Reddit reviews Micro MESH Soft Touch Sanding Pads

A lot of good suggestions for pens, I think the many different Chinese pens from Wing Sung and Moonman are good options, and you can price them to match what you want. I think the Moonman 80s, both standard and mini sizes, are also good options. Nib sizes are generally 0.5mm, but you can swap in Parker 45 nibs if you want, so could grab an accountant nib and put that in the Moonman for a very fine line.

Bot I think the biggest thing is to take the advice of /u/DontTakeMyNoise and read up on nib tuning. It is a simple thing that will make your fountain pen life much better. I would skip the brown paper bag though, and just get micro-mesh or a micro-mesh nail file. It just works better. For example, https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C would do all the smoothing you would need, and in general, this https://www.amazon.com/Pink-Lizard-Sanding-Polishing-Bending/dp/B01ING00ZM would be all you need to finish polish a nib. Be sure if you look at nail buffers that the one you get has a 12000 grit side.

As a cheap student, you have lots of time to learn this, and it will give you more joy out of the pens you have. I would still recommend some of the others here, the Wing Sung 601, 698, the Moonman 80s are all great pens, and the Wing Sung 3008 or 3009 4 packs are amazing deals for their price. But make the ones you have work well too.

Here's the answer

for polishing plastics to optical clarity

I don't know the ins and outs of pipe restoring, but this website has all the info you'll need:

http://rebornpipes.com/

/u/Flatticus, /u/scriptonic and /u/federalmng are the best restorers I can recall on this sub (sure I'm missing others though). Hopefully one of them will see this.

The stems on quite a few pipes are heavily oxidised. The only way to fix that is by sanding them back as far as I know. There's a solution that is used to help in the process, I know it's on rebornpipes but I can't remember it (can't get the right product in Australia so I didn't make a mental note of it).

Some other good products for the stems are:

• http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C (Shop around, this was just the first link I found); and
  
  
• http://www.4noggins.com/ObsidianPipeStemOil-15ml.aspx (4noggins is a great website for tobaccos and pipe maintenance equipment)
  
  A good quality polishing cloth (also available on 4noggins) will be great too, but you might have a bit of trouble polishing them up to a nice shine without using some oil or wax.
  
  Sorry I can't be of more help. Try messaging the runner of rebornpipes or the other users I mentioned. Good luck! And please post updates.

It's hard to beat micro mesh pads for cleaning up a stem.


https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_awdb_kgQzzb3WXJ24T

get some micro mesh pads, soak it in a mix of water and oxiclean and then go at it with those pads in ascending grit order. Then dab a cleaner in the oil and rub it in. Remember a dab will do you. Keep oiling it every so often to keep it nice.

I noticed that the writing edge has a slight curvature to it. Did you use a squishy surface like a "pad" to do the grind or something with a solid surface like a stone? I've found that pads don't make the writing surface fully flat and you might want to try with a solid grinding surface in case you want to try on a steel nib in the future. I've found my results to be far better on my whetstone compared to my micromesh pads

These two things and some tape are all you need for beautiful headlights. You go through the levels from coarse to fine sanding in alternating directions, vertical with one pad then horizontal with the next. You only need to use 4 or 5 pads, I went through the whole set the first time and found the last couple to be too fine to do much. Clear coat after they're sanded and dry and your good to go for years to come.

2 inch by 2 inch Micro Mesh Soft Touch Sanding Pads
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_TuITCbWP205TA

Meguiar's G17804 Keep Clear Headlight Coating
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M4RVVX6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_6wITCbNGG9B7W

> The Lathe:

Sounds like you've got this well under control.

> The Tools:

There are very split camps on tools: replaceable carbide tips vs traditional tools. Personally I think both have a place, but I do feel it's best to start with traditional tools to learn the how and why tools work the way they do. My personal opinion is always to spend the real money on good tools. They don't have to be expensive, but the right tool of the right quality (sharp, of course) will make all the difference in the world. Every try to dig a post hole with a hand trowel? :)

Also don't feel bound by just one brand or type of tool...most of us have lots of tools!

