Light polishing of Estie?

[KendallJ]

got them but can't test drive yet. i'm not comfortable with using them at 3500 rpm. At least, not on a pen.

Kcat, I finally tried mine ( I got 1" diameter) using my variable speed Dremel (5000-20,000 rpm) on its lowest setting. I used Esties which are pretty bullet proof I think. Didn't appear to be a problem at all. I couldn't notice any heat build up. I haven't tried them on anything more fragile, but seems to work well. I didn't use them with anything other than the Tryphon polish. I don't yet know what will happen if I use something more aggressive, but for this application it was a snap.

[Keith with a capital K]

Kendall...my bad.

 

I let the scratch remover dry to a haze and buff it out immediately. Flannel is my favourite buffing material.

 

If some areas are a little harder to buff out then re-moistening / re-applying scratch remover solves that.

 

I'd avoid using any agressive polishes with that Dremel as 5000 rpm is high speed for a pen and abrasive polished will increase the amount of heat build up even more.

 

Those hands at the ends of our arms are the best tools we have as they rarely cause damage to pens.

[KendallJ]

I let the scratch remover dry to a haze and buff it out immediately. Flannel is my favourite buffing material.

If some areas are a little harder to buff out then re-moistening / re-applying scratch remover solves that.

 

I'd avoid using any agressive polishes with that Dremel as 5000 rpm is high speed for a pen and abrasive polished will increase the amount of heat build up even more.

Thanks Keith!

 

Yeah, I wasn't planning on getting to aggressive with the dremel, but it was nice to know that there were some things that you could use it with. I hand polished the pen first, but I really like the fact that the buffs get into grooves and crevises, and under the clip. The jewel and clip ring on one of my esterbrooks didn't take a hand polishing that well, but the dremel buffed it up like a champ. It's still like playing with fire tho :ph34r:

 

I also plan on slowing the tool down a bit. I stopped by our local Harbor Freight this weekend, but they were sold out of the speed controllers that were recommended. Did pick up section pliers ($3!!!) and a dental pick/spatula set ($5!!!) however.

Edited March 7, 2005 by KendallJ

[KendallJ]

So now that I have been practicing restoring esterbrooks, I can comment on what I did to polish them. Doing this for Kcat who also has these muslin buffs.

 

I have been using the 1" muslin buffs on my dremel at its lowest settings. The dremel is the variable speed model 5000-35000 rpm across a 1-5 scale. I have never gone above a 2. I've only been working on Esterbrook, so no other sort of pen has been tested.

 

In addition to the Trypon polish, I also picked up:

Dremel Polishing compound ($3)

DICO Plastic Compound($2 Harbor Freight)

MIBRO High Gloss Polishing Compound #6 ($4 Lowes)

 

I was pretty cautious about trying these so worked my way slowly in steps.

 

Bottom line is all 3 worked fine up to a 2 setting (which I estimate to be about 10,000 rpm). I didn't try them any higher because this was all that I needed. The Dremel compound was the most agressive but still took a while to act. Low heat build up, although I kept the pen moving. The polishes will slowly take out minor surface wear but it is pretty controllable. I also found that they minimized scratches by radiusing the edges a bit.

 

Frankly the finish these produce over a hand polish is superior for less elbow grease. Not that I mind elbow grease mind you, and I always started with hand polish with the Tryphon, but in all cases, the rotary polishing improved surface finish. The Esterbrook jewel polished up to a mirror shine, and the body color improved noticably as the reflectance improved.

 

CAUTION: I did try the felt wheels that come with the dremel on a junker pen. I actually went and bought a wheel that was tapered so I could have a little better control over the radius I was using. At a 1 setting using ANY of the polishes, these wheels MELT plastic. I had to "push the envelope" a bit, but now I feel very confident about the use of the muslin buffs, when I saw the difference. I think the felt contributes more to heat build up than the compounds.

 

Each compound is a bit different.

