is a little more abrasive than turtle wax which is probably why it's called "small scratch remover polish" (abrasiveness can be noticed when you apply it, this stuff has really fine abrasive thingies in it, turtle wax does not ). Same high gloss as the turtle wax but takes more time to apply and "rub in"and clear off .. but also removes more signs of use..

 

Have used the micromesh stuff but think this much is better..

 

So my advice would be :

get the tryphon scratch remover stuff and a flask of Turtle wax .

Treat pen with scratch remover first to get rid of most of the usage signs, and use the turtle wax on polishing occasions after that . Both are very affordable but you just get lot more turtlewax for the same price ( also takes up more storage space and is not meant to be put on pens, but I've used it on BCHR as well as modern celloloid/plastic and didn't notice discoloration or damage ).

 

I would have posted pics but just turtlewaed the whole lot so there's no good before and after.. if anyone wants to lend me a pen in need of a polishing I could do the before and after pics and return it

[corienb]

Oh, I only use simichrome on GF/Silver/ metal parts, not on the plastic...It's not made for plastics, I get better results with the two mentioned above, and it STINKS ! ( also - you get black fingers with simichrome and it takes a little work to clean it. Your fingers get a bit white with the Tryphon polish but are cleaned easily, and turtle wax doesn't stick to your skin.

 

BTW - I'm happy to trade some of the polishing stuff ( Turtle wax, and the two tryphons I don't use, ( so sorry, not the scratch remover or the simichrome since those are really hard to get here ) in the KCat Vial trade system for ink or for free if you send me an empty vial.

[KCat]

I've got two very good ones that give the same results :

 

1) Turtle wax, the green stuff your hubby puts on the car. Very good value for money. Smells, but pleasant enough, no sulfer at all . High gloss.

 

2) Tryphon Scratch remover ( I've also got the polishing stuff

Hi Corien.

 

Thanks for the input. I'm really trying to limit my purchases right now - not so much out of financial concern (though that, too) but because we hope to move soon and the less I have to move from my "pen shop" the better. Plus, I do only a handful of restorations a year for friends/family. I've either got to throw away what I have that is fair but not great. or push it off on someone else. I did look at turtle wax but for now will work with what have (Flitz, Terry's Pen Polish) and have sent an order to tryphon for a couple of things including the wax. When I run out of what I have, I'll probably go with Tryphon products.

 

That said - where does one find Micro-Gloss? I found a couple of sellers that would sell me a bottle for $3.50 (not bad) but charge me 5-7 bucks for shipping (bad.)

 

so... that didn't work out. Of course, at this point I wouldn't buy any anyway but it would be nice to know for future reference.

 

i did spend $2 on a couple of flannel polishing cloths. I won't tell anyone what I've been using.

 

silly aside - my husband doesn't believe in washing/waxing a car more than once a year. He says it just makes the car more palatable to thieves. I let him go with this as early on in our engagement he finally got his Camaro washed and repainted. within a week someone tried to steal it thinking that it was in good condition. Fortunately, the same problem he had had for weeks (getting the darn thing to start every time) happened to the would-be thieves and they took off. The damage was limited to the steering column and his level of stress.

 

on the plus side for me - i can always recognize his truck from a distance if I'm looking for him at lunch time. it's the dirtiest one in the lot.

[corienb]

Hey KCat !

 

So, you're moving too ! I'm changing rooms as well More space, here I come !

 

I'm planning to toss out as much useless stuff as I can.. ( aka puching it off )

Anyone wants the Micro- gloss that came with the micro mesh ( btw, it was part of a kit on EBay )

Refund( PayPal) the shipping and it's yours - if it fits through the mail box opening shipping shouldn't be a lot, if it doesn't it might turn out as expensive as what your sellers asked minus the price of the bottle/flask.

 

I think you might have used the same thing I used as a polishing cloth.. LOL.

Old socks are in second place..

 

and our cars are as dusty/muddy as the Camaro of your hubby sounds , I've once put one in Turtle wax, and that's the only time my green stuff has been used on a car.. My dad sometimes uses a car wash whan he fills it up with gas, but most of the time the rain does the job ( we store our bikes in our garage, no room for the car..).

 

( we have a home car with 4 seats and an office car that only has 2 seats because stuff needs to fit in the back , small van like thing )

 

Oh, did you get my Vails e-mail through this site ?

 

Corien

[KCat]

Hey KCat !

 

So, you're moving too ! I'm changing rooms as well More space, here I come !

 

(snippage)

Oh, did you get my Vails e-mail through this site ?

 

Corien

we hope to be moving. we're still in the hunt. but it's hard to spend a lot of time house hunting right now. hopefully by spring.

 

hey - those uh - cloths - get really soft over time (and ya know, they are washed thoroughly before becoming rags..)

 

old socks are great for applying lemon oil to cabinetry.

 

yes, I did get your FPN mail - and thought I'd responded but I "think" i've done lots of things lately. maybe I'm juggling too much.

 

on that note - i need to get back to my data entry task. the good thing about it - i can do it rather mindlessly which means I can listen to good music while working.

 

as I've told others re: the vials. They'll be here sometime this week and I'll start distribution and let folks know about shipping outside the US and all that.

[corienb]

Thanks !

Yeah, I know what you mean about thinking you've done something.. as in I thought I left my cellphone on my desk, and have just found it back after a 30 minute search through the house..

Good luck with the househuntung !

 

Corien

[usasoccerboy]

I have a polish that will outdo any pen polish on the market. I am though keeping it a secret. I got it from Aristotles pens on Ebay, as Robert Rodrigue and I are the only ones who probably use it.