You can go with carbide-tipped tools such as Easy Wood Tools, Simple Woodturning Tools, or other brands. You can make your own for a fraction of the cost to buy.

There are a few of good entry-level HSS sets out there for about $80, such as this frequently recommended set of Benjamin's Best. I also like Hurricane brand tools which I feel are excellent entry-level HSS tools for the money. Either of those would serve you well through the learning curve and a good ways into your turning career.

If you wanted to pick just two higher-end tools, I feel Crown's Pro PM are good for the price. I own several, they're nice, but the handles are a bit short for my knuckle-dragging frame! All you really need for the projects you listed is a skew chisel and a spindle gouge.

Lastly, you could buy some of the popular "buy it for life" tools like Thompson Lathe Tools or D-Way Tools. These are widely considered the upper end of turning tools with each tool running between $55-200 (handles sold separately). Many people who get serious about their hobby end up with these tools because the harder tool steels are more durable.


> The Bench Grinder:

The Rikon 80-805 is the most common good deal for a grinder. Occasionally some other Asia-import will pop up on the scene for a little while, but the Rikon is pretty predictable about going on sale. Also, it comes with two decent wheels to get you started; not all import grinders come with decent wheels.

Eventually you might want to invest in CBN wheels to replace the frangible wheels that come on the grinder, but that's probably down the road for you.

Lots of people use that grinder, I've not heard anything outright bad about it (although some people prefer one with more HP).

> Drill Press?

A cheap drill press will get you there just fine.

The most common alternative is to purchase a 4-jaw chuck, such as the Nova G3 (which requires the appropriate insert), and also a set of pen drilling jaws and a drill chuck for the tailstock. That lets you drill blanks entirely on the lathe (and with better accuracy than a drill press IMO).

The downside is that the 4-jaw chuck, insert, jaws, and drill chuck collectively will cost damn near $200, which is a lot more than a cheap drill press. The upside is that the chuck is exactly what you will need if you decide to get deeper into turning and want to try bowls, boxes, and other things. Many of us already owned or planned to own a chuck, so the only real cost addition was the pen drilling jaws and the drill chuck.

> Pen turning attachments

• Mandrel savers are a separate purchase.
  
  
• Be warned that barrel trimmers are not universal, they come in different sizes and some pen kits use a sleeve to up-size the trimmer to fit the larger tube.
  
  
• You can use epoxy or CA glue, whichever you prefer to glue tubes. If using CA glue, make sure you buy a spray bottle of accelerator so that you can zap the ends to prevent a dripping mess!
  
  
• Any general sandpaper from a home improvement store will work fine, don't need anything fancy or expensive. Quite a few of us purchased the $40 box from Klingspor's which is enough sandpaper to last me several years.
  
  
• A P100 filter dust mask is a good investment as well for safety gear.
  
  
• FINISH: If you plan to use CA glue as your finish, you need a different viscosity (thin) than what you use to glue the tubes (thick). This means you need to buy two different bottles of CA and look into a pack of MicroMesh sanding pads for polishing the CA finish.
  
  If you plan on using something else for the finish, make sure you buy what you need.
  
  
• SAW: You need a way to cut pen blanks and trim off excess waste. If you don't own any cutting tools that are sufficient for the job, a cheap miter box will do the job just fine. Make sure you clamp the box and the blank down well before sawing!

I agree with the sandpaper but then you can follow it with these pads called micro mesh that go from 1,500-12,000. It should be pretty smooth after that.

Aside from the increase in tension caused by larger strings the second most important variable is the state of your frets.

If the surface of your frets are chattered/scratched/rough that means when you bend a string you're forcing it over all of those little peaks and valleys in the surface of the fret material which adds resistance and makes bending feel difficult and rough and not nice at all.

