Thread: Refinishing Plastic Scales?

I am halfway through my first restore, and so far so good good. After a lot of sanding and polishing the blades look almost new. I also gave the plastic scales a light sanding, which took off a thin layer of varnish.
My question now is what are my options for refinishing the plastic? I saw info on using epoxy. What would you recommend?

I am going to guess they are not plastic but rather Celluloid,, did you smell a rather camphor smell from them when you were sanding them???? Rub them hard with a rough cloth and sniff...

Yep, I am corrected. Weird smell.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

I am going to guess they are not plastic but rather Celluloid,, did you smell a rather camphor smell from them when you were sanding them???? Rub them hard with a rough cloth and sniff...

Out of curiosity...

Where are the tiny washers from? I have heard most people go micro-fasteners, but I don't really need a ton of them.

Originally Posted by DPflaumer

Out of curiosity...

Where are the tiny washers from? I have heard most people go micro-fasteners, but I don't really need a ton of them.

I would guess those washers were: 2- from the inside of the scales at the piviot. and 1- from when the scales were dismantled at the outside rivets.

You can get a sheen back on Celluloid in different ways..

The safest is to continue the sanding up through 2000 grit them either go to Micromesh through 12000 or switch to a plastic polish like Novus 1-2-3 or Scratch X and buff them out from there...

Another way more risky method is to wipe them very fast with acetone and rinse very quickly under water... If you do not have some old scales to test this with DO NOT try it... Acetone will eat and destroy celluloid if left to long..

You got it. All 4 were from the Boker. The Bismark didn't have any washers.

Originally Posted by turbine712

I would guess those washers were: 2- from the inside of the scales at the piviot. and 1- from when the scales were dismantled at the outside rivets.

I have them sanded to 2000 and ready to refinish. The thing is, there was a hard coating that I would like to replace. The finish that was on there is gone, and the celluloid is much flimsier now without it. I was just wondering if an epoxy would work best, or if there is other coatings like polyurethane that might work well. Just wondering what other people use and how it's worked for them.

Did this "hard coating" sorta flake away??? Very thin looked almost like a varnish wash coat????

Yes it seemed like a varnish. It didn't really flake away though it seemed well bonded but sanded away. I'm not sure if this was just from age but the color was lighter once the coating was gone.

Originally Posted by gssixgun

Did this "hard coating" sorta flake away??? Very thin looked almost like a varnish wash coat????