Polishing acrylic crystal

[szbalogh]

I was not hoping that it will turn out good but it did so no video of this only some bad pictures.

Komandirskie crystal was mounted on the spindle chuck nut with hot glue. Sandpapers and diamond paste up to 10000 grit were used to polish the crystal. It was full of scratches, deep dents and there is also a crack. The latter is of course still there but this was my experimenting pice. The whole project took only 15 minutes !

[Lambchop]

Looks okay -- I guess -- from here.. but you do know you can buy these things new for a quid or something from Cousins?

'Sandpaper' and diamond paste is not the right stuff btw.. WAY too hard.. ONLY use that stuff on steel. (Not stainless steel-- I mean actual steel)

There are some very good acrylic polishes - don't use them or any polishes on plastic ' under power'  by rotating it or using rotating tools ..The acrylic quickly becomes too hot through friction and you end up making a mess of your crystal by gaining scours and ripples and some optical warping .

Nice soft cotton cloth, SMALL amount of polish,  gentle circular movements.. quite zen- like..

 

[szbalogh]

1 hour ago, Lambchop said:

Looks okay -- I guess -- from here.. but you do know you can buy these things new for a quid or something from Cousins?

'Sandpaper' and diamond paste is not the right stuff btw.. WAY too hard.. ONLY use that stuff on steel. (Not stainless steel-- I mean actual steel)

There are some very good acrylic polishes - don't use them or any polishes on plastic ' under power'  by rotating it or using rotating tools ..The acrylic quickly becomes too hot through friction and you end up making a mess of your crystal by gaining scours and ripples and some optical warping .

Nice soft cotton cloth, SMALL amount of polish,  gentle circular movements.. quite zen- like..

 

Thank You!

Not even a slightest scratch after diamond. Did not allowed to get to hot and was not pushing it hard. Felt with my fingers, as it started warming i used another part of the paper. Ah the spinning speed is important! You see the DC motor in the background is a car fan motor used at 5V. It has a small plley wheel and the shank has a much bigger. The spindle is between 1000 and 2000 rpm.  This is why i was posting it, i was also surprised from the result. 

[digginstony]

Can't really understand the comment (Not stainless steel-i mean actual steel) both are composites of Iron. Steel is an alloy = Iron with the introduction of 15% carbon " Though the carbon content can be increased to produce a very hard steel indeed.
Stainless steel is the same alloy but with the addition of Chromium and nickel.
I've buffed out scratches on stainless using diamond paste ?
Also I believe it's suitable on soft metals such as gold. Haven't heard of it being used on acrylic (Normally used for buffing glass) But after reading this thread will give it a go when the opportunity arises

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[Watchtime]

Very nice jog.... i love the 'drastic' set up and think you have a great result. I use double sticky tape and my polishing machine but the resulr does not exceeds yours.... well done

[szbalogh]

On 8/25/2017 at 6:42 AM, Watchtime said:

Very nice jog.... i love the 'drastic' set up and think you have a great result. I use double sticky tape and my polishing machine but the resulr does not exceeds yours.... well done

Double sticky tape i will try definitely! Thank You!

[ro63rto]

Im more of a manual labourer.

One of these to remove scratches and flatten acrylic....


Then Polywatch and a Terry towel to bring back the clarity.

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[jguitron]

Im more of a manual labourer.

One of these to remove scratches and flatten acrylic....


Then Polywatch and a Terry towel to bring back the clarity.

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Very nice! Where can I find it?

Cheers


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[ro63rto]

Very nice! Where can I find it?

Cheers


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I get them from Boots the Chemist

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[Neileg]

Cheaper in Poundworld!
Also work on stainless steel.
They are in the nail beauty section as they are intended for shaping and buffing nails (fingers or toes).
Cheers Neil


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[ro63rto]

But don't last as long [emoji6]

The abrasives just fall off too quickly.

 

As for SS I use Scotchbrite.

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[Watchtime]

18 hours ago, szbalogh said:

Double sticky tape i will try definitely! Thank You!

Make sure the crystal does not get's too warm, otherwise it will come off the sticky tape.

[teegee]

On 8/23/2017 at 5:28 AM, digginstony said:

Can't really understand the comment (Not stainless steel-i mean actual steel) both are composites of Iron. Steel is an alloy = Iron with the introduction of 15% carbon " Though the carbon content can be increased to produce a very hard steel indeed.
Stainless steel is the same alloy but with the addition of Chromium and nickel.

Maybe Lambchop was referring to that fact that diamond pastes should not be used on soft-metal bearing surfaces, but only on hardened steel. If you use it on brass etc, or maybe even mild steel, diamond particles will embed in the bearing surface and wear it out over time. Perhaps diamond particles will also embed in the acrylic watch glass, but I have no idea if that is problematic or not. Ditto for gold jewelry.

15% carbon is way too much btw, even 1% makes for a very hard steel after heat treatment..

Cheers!

    Rob

[digginstony]

Maybe Lambchop was referring to that fact that diamond pastes should not be used on soft-metal bearing surfaces, but only on hardened steel. If you use it on brass etc, or maybe even mild steel, diamond particles will embed in the bearing surface and wear it out over time. Perhaps diamond particles will also embed in the acrylic watch glass, but I have no idea if that is problematic or not. Ditto for gold jewelry.
15% carbon is way too much btw, even 1% makes for a very hard steel after heat treatment..
Cheers!
    Rob

Apologies. Should of read 0.15% [emoji16]

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[digginstony]

Re reading the thread. Stainless steel is significantly harder than mild steel 0.05%.
Interesting comment about microscopic contamination. Though I suspect this could be argued about any abrasive used.
Though it should be considered that a watch case and to a lesser degree, acrylic crystal, is hardly a high contact bearing "part" and any supposed contamination would most probably be, in practicable terms, insignificant.

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[digginstony]

Just polished this stainless steel bezel using 1 micron diamond paste. 5 minute job and has removed 90% of the surface scratches

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