What polishing compound to use?

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alankulwicki7

alankulwicki7

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Joined
Jul 28, 2010
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Vadnais Heights, MN
Hey all,
I'm on my last little bit of Novus 2 polishing compound and it's time restock.

Should I switch to something new?

I was thinking about the Dr Kirk's 3 step process but is there something better?

Generally I use a CA finish on wood pens, MM to 12000 and then polish with the Novus 2. For acrylic pens, I will sand up to 1000, then MM and then polish with Novus 2.

Any advice is appreciated!
 
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PSI's One-Step works quite well for CA over wood and plastics. I also use a three part buffing system. Brown buffing compound , white buffing coumpound, And carnuba or any good auto poliashing wax. Jim S
 
What kind do you want to use? Hut achieves excellent reviews and many of us use it...YMMV according to the experts
 
I've used everything mentioned above and have settled in on sanding to 2000, then Novus 3, Novus 2, then a final buffing with the Beall wheels (Tripoli first then White Diamond). I'm quite pleased with the results although it does seem like overkill.

One thing that we don't talk about too much here is the need to take steps to prevent cross contamination between grits. IMHO this is as important a part of the process as anything else and it goes all the way from wiping with a clean or dedicated paper towel between grits to keeping wet paper in separate water baths.
 
As a rule I wet sand everything I can so my paper/mesh is rinsed which prevents much cross contamination. Useing abranet mesh which I keep clean as possible also help prevent bolders from getting carried between grits. I also sand lenghwise on the last grit to reduce the circular marks and wipe with denatured alcohol after 600 grit. After that I use EEE so there is no paper to contaminate.
 
I have switched from Novus to two Meguiars products and love the results. I use Meguiars #17 Plastic Cleaner, followed by #10 Plastic polish. Leaves a brilliant shine. I get both at my local O'Reillys auto.
 
butchf18a said:
Are you satisfied with the results you are getting? Yes? Then why change?
Click to expand...

One reason may simply be cost and availability. In my case, I ran out of Novus on a Sunday and couldn't find any. The Meguiars were available and I got 8 oz. (vs 2 oz. of Novus) for only 2x the cost. Once I tried it, there was no reason to go back.
 
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