What is the best polish available?
jilop
Posts: 1
After I’ve done all the tool work to the parts I’ve polished, I have been doing a final coat by hand with wenol. i've used wenol for years on my motorcycles to keep them clean etc etc...
i know that I’m very partial to wenol, but what does everyone else use after the initial polish to shine/clean the metal?
i know that I’m very partial to wenol, but what does everyone else use after the initial polish to shine/clean the metal?
Comments
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
I thought this forum was based on electronics, not on metal finishing, but I could be wrong.
You didn't say if these parts were to some project that may possibly have electronics involved.
James L
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James L
Partner/Designer
Lil Brother LLC (SMT Assembly Services)
For plastic, automotive supply houses have a DuPont Rubbing Compound and DuPont Polishing Compound. One is red and the other is white.· I believe the red is for finer scratches and is the polishing compound.
These work very well with clear lucite [noparse][[/noparse]aka lexan] and scratches on shiny painted chassis.· The result is always a·high shine. One can use a Q-tip and remove scratches from a clear plastic display quite easily.
Wenol appears to be like Brasso, for oxidized metal.· That is a whole different process as they add chemicals [noparse][[/noparse]possibly corrosive and electrically conductive] to quick remove the oxidation.·
Wenol is new to me, but I've used Brasso on very funky aluminum shower stalls and saved the cost of replacing an otherwise good shower stall.· It is good for aluminum window frames too, but expect a lot of effort.
I do clean my circuit boards to remove flux for appearance sake. I used to use alcohol, but it does oxidize the solder to some extent as it is a bit acidic.· A white film of apparently lead oxide appears on the solder.·Now, I use a 3M product for removing sticky lables from objects. I suspect it is toluene, but that is a controlled substance.·
One has to be careful with cleaning solvents because there are lots of different plastics that will melt with different chemistry.· Alcohol is usually very safe with plastic.· But even mineral spirits or acetone will melt·some plastics that might surprise you. So always run a Q-tip test before trying to clean a larger surface.· Vinyl dissolves in acetone, but mineral spirts seem to be tolerated.
There are clear plastic coatings like Armor-all that some people consider a plastic restorer, but it is merely a clear polymer coating that degrades and hardens under heat and ultraviolet light.· If you use it very much, the coat accumulates, crazes,·and becomes another big·problem as I haven't found anyway to remove it.· While traditional carnuba wax does yellow, it can always be removed with a solvent and the bare surface can take another application.
One thing all polishes have in common is an ample supply of elbow grease and a good eye for detail. Of course for polishing diamonds, one must have diamond dust. But that is another story.
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PLEASE CONSIDER the following:
Do you want a quickly operational black box solution or the knowledge included therein?······
[noparse][[/noparse]Makes a penny or a silver coin look like it just came out of the mint.]
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