Pen Polishing - Which Grade Of Abrasive Paper?

[AndrewJ]

Hi

 

I am very much an amateur repairer so I apologise for the naivety of my question (and also if this question has been asked before).

 

I have a Parker Maxima which is generally in pretty good condition. Its only issue is that where the cap has been slid on to the body it has caused the body finish to become matt - no gouges or individual scratches, it has just lost its shiny finish.

 

I don't want to make matters any worse that they are, so with which grade of abrasive paper should I begin?

 

Thanks

 

Andrew

[PaulS]

the Maxima is a nice pen - the top of the range, and largest, of the English Duofold 'aerometric' models from Newhaven. Posting can cause some ugly damage to barrels - it's an abhorrent practise, and not something I'd recommended.

 

If as you say it is the shine only that has been removed, then you may find that a water based polishing compound such as Micro Mesh will be adequate to return the pen to it's former all over gloss. These liquid based products come in coarse and final finishing grades - but if you find this is not quite enough then you may need to use a w. & d. paper with a grit size of somewhere around the 8000 - 13000 size, but I wouldn't recommend increasing the grit size for your purposes here.

The Micro Mesh products were created original for polishing Perspex canopies in the aero industry, and are used successfully by other people here. Micro Gloss is another similar product, and is sourced from the States, but available from the Micro Mesh people in Scotland, I believe.

Best of luck.

Edited October 24, 2017 by PaulS

[Chrissy]

  On 10/24/2017 at 5:38 PM, AndrewJ said:

Hi

 

I am very much an amateur repairer so I apologise for the naivety of my question (and also if this question has been asked before).

 

I have a Parker Maxima which is generally in pretty good condition. Its only issue is that where the cap has been slid on to the body it has caused the body finish to become matt - no gouges or individual scratches, it has just lost its shiny finish.

 

I don't want to make matters any worse that they are, so with which grade of abrasive paper should I begin?

 

Thanks

 

Andrew

 

I believe in starting off very carefully rather than going straight in with abrasive paper or micro mesh. Ron Zorn would start with a Sunshine cloth. There are also some brands of plastic polish that you could try if that doesn't work. Meguiars and Auto Glym make decent plastic polishes. Amazon.co.uk

[PaulS]

Hi Andrew - correction to my earlier comments insofar as the Micro Mesh product refers to the abrasive pads and not the liquid sort such as Micro Gloss.

The company to whom I was referring is Air-craft.net - in Scotland, and they do sell what they describe as Micro Mesh Abrasive Liquids. - their contact No. is 01397 708 836.

They should have everything you need.

[pen lady]

Great advice, but you might want to try this. If you have a beauty supply store close-by, pop in and ask for nail buffing sticks used by manicurists to shine nails naturally. They come in various grits, start with something pretty fine and then go even finer for the final polish. It's better to use more elbow-grease than jump to grit that's too coarse and risk damage to your pen.

[Beechwood]

Respectfully, I dont think I would advise the use of nail buffing blocks for a first foray into pen polishing, especially if this is simply a shine up exercise.

 

Being an English flag that is being flown I presume that you have the Parker Duofold Maxima, as opposed to anything else. The plastics on the Duofold are quite soft and will take a shine very readily.

 

Micro Gloss is referred to above which would be my choice for a first attempt and assuming there are no scratches to be eased away.

 

Lots of sellers of the product, here is one

 

http://www.axminster.co.uk/micro-gloss-liquid-abrasive-506887

[pen lady]

I stand corrected

[PaulS]

I admit to having one of those in my tool box, and have used it with some success when a slightly harsher abrasive is needed, although as we've said on this occasion the liquid polishing cream is probably all that is needed. Let's hope Andrew has success with the liquid.

With these nail buffing sticks, there is just the possibility that used hastily you might suddenly discover you've used the wrong side - but with care they do have a use, on occasions.

[siamackz]

Great advice already given! Micro Gloss first, then if needed micro mesh and water with elbow grease. 12000 micro mesh is sufficient if there are no deep gouges or scratches. I used to buy micro mesh cloths, but then realised that 3-way or 4-way nail polishing sticks have the same variety of grit for much cheaper and easier to find.

Edited October 26, 2017 by siamackz

[BT_Summers]

My local store has only one brand of elbow grease in stock, will this be ok for pen use?

 

[siamackz]

  On 10/26/2017 at 9:06 AM, smiffy20000 said:

My local store has only one brand of elbow grease in stock, will this be ok for pen use?

 

Only if its water based