Celluloid scale polishing

[SammieM]

Good morning guys!

I am restoring several straight razors and have to polish the scales a bit. I looked in the forum but couldn’t find any info... I lightly sanded the scales with 2500 grit wet/dry sandpaper. What is the next step to put a bit of shine on them? Thanks a lot! I am in Europe, so certain things like Maas and Mothers mag have to be special ordered..

 

[mycarver]

I’m sure there must be automotive stores of some sort that carry rubbing compounds to restore scratched and faded paint. And or some other brands to care for aluminum type wheels. Might be a different brand but it’s the same product . Various degrees of polishing compounds .
Any car wax that says cleaner/polish and not just “pure wax” has fine compounds in it.
How about the polishes used to restore headlight covers? That’s specifically a plastic polish to clear the haze.
Toothpaste can be used as a polishing compound .
Don’t you have products to polish silverware?
I’d guess you do as well as brass polishes.
Some cleaning supplies for kitchens / countertops are polishes.
Boating supplies have a variety of polishes.
Any woodworking stores? They sell compounds for removing scratches from paint /lacquered furniture.
Any number of places I’d bet you could try to find a comparable product very easily.
Polishing isn’t limited to the states.
And polish is polish. Various grades of course but it all does the same thing.
If you look you’ll find more than you can use.
We use these name brands because that’s what we have here and know. I don’t know your brands and can’t tell you what to use but I’m certain car guys are doing the same thing there.
Just ask any car nut what brands they use . Or the guy standing behind the counter what is a similar product .

 

[SammieM]

I’m sure there must be automotive stores of some sort that carry rubbing compounds to restore scratched and faded paint. And or some other brands to care for aluminum type wheels. Might be a different brand but it’s the same product . Various degrees of polishing compounds .
Any car wax that says cleaner/polish and not just “pure wax” has fine compounds in it.
How about the polishes used to restore headlight covers? That’s specifically a plastic polish to clear the haze.
Toothpaste can be used as a polishing compound .
Don’t you have products to polish silverware?
I’d guess you do as well as brass polishes.
Some cleaning supplies for kitchens / countertops are polishes.
Boating supplies have a variety of polishes.
Any woodworking stores? They sell compounds for removing scratches from paint /lacquered furniture.
Any number of places I’d bet you could try to find a comparable product very easily.
Polishing isn’t limited to the states.
And polish is polish. Various grades of course but it all does the same thing.
If you look you’ll find more than you can use.
We use these name brands because that’s what we have here and know. I don’t know your brands and can’t tell you what to use but I’m certain car guys are doing the same thing there.
Just ask any car nut what brands they use . Or the guy standing behind the counter what is a similar product .

You make a good point. Thanks for the reply. I am unsure of the abrasive qualities of the ones available in my auto part store. And to be truthful, most of the guys in those motor factors (as they are called here) treat you like a nuisance. So I go only when I know exactly what I need. They are not helpful very much. Anyway thanks for your reply. You told me how I can replace the products that are available to you, but I am not sure if the original question was answered. Thanks!

 

[mycarver]

You’re welcome.
And your question was what’s the next step after sanding?
The answer is polish. I listed many sources.
What wasn’t answered?
You sand them smooth. After that you use any number of polishes to remove the sanding scratches and make them shine.
If you don’t want to go into a shop and talk to anyone a quick search on my end revealed amazon.uk has all the same products available in the States.
Utube showed products polishing wheels I never heard of or seen before available in Europe. Did you watch them?
So visit any number of places I suggested. There are probably shelves full of product so choose a cleaner /wax or mild compound , mag wheel polish or headlight polish which solves your dilemma since you now know what to ask for or look for, or grab your mouse ,
Point and click.
That’s all there is to it really.
The products being used are just because someone tried something and it worked. Most anything will.

 

[mycarver]

A quick scan i came up with a few.

