-
Looking for advice on acrylic polishing?
Am doing a few small bits of acrylic signage and looking to get materials in cut to size and flame polish.
Anyone know of a small nozzled propane torch I can use or do I go straight for the real macoy £500 +
-
15 Replies
-
get the real thing, mighty tool, best "value add’er" produced,
Show a customer one unpolished and one polished and they’ll always pay the extra,
the propane torch will work, Slowly, the flame polisher is designed for it.I-Spi do one now,
-
a clean cut, wet flatning paper, torch from b&q.
theres a specific type of acrylic that works best with this, forget which one. not done it in many years now.
there is also a knack to it, so do some practice runs first.fabricut etc will do this for you and save you buying a full sheet to cut down.
also, getting anyone with a laser router will acheive same in one go, as it polishes as it cuts.
-
There was a thread about this quite some time ago Chris if you are any good at searching the boards, I’m rubbish at it otherwise i would find it for you :lol1: :lol1:
-
Thanks All. Getting fed up with suppliers letting me down. Might try Fabricut. I had 2 small acrylic signs made with nice profit then got stung 18.00 for a royal mail delivery to me, then I had to order an extra so cost me 36.00.
Had a chat with I Spi and some bits on order. Still trying to justify 550.00 against 30.00. Will try cheaper but do like gadgets so will probably end up with the better one
-
real thing.. we use it about once or twice a week
-
https://www.uksignboards.com/viewtopic.p … ght=polish
various options.
and it’s CAST you want to flame polish…extruded just bubbles then goes on fire!
-
we use a very fine nozzle… no problems with extruded but bubbles do happen
-
quote Chris Windebank:Thanks All. Getting fed up with suppliers letting me down. Might try Fabricut. I had 2 small acrylic signs made with nice profit then got stung 18.00 for a royal mail delivery to me, then I had to order an extra so cost me 36.00.
Had a chat with I Spi and some bits on order. Still trying to justify 550.00 against 30.00. Will try cheaper but do like gadgets so will probably end up with the better one
Chris if you like gadgets and are looking at buying something more expensive than a torch then how about something like this :lol1: :lol1:
ACRYLIC DIAMOND POLISHER – PJC1200 BRAND NEW
-
only 15K on ebay
-
If it’s any use and not too late… I use a small soldering / plumbers torch. Think it was about £25 from machine mart & fills up with butane lighter gas.
Works a treat on small stuff but takes a while on large panels.
-
Thanks for all the replies. In the interim I brought a pencil torch for 3.00 inc vat and delivery to try!
Works well (thanks Glen)
Am looking to do more acrylic work in the future but buying in ready made from Ashby Sign Supplies
Attachments:
-
Thanks for the info guys I was looking into this last week for a customer.
Cheers
-
Flame polishing stresses acrylic BIG time , much worse with extruded than cast,
If you use some solvent based cleaners or glue around flame polished acrylic you are almost guaranteed to get stress cracks , worst of all , the stuff can stress crack months down the line. Be careful where you polish and what you polish , especially if it isnt something as simple as a flat piece. -
I was under the impression that you can’t flame polish extruded as it simply bubbles and ignites.
TBH, for all of the flame polishing I’ve done over the years I’d rather pay a few quid and get it bought in diamond polished if it’s more than one or two panels…lot less hassle
-
Extruded actually flame polishes and laser cuts better than cast , you can get a smoother finish , critical is to use the O2/hydrogen type polisher and moderate heat controlled by your movements.
Diamond is great for square panels , but you cant polish curves.Before polishing an edge , the best thing to do is scrape it free of saw marks or lasering striations etc. A flat metal straight edge used vertical to the edge does this well. The better the edge , the less heat you need for polishing and the better and sharper the effect will be.
Log in to reply.