Compare that experience to bending over freshly polished frets and you'll never go back.

If you've never had the guitars frets cleaned up you can do this task yourself with some masking tape and a set of sandpaper/pads that go to a really high grit count. The highest grit count pads in those sets feel like leather.

Mask off the fretboard if you're worried about sanding any material there and just start from the low grit up to the high buffing out all the wear and tear on the frets, focusing your attention on long strokes along the length of each individual fret (so the scratches you're introducing follow the path of a bent string...) and keep going until they shine like mirrors.

I like to finish mine with some metal polish and a polishing wheel on a dremel to really bring out the mirror finish (with the fretboard masked off and the body protected, of course).

Keep in mind this is a reductive process (you're removing material...) so if the fret tops are already very worn and flat rather than round you're probably going to want to just do the whole process and do a full fret level+crown+polish which really just means buying a few more tools so you flatten all frets so they're perfectly level with one another, then restore their rounded top (crown), then polish them as above.

Stainless steel frets will also resist the wear and make it so you don't have to do this nearly as often.

I'm not a fan of buffing the peen job. Too easy to heat the pins and collars. Worse case is they get hot enough they melt into scales.

Even if get a little warm, they pull into the scales, loosening up the pivot pin. Now all the work to make a tight pivot is lost.

Also the washers/collars are thin metal. Often a collar loses a little metal. That leaves a collar that is not a true circle.

What I do like is MicroMesh. If not familiar, it is sort of like sand paper from 1300 to 12000. Just kiss the media to the heads for about 30 seconds on each head. Leaves a very crisp looking pin, with no distortion. If scales are scratched, do the complete scales.

If any delicate adornments on the scales, you might not want to do the scales.

Edit-they make a kit that has liquid polish to be used at 12000 and a soft polishing cloth. On the phone, so can't find the complete kit right now, but here are the pads alone

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000H6EC4C

Do you mean something like this?

It's normal. Happens on more expensive watches too. Yes, you can try to polish them out, but you may need something more aggressive than cape cod. (I've used small jeweler's polishing pads like these to great effect https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_q8RMDb9WW3A5Q)

I reccomend you be more aware of your watch and try to not bump it if these concern you.

Afraid I didn't take any, but these are the sanding pads I used.
https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C

Other than that, it's nothing fancy, just some light pressure and fast movement.

I honestly dont make them myself, i have just watched a bunch of videos. But this guy is amazing at resin work. He recomends Micro Mesh and i know it would be perfect for this. Bit pricy though, but it will SHINE!

Take the time to sand down the nubs with progressively finer grits. I find these are convenient, http://amzn.com/B000H6EC4C

I also noticed a difference when going from no panel lining to simple pen lining, http://amzn.com/B00GRKPNUE
but similarly, there was a step up when going from pens to wash.
Edit: I also just came across this video; https://youtu.be/hOqkJA4G7HI?t=35m57s

http://amzn.com/B01871I5HS or super thinned enamel paint.

Yes it is very possible; I just picked up this set of sanding pads up off Amazon and they work wonders. The smoothest grit actually polishes the plastic. I would very much recommend them!

Here is the mobile version of your link

Looks like oxidization, and the smell is a normal part of that process.

Soak it well with alcohol (cover any logos/painted areas on stem with vaseline), then start to sand off the oxidization using micro-abrasive pads. You can get a set from amazon that works well. For bad oxidation, maybe start with some 600 grit paper and then go to the pads. Once you work up to the highest grit, and the oxidation is all gone, the stem will look and smell new.

They are a great tool for restoring old, oxidized pipes.

But if you don't want to do that, then I'd just return the pipe if possible.

It's $5 at Gouletpens https://www.gouletpens.com/goulet-micro-mesh/p/GP-10014 but I got some from Amazon https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1502855608&sr=8-2&keywords=micromesh

So, I also try to avoid progressive sanding. My process is to use a heavy cutter to remove parts from the runner, a fine cutter to take the nub down almost flush. I trim the leftovers flush with an X-acto knife, with a little scraping if needed. To get rid of the scratches, I use a 12000 grit micro mesh sanding pad.

