slab polishing....

holeinone1972 · March 22, 2011 10:22AM

First will you go blind or get hairy palms from polishing your slabs?

Sorry trust me, with the day i had I needed a bad joke, and I specialize in them.

So if I get Plast-X or Mequire's or whatever is there anything special I need to know.

I have a few PCGS, NGC & Anacs holders that need a shine to get some better pics.

Any good advice?

blu62vette · March 22, 2011 10:25AM

I do not polish NGC prong holders, the plastic seems cheaper and scratches easy. Besides that, just use a soft cloth.

Bayard1908 · March 22, 2011 10:30AM

I use an old cotton sock and try to rub at a 90 degree angle to the scratches.

pontiacinf · March 22, 2011 10:30AM

car wax turns slabs yellow over time, pushkin (steve here on the boards) made a a crazy mix that works great on slabs,
takes care of scratches and other stuff. I may still have a bottle if I can find it Ill send it to ya.

he and I went heads ta tails over this stuff till he proved it worked, god bless him for having the patience
for the bashing I gave him back then

Kove · March 22, 2011 11:11AM

I haven't had good luck with any substance on NGC slabs. "Slab Renew" I bought on eBay works just a little on NGC, but works great on PCGS and ANACS slabs. I just use a terry cloth towel.

Constantine · March 22, 2011 11:13AM

Plast-X works great on PCGS. It did not really do much on the NGC holders I tried. Fortunately, I am 90% PCGS!

DRUNNER · March 22, 2011 11:16AM

Meguiars auto polish is superb. Really. I had one bottle so long (I never use it on the cars!!) it finally got so brittle when I dropped the bottle it splintered!

Drunner
(Doilies-R-Us)

drwstr123 · March 22, 2011 11:17AM

I use 'Scratch Out' by KIT. Works great on PCGS.
Just don't rub so hard and fast that ya melt the plastic.

LindeDad · March 22, 2011 11:47AM

Mequair's PlastX on PCGS been working fine around here.

bronzemat · March 22, 2011 12:26PM

I used PlastX on my NGC, ANACS, ICG, & PCGS slabs and its worked great.

lkeigwin · March 22, 2011 1:07PM

I started with Slab-Renu but found Plast-X works just as well and doesn't clog the applicator nozzle. The only downside when using Plast-X is it's hard to find the clean area on a white cloth, so use a colored t-shirt.

NGC has an option for a scratch-resistant slab. Costs $5 or $10 more. These slabs are extremely difficult to work with, if they get scratched. Don't bother.

Otherwise I have had great success polishing out scratches. Sometimes it takes a lot of re-applications.

I remember Mark G. recommending polishing in a back-and-forth fashion because it would be easier to direct light to avoid it when shooting. I still do it the old way, in a circular fashion. Trick is to turn the cloth often so you are not dragging minuscule plastic particles across the surface and creating new scratches.

Lots of elbow grease at first...less and less as you get to the buff stage.
Lance.

AnkurJ · March 22, 2011 1:11PM

Plastx and microfiber towels work well for me. Esp on PCGS slabs. NGC slabs...good luck.

Broadstruck · March 22, 2011 1:18PM

Novus works really good on NGC slabs.

Plastx on PCGS.

Funny thing is I've never ever had to polish any ANACS old white chase holders.

PerryHall · March 22, 2011 11:01PM

PCGS uses a harder plastic than NGC. A harder plastic is more scratch resistant but also more brittle and more likely to chip or crack if dropped on a hard surface. The softer plastic that NGC currently uses is tougher and more impact resistant. Of course, the harder plastics are easier to polish with an abraisive polishing compound.

ambro51 · March 23, 2011 12:51AM

with a maniacal grin some weeks ago I threw caution to the wind and selecting a really scratched old pcgs blue holder....approached my 3450 RPM buffing wheel. The polishing buff itself has been in use for quite awhile in the shop polishing brass using red rouge.

held the slab up to the wheel gently, keeping it in motion, and checking frequently with my loupe, all the scratches gradually left, and the surface was what I will say is virginal and un hairlined.

by far putting to shame any of my earlier attempts with slab renew, hand buffing etc etc.

Id only suggest this to someone who follows my path, and has a buffing wheel setup like that, and takes it slow using a junk slab to learn on.

PerryHall · March 23, 2011 1:18AM

You need to be careful using a high speed buffing wheel since plastic has a low melting point.

fiveNdime · March 23, 2011 2:13AM

<< <i>Novus works really good on NGC slabs.

Plastx on PCGS. >>

Novus is good stuff. also works great on acrylic aquariums.

are the plastics that diferent between the graders?

BaseballAbs · March 23, 2011 2:43AM

Where do you find this PlastX stuff?

Auto store like Checker? Auto Zone perhaps?

LindeDad · March 23, 2011 2:55AM

<< <i>Where do you find this PlastX stuff?

Auto store like Checker? Auto Zone perhaps? >>

Yes with the other polishes.

BBN · March 23, 2011 3:02AM

PlastX for me.

RWB · March 23, 2011 3:43AM

is this more evil slab doctoring?

Lakesammman · March 23, 2011 9:38AM

I melted the plastic surface on a NGC P64 J104 Gobrecht using a grinder with buffing wheel - had to get it reholdered.

123cents · March 23, 2011 10:38AM

I apply Novus 2 scratch remover with a dremel tool that has a fiber buffing wheel and remove the application with a soft wash cloth. Works really well on light to moderate scratches.

ambro51 · March 23, 2011 11:00AM

got to be gentle with a buffer. verrrrry light touch, constant motion, and buff only in one orientation.

If anyone would wish to send me a lo value scratched slab Ill be glad to 'do it' and sent it back...and then they can give a report to the peanut gallery.

Heck, I could see setting up at a show and having dealers truck over their sorry looking slabs for a $pruce up.

slab polishing....

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