coating (or preping) a 6" cotton buffing wheel

[mds33200]

Hi, I purchased a 6" buffing wheel and the instruction manual says to use a buffing stick (can’t remember the exact name they called it- but it looks like a long bar of soap that you run across the wheel and that sort of lubricates it).


I was wondering is it better to use that stuff or is it better to use a liquid?

The application I need it for is to clean a bunch of cell phone lenses (the clear window you see the LCD through). *just to clarify- They do not have any special coating on the lens, I know some lenses have special coating and if you polish the lens the coating will wear off- that isn’t the case with these lenses though*

For example I did lots of research online on how to clean plastic lenses and in one forum lots of people say they used turtle wax to clean the lens. But they did not use a buffing wheel, they just did it manually. I have to clean lots of them though so would it be a bad idea to coat the wheel in turtle wax and give it a try? Or are the dry bars known to work any better?

Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[BigDawgDavao]

You can try one of the compounds from caswell's

http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/compound4.html

or from Eastwood.

http://www.eastwood.com/buffing-compound-plastic-1lb-bars-3-pack.html

 

[hydramatic]

the bar of soap is called rouge..I would use a very fine liquid for poilishing glass..start out with 500 rpm on the wheel...anything faster will heat up what your trying to polish and ruin it.........I personally would do it by hand..ive never heard of tryimg to clean the lens your speaking of...

 

[mds33200]

Ohh, the buffer I got probably wont work then- it only has 1 speed and its 3600 rpm.

I tried polishing one with a light scratch by hand- using a plastic cleaning compound and after 5 minutes of scrubbing, I would estimare the scratch reduced only 50%. I located an older buffing wheel (made for a screwdriver gun) and I tried to finish the job with that one. I used more plastic cleaning compound to coat the cotton pad and after about 1 minute I wrinced it off and it looked perfect. I remember the hardware store sells rouge (so thats the word) and I think I will swing by pick some up. I remember they had several that claimed to work with plastics.

The hand held drill gun buffer seemed to really work good so I may have to return the 6" buffing wheel to get one that runs at a slower speed. It would be very easy if I didnt have to hold the screw gun while I polished them so I will see what they have for slower speed polishers.

 

[Amitygravel]

I've been wondering about this issue lately too. I wonder if the best bet would be one of the headlight restoration kits that are available. They do make buffing compounds for use on plastic. Use a loose cotton wheel and very little pressure , heat builds up very quickly. Practice on some junkers first. Another issue , will static buildup effect the electronic components of the phone?

 

[Bolster]

You need to use a buffing compound formulated for plastic. If you are going to use a high speed buffer, use the smallest wheel on it you can find, that effectively slows the SFPM (speed). Alternately, find a way to secure your drill, and use that as your slower speed buffer, with a small 4" wheel or thereabouts.

When done, dip the lens in a clear acrylic, such as is sold for floors. You will be amazed how it looks new again.

 

[mds33200]

Ha- I picked up one of them headlight kits yesterday actually- I was thinking the same thing. My headlights do need a cleaning bad as well, so if it doesnt work on the cell phone lenses atleast I have use for it. I did not try it yet but after opening the kit I realize it probably isnt efficient (atleast not if you do it the way it says to do it) because one of the steps involves sanding the entire headlight with a rougher buffer first- could probably skip that step because the cellular lens is much thinner then a headlight and thats just done to get the headlight smoothe again Then you have to use a finer pad and when you do that it gets "clear" so I guess I could try just using that stuff. Many of the scratched lenses are no more then a micro scratch so it wouldnt make much sence sanding the entire lens with higher gritt pads. I will give it a try tomorrow and I will post my results.

Also (luckally) these lenses are not actually installed in the phones yet- so I dont have to worry about static. Plus I dont have to worry about the splattering as I buff the lenses because that often gets messy. The splattering liquid could be a small problem if any got in the phone and made way to the circuitboard so having the lens removed is much easier.

Amitygravel- you said you have been thinking about this issue too- I assume you mean polishing your beat up lens on ur phone? If you want to clean your cell phone lens and want to pop it out first just use a blowdryer and heat it up then use a suction cup to pull the lens up (just literally rip it out- it will come out easy if you use the blowdryer first to heat the double sided tape up). Most of the time if you use that method you dont have to replace the tape ethere- but I guess if you are getting it wet as you buff it it may be best to replace the double sidded tape. Obviously all phone lenses arent held in that way but I would say over 80% of all cellular phone lenses are held in with double sided tape. Actually in thinking about it if you just had to do one lens the easiest way probably would be to tape up everything but the lens- that way if it splatters it will land on the tape.not on the circuit board.

I will post an update tomorrow.

 

[Amitygravel]

mds33200 , thanks for the extra info. I was thinking none of the more agressive compounds would be needed.
Bolster, slick idea on the floor finish. Is that just the regular stuff available where you get other cleaning supplies?