High Gloss Finish and Smooth Surface

[ezmike]

I need some information. While re-knotting a STAR brush to replace the beautiful Rubberset 301N that cracked I had to modify the top black rubber portion and in doing so I had to use my Dremel's sanding attachments to re-shape the top lip. Consequently, the nice smooth finish where I re-shaped it is gone. So, my first question is how can I regain that smooth surface?

Second question is once the surface is smooth what should I use to get the gloss finish back?

By the way, this is an interesting brush. I will post photos later but I believe the handle portion of the brush, it unscrews from the top, is some kind of horn and is hollow.

Thanks in advance.

Mike

[JeffE]

Mike, the best you can probably do is HAND sanding -- start with something relatively rough like 220 and then move to 400 and then 1200 paper. Finish with MAAS or Brasso or some similar type of metal polish. All of this probably won't bring back an absolutely perfect shine, but it will get you close for sure.

The top lip is a particularly hard area to restore, especially after Dremel work, because the work sometimes leaves the hole looking uneven and chipped, when what you want is a smooth and perfectly round circle. The lip is also always visible, so any mistakes are very noticeable.

Pictures would probably help, but I think hand sanding followed by polish is probably the best you're going to get here.

[SpartanFan]

I have an Ever-Ready that I just finished. I hand sanded it through 1200 grit then used a rubbing compound then MAAS and finally Flitz. It took awhile but came out nice. I had it completely sandpaper rough at one point and brought it back to a nice shine. I'll be posting a full post about the restore in the next week or so.

EverReady.jpg

[Derty]

I have an Ever-Ready that I just finished. I hand sanded it through 1200 grit then used a rubbing compound then MAAS and finally Flitz. It took awhile but came out nice. I had it completely sandpaper rough at one point and brought it back to a nice shine. I'll be posting a full post about the restore in the next week or so.

EverReady.jpg

I really, really, really like that brush!!!

[JeffE]

How did you get the white lettering filled in? That looks awesome!

[SpartanFan]

I mention a bit about it over on this thread http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php?t=177173 It was basically getting as much of the old lettering filler out, dabbing in a lot of new paint and then sanding it down. It worked well on this brush but I did another one that came out so so. The letting needs to be nice and deep and crisp for this technique to work well.

[ezmike]

Thanks guys, that's what I thought I'd have to do but I wasn't sure.

I'll post photos later.

SpartanFan, what is the material of the lower portion? The entire brush looks exactly like the STAR brush I'm referring to right down to the striations in the handle.

I basically do the same thing with the lettering but only if it's necessary. In this brush about 98% of the coloring was gone. Before I washed the brush the lettering looked gold in color but afterwards it turned out to be white. I used plain old white Testor's using the same technique as below.

Later

Mike

[SpartanFan]

The material on the bottom part of the handle is bone. It is kind of hard to see from the photo I posted but can be seen much better in some other photos that I will post when I do a write up on the restoration. I'll be looking for your photos and an update on your project. Hope all goes well working your way to the shine.

[skipnord]

If you have a buffer, you can use polishing compound and a cotton wheel to buff a great shine in the plastic. There also polishing kits available for Dremels that can be used with polishing compound. There are specific compounds for plastic, or a soft metal (silver or gold) compound can be used - usually dark red or white in color. The stuff used on steel is too coarse for plastic. Good luck!
Fantastic work, SpartanFan!

[ezmike]

I have the dark red stuff with my Dremel and it worked well on the un-touched portion but the re-shaped surface is still too rough. I think once I smooth it out some more it will work.

SpartanFan, that's exactly what I think my STAR brush handle is made from. I will post photos later. No time last night.

Mike

[cooncatbob]

After I get beyond 600 grit w/d emery paper I switch to Micro- Mesh pads.
After that I switch to car polishing compounds.

BTW. I use shop made mandrels that fit in to socket hole, this allows spin the handle on the lathe for sanding, polishing and finishing.