Polishing out plastic mold lines?

[Bongopalms]

This'll be my third restore. I owe OtherMoe some pictures from the first two, although one needs a bit of work to flatten the base so it will sit evenly first.

Anyways, a couple of weeks ago, I purchased a set of three brushes to restore from craig87c in the B/S/T. (Thanks Craig!)

I had a 22mm finest FS knot from TGN left unused in my previous restoration efforts so I picked the brush with the largest existing knot diameter, coincidentally 22 mm.

Top picture is how it looked at arrival. Lower picture is after removing the old knot, doing some basic cleaning, and enlarging the hole to 23 mm. The new knot fits nicely and I plan to set it at 45 mm. But before I do, I want to finish the exterior and get it looking goooooood

My question today: Should I sand/polish out the horizontal line that's just over halfway up the white? It's like the mold forming the top and bottom halves were offset just a smidgen, creating a bit of overhang on one side and an under-hang on the other side. It's just enough to catch a fingernail being dragged across the line. But it feels like it might take a while to sand out. What do you guys think? Polish it out? Or call it character and leave it be?

Thanks!

 

[bobfarvour]

I'd sand it out.

 

[life2short1971]

This is the same handle ofter sanding and buffing on a wheel. It had the very same seam.

 

[Bongopalms]

Very nice life2short! The picture answers the question for me!

I've got a high standard to aim for now, although mine is not nearly as white as yours. The weather's finally nice enough to sit on the porch sanding (rather than whittlin') so I think I'll take Bob's and your advice and sand it out.

 

[life2short1971]

I think I started with 220 then 400 then 800 and finished it on a big buffer. If you don't have access to one just sand it out to 1500 and it should polish nicely on the dremel if thats available. Nice handle for sure.

 

[FL shaver]

I went 330 to 400 then polished with this one. You can kinda see the line in the second pic, but it is gone by the fifth!
http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=201335

 

[Bongopalms]

No big buffer available to me. I picked up some wet sand 600 yesterday, and will wrok up to that. But I haven't had any luck finding anything finer (800 and up). Auto parts stores are the next stop! I haven't used my Dremel clone to polish anything yet, so it must be time to learn something new

 

[life2short1971]

Just remember heat builds fast with plastic so go light with the buffer.

 

[Bongopalms]

So I can copy FL shaver and use elbow grease instead of finer grit paper and a buffer! Your brush turned out very nice, considering what you started with!

 

[life2short1971]

Yes you can
The finer the sandpaper the shinier it will get.Use it with water also . Make sure to get a wet/dry paper.

 

[Bongopalms]

Thanks for the tips guys. Finding the finer grits in wet/dry paper is the hard part. Lot's of regular/dry paper up to 1200 grit is available. So I'll give the auto parts store a try today.

 

[PozzSka]

I've never bothered to remove the mold line. It just is what it is...it's a molded plastic handle, so I've always left them as they were (but cleaned and polished).

 

[FL shaver]

I should have mentioned that I wet sanded. I purchased a variety pack of wet sanding paper at Ace Hardware, though it maxxed out at 600.

 

[Snargle]

Thanks for the tips guys. Finding the finer grits in wet/dry paper is the hard part. Lot's of regular/dry paper up to 1200 grit is available. So I'll give the auto parts store a try today.

I picked up a variety pack of wet/dry sandpaper from Harbor Freight for a few bucks. I think it had 4 or 5 grades up to 1200. For the little bit I ended up using, it'll probably last me for years.

 

[life2short1971]

Its also good for sanding blades too! so you have the basic materials for a simple restore or freshen up for either a brush or razor. You'll find others you like. Trust me it is only the tip of the iceberg.

 

[Bongopalms]

Here it is after less than an hours worth of elbow grease applied via 600 grit wet paper. The line is gone .

The TGN 22mm finest FS is resting at about 50 mm loft. I plan to set it down to about 45 mm. Additional polishing remains to be done now before filling and gluing. But it's on track

Thanks for the help!

 

[Snargle]

+1 Lookin' good!

 

[Hex]

+1 Lookin' good!

+2 Ditto !!

 

[life2short1971]

Fantastic job! It looks as good as mine!

 

[FL shaver]

Very nice. I was apprehensive to use sandpaper on these handles, but after going for it on that cheap beater I know now that you can get that kind of result!