Solvent polish acrylic

[davidallen]

any suggestions on how to solvent polish acrylic? I used to use Methylene Chloride but it's not sold anymore. any good substitutes?

I'm engraving letters on clear acrylic and want a clear cut. the line width is 1/8" so sanding or flame polishing is out.

da

[Brady Watson]

David,
Are you saying that MC is no longer sold??? I just bought some a few months back from my supplier.

-Brady

[davidallen]

I looked in a couple of hardware stores, a paint supplier, and 3 marine supply shops. I found a couple of paint strippers that had MC in it, but it also had ketones. I couldn't find any pure MC.

who's your supplier?

da

[Brady Watson]

David,
I buy WeldOn #3 from my local plastic dealer. Search for WeldOn solvent and you'll find places like this (http://www.misterplexi.com/solvent.html)

-Brady

[bleeth]

Here's a mail order house:

http://shop2.chemassociates.com/shopsite/Chemassoc2/PAS-dichloromethane.html?OVRAW=Methylene%20Chloride&OV KEY=methylene%20chloride&OVMTC=standard

From what I could see it is still being offered in Scientific chemical supply houses.

Dave

[joe]

David & Brady,

Would you guys please tell me what your talking about?

We use Weldon as an adhesive but never consivered it as a polish.

The reasons this has sparked my interest is a order for 2' Diamond done in 1/2" clear plex. I need to glaze the interior carved facits.

Our ususal glazing technique is sanding and buffing, but I'm not sure this would work here.

I've never been had any luck with tourching acrylic. That may be a myth.

Joe

[ron brown]

tourching Acrylic works -

Friend had an acrylic shop and used Hydroge/oxygen to "flame polish" - don't know how it would work in an inside corner.

Ron

[joe]

Ron,

What, is that water?

Joe

[ron brown]

Joe - that is a conventional "Oxy/Fuel" torch setup to burn hydrogen and oxygen. IIRC, the flame is almost invisible. Of course, the by-product is indeed water.

Ron

[davidallen]

I've torched edges, it takes a practiced technique to get enough heat to fuse the acrylic without over heating and either scorching a corner or forming bubbles. I've never been able to torch engraved lines though. it always distorts the surface and looks wierd.

Methylene Chloride is a solvent that will dissolve acrylic. when applied to the edges with a swab, it'll melt, fuse, then evaporate leaving a clear surface. in engraved lines, applied with either a toothpick or rolled up piece of paper, it'll run along the lines doing the same thing. if you get it on the surface, it will mess it up, but a toothpick is easier to control than a torch.

MC is a known carcinogen. don't use or store it indoors. it's not used trivally,

da

[joe]

David,

I guess if I applied a pre-mask, then V craved the deliclate areas, Icould apply the MC with a small hypo.

That MC stuff is real thin, as I remember, and you can't wipe it off fast enough to prevet a spot.

Sounds dangerous, think I'll give a try.

Joe