Maas ( it’s listed as international so I think you can get it)
Brasso
Blue magic
White diamond
Glitz
Wenol
Speed metal polish
Novus
Buff magic
Weiman
Wright’s
Goddard
Connoisseurs

Any one of these will get you moving. If they can polish metals and silverware they can easily polish plastic.
And for many you won’t have to go to an auto supply.

 

[SammieM]

A quick scan i came up with a few.

Maas ( it’s listed as international so I think you can get it)
Brasso
Blue magic
Glitz
Wenol
Speed metal polish
Novus
Buff magic
Weiman
Wright’s
Goddard
Connoisseurs

Any one of these will get you moving. If they can polish metals and silverware they can easily polish plastic.
And for many you won’t have to go to an auto supply.

Thank you for your extensive reply. I do have a metal polish called T-Cut Original MetL Polish. Should I use that on the scales or is it better to get a different one that is for aluminium wheels or plastic polish such as Mequires?

 

[mycarver]

Try it . I’m sure it’ll work. You’ve already sanded them and polish isn’t as abrasive as sandpaper.
That’s how using mag wheel polish was discovered . Somebody tried it.
But as I said even toothpaste will work. It’s a very mild abrasive as well .
If you have car polish , use that as long as it’s a cleaner/polish and not just pure wax.
If you have silver or brass polish. Use them.
This isn’t very critical. Heck. Even a brown paper bag can be used to polish furniture.
I’ve used most of the products on that list and they work well. Some maybe a little faster. No big deal.

 

[Somerled]

I make scales from Kirinite and Acrylic.
To polish them I use Mothers Mag, you can get it from Amazon UK in a smallish tub. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mothers-Ma...&s=gateway&sprefix=mothers+mag,aps,155&sr=8-1
Great for polishing up the blades as well.

Ian @Ice-Man put me onto Novus #2 plastic polish. That stuff really polishes up the scales well, removes fine scratches after sanding.
Highly recommended and you can get it from Amazon UK. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Novus-Plas...&sprefix=novus+plastic+polish+,aps,279&sr=8-3

Both work well with the scales I make.

I thought you were from UK, so sorry if your not and can't access Amazon UK.

 

[Ice-Man]

Good morning guys!

I am restoring several straight razors and have to polish the scales a bit. I looked in the forum but couldn’t find any info... I lightly sanded the scales with 2500 grit wet/dry sandpaper. What is the next step to put a bit of shine on them? Thanks a lot! I am in Europe, so certain things like Maas and Mothers mag have to be special ordered..

If you live in Europe you can get this from E-Bay or Amazon, a product called Novus polish that is fantastic for scales dont use T-Cut as the ammonia is not good for any scales.

This is the product I swear by

You start with number3 to get the deep scratches out then move to number2 that will remove the fine scratches then number 1 with remove the static

 

[NPV]

^ +1 it works well to polish brash inlays and bolsters too, two birds with one stone.

 

[mycarver]

I’m in U.S. but he did say he’s in Europe. I also found those listed on amazon .uk and listed them for him .

 

[Ice-Man]

I see you did and they work, as I can find them all on amazon.UK as I live in the UK myself.

 

[Joshua223]

Interesting alternatives. I've been meaning to clean up some celluloid scales myself. I've seen where some people use different stuff to condition the scales which also gives them more shine. I'll have to research that.

 

[SammieM]

Thank you all for the replies. I will try this Novus. I am located in Ireland, so I should be able to order it without problem. Thank you again!

 

[Kooldecker]

+1 on the blu magic. i think its the easiest and quickest. not to mention it works great!

 

[Njguy1977]

Ok from experience, the novus polish hands down the best stuff to use. If you cant get it blue magic 2nd. If you cant get any of that and since your in Europe, Wenol in the blue tube works great as well and its a product you can easily find on your side of the pond.

Larry

 

[SammieM]

Thank you all for the replies. Ended up going to the Auto Part store here and they had Meguire’s PlastRx. I got that and it worked excellently. Mirror finish. You just have to make sure all the course scratches are gone first with a wet/dry with 2k or 2.5k paper.