EDGE AND SURFACE FINISHING - Vical acrylic SHEET

Vical acrylic brand acrylic sheet should be handled carefully to avoid scratching its surface. It is easier to avoid scratches than to remove them. Scratched surfaces can be restored to a good finish by polishing (and sometimes sanding). Sawed edges and machined surfaces can also be polished to a high finish. Where power operated polishing equipment is not available, it is possible to hand polish minor scratches from the surface of Vical acrylic. The Vical acrylic may be rubbed with soft flannel and a good grade of automotive paste wax.

Before sanding, buffing, or polishing, clean the Vical acrylic carefully. The buffing wheels and compounds should also be free from dirt and grit. Special buffs should be reserved for Vical acrylic. They should be cleaned by running the buffing wheel against a hard metal edge to remove hardened tallow, grease or other binders.

The friction of buffing, sanding, or polishing too long or too vigorously in any one spot can generate enough heat to soften or "burn" the Vical acrylic surface. To avoid this, keep the Vical acrylic constantly in motion relative to the wheel, use light pressure, and change the direction of buffing often. Air­cooled buffing wheels are often used to help reduce heat of friction.

Polishing techniques vary with the equipment available and the size or shape of the Vical acrylic parts being polished.

Sanding and buffing cause thickness variations in the scratched area of the Vical acrylic. If skillfully done, these operations cause only minor optical distortions that should not be objectionable for most applications. In critical sections even minor distortions may not be acceptable. Such sections, even though scratched, should not be sanded or buffed. They should be simply washed and waxed.

1. SANDING
2. MACHINE BUFFING
3. POLISHING DRILLED HOLES
4. POLISHING EDGES
5. ASHING
   

Details of this process and recommended compounds can be found in catalogs supplied by manufacturers of ashing compounds and wheels. Sources of Supplies, lists suitable materials for the polishing, buffing, and ashing operations.