Polish Plexiglass Edge

[JIMMIE]

I am installing some plexiglss shelves cut for 5/16 thick plexiglass and I want to polish the edges. Is this a DIY task. I would like to bring the edges to the same clarity as the face of the glass.

Jimmie

[Tony]

Start out wet sanding them slowly going to 1000 or finer grit. If you don't want rounded edges use a sanding block. Next put a cloth polishing pad on the grinder and buff it with polishing compound. Go easy, don't be in a rush and use too much pressure. (Here it will be difficult to keep the edges flat.) I forget what color polishing compound to use but it's listed on the package what compound for what kind of material you are polishing. Come to think of it you may be able to sand the edges with random orbit sander to save a lot of time.

Tony

[Red Green]

JIMMIE wrote in news:20fb2e34-fc3e-470b-ac10- [e-mail]:

And I thought it was gonna be someone poking at us Poles...

[Ed Pawlowski]

My cousin at the Warsaw Plexi Plant can use the work though.

[The Daring Dufas]

The guys at the plastic supplier use a propane torch to gently heat the edges and they turn crystal clear and smooth out. Try it on a piece of scrap first.

TDD

[JIMMIE]

That works pretty good, I polished it down using succesively smaller grits until I got down to 400 then hit it with the torch.. So far I only done it on a piece of scrap.

Jimmie

[The Daring Dufas]

It works for me, I messed up a lot of scrap before I got the hang of it. Of course, peel the paper away from the edge several inches. *snicker*

TDD

[JIMMIE]

Yeah I can see this is going to take a little practice. I keep getting a lot of little spots that dont do right, blisters and pinholes. I found a site that reccomends using MAPP gas. I may try that.

Jimmie

[The Daring Dufas]

It's kind of like spray painting, you have to keep a consistent speed and distance from the work piece with the flame. You'll get the hang of it. Good luck!

TDD

[JIMMIE]

Yeah looks like I got it. The Mapp gas does seem to make it a little easier.

Jimmie

[Phisherman]

Sand with increasingly finer grit sandpapers. Use good lighting and view from all angles to remove scratches. End up using 400 grit sandpaper. Then carefully buff, being careful not to melt the plastic.

[elgee]

I have been very successful CAREFULLY using a propane torch on the edge.

[EJ Willson]

Crocus cloth (if it is still available) is a very very fine type of sandpaper. This is what I used to polish the cut edges of plexi.

EJ in NJ

[skottc]