I use the same combination of scraping/micro mesh for removing mould lines.

The results are clean enough that airbrushing isn't needed.

http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C

Thanks! :-)
The micro mesh can be a bit hard to find...any specialty wood working store should carry it, but it's available online.


http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C


http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SANDING-SHEETS-INTRODUCTORY/dp/B000H6HIK2


http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.aspx?p=62127&cat=1,42500

A cheaper method would be to start with a very fine steel wool, and then use a nail buffer, which is essentially a nail file with micro mesh on it...the "shine" side will be the finest. Both of these could likely be found in Walmart, etc.

I had really good luck with light sanding, and then burnishing with the aluminum handle of an x-acto knife.

I've also had SUPER smooth results with the wood-fill using sanding/polishing sponges. (https://smile.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C)

If you live in the states its going to be a ton easier to get ahold of, but they sell these bigger ones for 20$, which work really well to cut into 4 squares

living in Canada im pretty much stuck getting the smaller ones for 40$ unless I can stand waiting the longer shipping times for the larger ones from the states.

a single bigger set will definitely last you a few sets of keys especially if you cut it into 4. Its also worth noting they last a really long time if you can use them with water, sometimes when using them on wood with an oil finish, i cant use water without ruining the finish so they tend to get kinda clogged up and dont last super long, but with plastic and using water to lubricate they will last you a very long time.

Use some micromesh like this: MicroMesh and then some nice plastic polish after you go through the grits to keep them shiny.

Granted I haven't done this on any dice but I've removed scratches from plexiglass and acrylic this way and its pretty good all said and done.

Again, let's divide these into three groups:

1. For the stems that are basically dark and in good shape, the magical elixir you seek is Obsidian Oil. It's great for regular maintenance, but pipes with green or white areas, it's not going to get the job done. To be clear, you can stop here- heck, if you can't smell or taste the sulfur, it's aesthetic. For heavy discoloration and bite marks though, you can get ...
   
   
2. Magic Eraser and Micro Mesh. And elbow grease, because you are sanding off and re-polishing the surface. If you go this route, wet sanding is your friend, and you want to make sure you don't skip out on the finer grits or you'll end up with a dull finish.
   
   
3. Buffing wheel, jeweler's rouge, and carnauba wax. You can get your own, and basically handle maintenance yourself from here on, but run the risk of stems flying randomly into walls or pets while you figure them out. Depending on where you live, a local shop can probably buff up the lot of them for less money than you'd expect.

Would these be considered better for nibs than the ones Amazon sells for $10? If so I'll order these instead.

I tend to want to stay away from vapor polishing.

I prefer prime and sand. If you don't want paint though: Get what's called "micromesh". They're little sponges that comes in small/large pads, sticks, files, and other shapes and range from like 1000 grit to silky smooth 12,000. You just soak them in water then sand your way up through the grits. You can get a honest to goodness mirror finish on your parts that way.

I got this set and they're great

Here is the desktop version of your link

The PSI micromesh sanding pads work fine, and you can definitely get great results with them, but I've had much better luck with this style. Definitely worth trying when it comes time to replace your current pads.

You're only going to 600 grit. You can use [Micro mesh] (http://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C) sanding pads starting from there.

These pads will give you a very glossy finish by themselves you could use carnuba wax as a protective finish but even though carnuba is very hard (for wax) it won't give you the same durability as a CA finish.

I usually and to 220 or 320 then start layering on the CA. Give that 10-15 minutes to cure then start in with the Micro mesh for a super glossy, durable finish.

Used Micromesh https://www.amazon.com/MICRO-MESH-SOFT-TOUCH-SANDING/dp/B000H6EC4C/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483716043&sr=8-1&keywords=micromesh