 

I like the DICO better for plastic parts, but it degraded more quickly when you hit any of the metal hardware. It is light blue, and more powdery so cleans off nicely.

 

The MIBRO is probably the best all around. My only complaint is that it is a green compound and a little more waxy stick so took some time to get it back off. I used this on plastic and metal with no degradation (it is meant for metal work I think).

 

The DREMEL compound is the more agressive so I only use that in situations where I want to work some surface wear. It is more like a cream or paste so a little more messier too. Its also not in stick form, but in a little cup which is a pain to get it on a 1" buff wheel.

 

DISCLAIMER: I have no idea what will happen with other pen materials. I only used Esterbrooks for this test. Proceed at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage you do to your pens!

[Keith with a capital K]

ESTERBROOKS ARE NEARLY BULLETPROOF - DON'T TRY THIS WITH OTHER PENS

 

I really had to make this point clear as what you can do to an Esterbrook is often something that will usually destroy a lesser pen. So besides being good pens to practice repair skills on, they can also give us false ideas that other pens will be so easily repaired and restored.

 

The celluloid on Esterbrooks is one of the most amazing materials ever used in a pen and when I start making pens, I will find out what Esterbrook did to produce such a wondrous material and replicate it.

 

I use a low speed, rechargable Dremel for a few little jobs but would never consider using a regular Dremel at any setting as even at their lowest setting, they spin way too fast and the potential for disaster in enormous. It never comes near plated parts and I use biggest polishing wheels to lower the rpm at the edge even further.

 

If you have some dense felt, rapidly rub it across your arm and note how much heat it generates...

 

Imagine this same felt spinning at even a few thousand rpm to realize what can happen to something like a pen. Besides melting the material, plating can be removed in a flash.

 

Take your Sheaffer two tone Feathertouch nibs... they are 14k gold with a Palladium mask. I have had some come in where the Palladium was in pretty bad shape due to over polishing so opted to remove the remaining mask. My little Dremel with a felt wheel and a little Simichrome can do this in seconds.

 

I'd prefer that a pen be loving hand buffed and polished rather than see bad things happen because the wrong tool was used.

 

[/rant off]

[KendallJ]

Keith, That's a great caution. You're right the Esterbrook is not a pen you'd want to generalize to other pens from, and I in no way wanted to imply that it would work for other pens.

 

Certainly would never polish plated material with anything but hand work.

[Keith with a capital K]

Kendall -

 

I just thought I would add to your disclaimer as it's a really important thing to know and worth repeating... Esterbrooks are nearly indestructible.

 

I've been noting your restoration work in the Trade forum... nice jobs there!

 

Cheers!

Edited March 20, 2005 by Keith with a capital K

[KendallJ]

Thanks Keith,

 

It's been fun learning. I've repaired something on the order of 15. The first ones took me a loooong time as I took each step very slowly and patiently, for fear of screwing something up, but now I almost feel like a pro. With Esterbrooks that is.

 

My toughest challenge was repairing a couple of nib units. I had one nib that had a cracked collar, and so actually managed to steal a collar from another unit, and get it reassembled. used the procecure Antonios told me about. The unit is good as new. I have yet to replace a jewel though. It's amazing to me the engineering into these pens. The parts are all fairly simple and there arent that many of them.

[Keith with a capital K]

Ok... we have to stop extolling the virtues of these Esterbrooks...

 

They're ummm... terrible pens.

 

[KendallJ]

No, No, No, they're great pens! Buy all you want. We'll fix more! 2 J's on the Trade forum right now. With a whole bunch of SJ's to go up soon.

 

Sorry Keith, I think I'm addicted. I don't need 15 Esterbrooks, but I sure like restoring them.

[Guest]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been using a product called Sheila Shine on my pens. It is used by hotels to luster stainless steel, brass, copper and plastics. It works pretty well on 99% of surfaces, rubber will not take it well. I use a flannel shirt to wipe a bit on, and then I just rub it evaporates, it leaves a very clean crytal shine. I havea few cans here I can spot anyone interested in giving it a go.