Polishing Plastic Knobs

[Owells]

Hello. I'm kinda new here and Ron has really helped me with all of my questions. Can someone tell me what is the best way to polish the bakelite knobs? Thank you!

[Steve in Missouri]

Owells, I use an ultrasonic cleaner that I got from Harber Freight. They are fairly inexpensive and work wonderfully.
Steve

[Syl]

Hello. I'm kinda new here and Ron has really helped me with all of my questions. Can someone tell me what is the best way to polish the bakelite knobs? Thank you!

Mothers Mag scratch remover or Blue Magic metal polish.

Use a toothbrush for hard to reach parts then buff with a clean cotton rag.

Syl

[BILL]

Try BRASSO ,I've been able to put a deep shine on plastic/Bakelite parts and even clear up clear plastic dial scales
BILL

[englishradioman]

Yes, brasso is recommended.

If they are white and full of dirt and crud (which in fact is a mix of human skin and the crud it had been touching!), I use Vanish, which is an English detergent used to whiten/remove stains from clothing in washing machines. Use a teaspoonful in a cupful of water and stir, leave for two or three minutes and the filth comes off easily. Here, I realise that Philco knobs are generally Brown!

I have also read of Ammonia being used, but I most certainly would not recommend it.

One O'clock here, so I'll retire now. This is a great site for the radio enthusiast!

[Texasrocker]

I have had good results using .0000 steel wool saturated with "Glazit" bakelight telephone refinisher in some cases.

[Chuck Schwark]

Paste wax for cars.. I use Excaluber.

[exray]

Add Novus II to the list. Its a tad more aggressive than Brasso if you have heavy scratching to remove. You can follow up with a paste wax as desired but after a good polishing they don't seem to need any wax.

[Terry Judkins]

Polident

[Syl]

Paste wax for cars.. I use "Excaluber".

Is that the German version ?

Syl

[englishradioman]

Shoe polish squeegy is very good on bakelite and also good on plastic! Show a few images to explain, sorry if they are not in order, I can't get used to this new fangled computer stuff!

Am working on a RGD 166, (I will get round to working on that English 38 Philco Ron. Honest!)

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc92 ... 0879-1.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc92 ... 0915-1.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc92 ... IM0916.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc92 ... IM0894.jpg

http://i214.photobucket.com/albums/cc92 ... IM0934.jpg

[etech]

I recently got some knobs for my Philco 650B. They were very dirty and looked like they had been stored in a shed for the last 30 years. So, I decided to clean them. I put them in the ultrasonic cleaner for thirty minutes. They came out really nice with all the grunge and dirt gone. But, they were dull. So I decided to try different polishes to see which one worked the best. All three knobs looked the same after they came out of the ultrasonic cleaner.

Here is a pic of the results.


Here is a close-up. Knobs are in the same order.


You can decide which looks better.

Ed

[englishradioman]

The car stuff looks best. Will have to try it.

It is about what lasts longest as well, but that is also a nice finish with the goop.

The clear boot polish sponge, as I said, is good on plastic set casing I encounter on some English 50's sets as well.

[homebrew]

If we are talking about Bakelite "plastic" knob polishing, please see the article on "buffing bakelite" radio cases (unpainted). The method will also clean and polish some less hard, non-bakelite plastics, but caution must be used to not allow the buffing to get too hot. Softer plastic items will melt right in your hands.

[jayoungs]

Hello,

My two cents worth -- I've tried several of the options listed with decent results. But, was told to try 3M Imperial Hand Glaze - which can be bought at various auto parts stores. (found mine at CarQuest). It works better than anything else I've tried and by a good margin. It's a heavy liquid. Put a pretty heavy coating on and rub throughly, let dry and then buff. One more thin coat, dry and buff and the shine is really nice. Doesn't take a lot of rubbing, but needs the two coats.

Joe