Ok, I have an uncle who runs a solid surface division for a building materials supplier. I asked him if he could get his hands on some scrap pieces of material for me. Even though I don't have a "real" lathe, I figured I'd play around. So.... He delivered a big case of stuff to me - a whole bunch of approx 2x3" rectangular 1/2" thick solid surface materials - salesman samples. Like Corian, but supposedly a better product. They are polished to a high shine, very beautiful. Also in that box was some 4x4" solid granite and granite composite stuff - will make great coasters - don't think I want them on a rod :-) Anyways, I took one solid surface piece and used a 1 1/2 "hole saw to cut a 1 1/4 (approx) ring out of it. The hole saw did a great job, now I need to polish the sides. Tom, and others who have used corian - what do you use to achieve a nice polish on these materials? I've heard possibly Dico blue - I can't find it around here. I can get jeweler's red rouge easily enough - will that do it? Anyone have a good source for Dico blue? I've never used polishing compound before - any tips? I was thinking of using my dremel with the felt discs.

Also, Tom K. - I've seen you mention in a couple posts you wish you could get your hands on some more corian type countertop material. In appreciation for this board and all the work you do, I'd be more than happy to send you some of this stuff - let me know....

Thanks in advance!!

Rich

For the times I have used corian, I start out turning it to shape and start sanding. I finally get to using micro sanding sheets I get from Woodcraft. The turned part comes out with a mirror finish.

What you want is Micro Mesh. You can get it from Woodcraft at
[www.woodcraft.com] It was originally developed for polishing scratches from airplane windows. The coarsest grit is 1500 which is about equal to 400 grit paper. The finest grit is 12,000 which is way beyond even Klingspor's 1500 grit paper. This is the best stuff there is for polishing any synthetic surface. I use it to polish the CA finish I put on wood all the time.

If you are using the corian as a trim on cork or leaving unfinished you will have to use the micro sheets. If you are using the corian on a trim that will be finished you can take it down to 600 grit and use tru-oil to finish the corian like you would wood or cork. I haven't used jewelers rouge but I would think that it would do the same as the micro sheets the one problem I would foresee would be rouge in the grain of the cork. That's hard to get out and the rouge seems to get every where. One note if you are turning on a lathe you should use a breathing filter of some sort. The dust can be very fine and I'm not sure what kind of toxic mix is in the dust. Mark

The Dico Blue works great on plastic type stuff, but maybe not so good on the harder materials. There are many different polishing compounds out and around. K&M Knife Supply has a large selection to choose from. They would have something that would work with Corian.

I have not used Corian myself so I have to stop short of recommending a particular product.

.........

"Like Corian, but supposedly a better product." I love it when people say that kind of stuff!

All the solid surfaces are pretty much the same thing - acrylic.

Avonite is a polyester.

They act/react a bit differently but for polishing they will be nearly identical.

Matt Davis, not sure what your point is????

Thanks for all the advice everyone. I may try jeweler's rouge for winding checks, etc. - and I'll pick up some of the micro-mesh sheets. I also found them at Rockler - you can purchase individual sheets instead of the whole kit.



Matt Davis Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> "Like Corian, but supposedly a better product." I
> love it when people say that kind of stuff!
>
> All the solid surfaces are pretty much the same
> thing - acrylic.
>
> Avonite is a polyester.
>
> They act/react a bit differently but for polishing
> they will be nearly identical.

Use wet/dry automotive sandpaper- availible at almost any hardware store or auto supply -and a little water. Start with 220, then 320, 400, 600, finer if you like..You don't need a lathe, although it yields much faster results, you can chuck a bolt in a pistol drill or drill press. Hmm.....a whole box you say? What colors? : ).