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Polishing 1930's-40's Plastic

AAAndrew

By AAAndrew
in Repair Q&A

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AAAndrew Antique

AAAndrew

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Posted

I have two items I'd like to try and at least clean, if not polish to a shine.

 

Both are from the 1930's-40's.

 

One are the plastic tops to Esterbrook Dipless inkwells.

The other are the Moriset Inkwells.

 

I'm not sure what to use to polish this plastic. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks!

 

“When the historians of education do equal and exact justice to all who have contributed toward educational progress, they will devote several pages to those revolutionists who invented steel pens and blackboards.” V.T. Thayer, 1928

 

Check out my Steel Pen Blog. As well as The Esterbrook Project.

"No one is exempt from talking nonsense; the mistake is to do it solemnly."

-Montaigne

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joss Collectors Item

joss

Posted
Posted

I think that these early inkwells were made from bakelite so best is to search the web on how cleaning bakelite.

See for instance:

www.instructables.com/id/Restore-Bakelite-to-Original-Finish/

www.wikihow.com/Clean-Bakelite

 

I have used silver polish or polishing paste (Simichrome) to clean vintage bakelite electrical switches and they survive that without problem.

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eachan Rare

eachan

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Greygate Paste Polishing No 5 is intended for polishing bakelite. It was developed long ago for polishing bakelite telephones. I don't know whether it is more widely available or just a UK thing.

Regards,

Eachan

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Estycollector Collectors Item

Estycollector

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Posted (edited)

I use Mothers metal polish to remove micro scratches on the Bakelite used on Autopoint pencils with very nice results. This is the same polish I use on the Esterbrooks I've restored. Not a lot, just a bit on a soft cloth.

Edited by Estycollector

"Moral goodness is not a hardy plant, nor one that easily propagates itself" Dallas Willard, PhD

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Larry Barrieau Vintage

Larry Barrieau

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If there is an imprint such as "U.S. Navy", don't polish it. I did and it was easily rubbed away.

 

Looking for a black SJ Transitional Esterbrook Pen. (It's smaller than an sj)

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BalancedCraftsman Dipped Only

BalancedCraftsman

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I use Flitz polish (the product labeled for metal, plastics, and fiberglass) for nearly all of my restorations/repairs. It's worked wonders for me on celluloid, hard rubber, Bakelite, and modern plastics. Be careful using it on electroplated or painted finishes- it can rub those off if you're not careful.

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Conradandhispens Near Mint

Conradandhispens

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Micro gloss. ill admit Ive used brasso multiple times on old bakelite switches and fuses.. works but micro gloss is better if you can buy that. brasso may or may not be good for bakelite, im guessing the chemicals in it would be pretty bad..

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