acrylic fix??

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framerbob

framerbob

CGF II, Certified Grumble Framer Level 2
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I just goofed up big time and got a small amount of super glue on a piece of acrylic. is there anything that might remove it without damaging the acrylic? can acrylic be sanded and polished?

Thanks in advance
 
There are solvents designed for superglue (cyanoacrylate). The kind I have is called Super-Solvent, from Golden West. The bottle says it is alcohol/nitroalkanes based. You might try getting it from Woodcraft or another wood-working supply store, or maybe, dare I say it here, a craft supplies store like Michaels. I have no idea whether it will work with acrylic, however, without leaving a mark.
 
Anything is possible but not likely to be successful. Super glue melts the surface so if it is just very lightly on the surface buffing may make it less noticeable. If it is very deep in you will distort the acrylic by the time it becomes clear. Novus makes a polish that is available from United.
 
Jeff Rodier said:
Anything is possible but not likely to be successful. Super glue melts the surface so if it is just very lightly on the surface buffing may make it less noticeable. If it is very deep in you will distort the acrylic by the time it becomes clear. Novus makes a polish that is available from United.
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Jeff, thats what I'm afraid of...it looks like the surface has been melted or etched, so thats why I was wondering if I would have any luck sanding it and re polishing it?
 
framerbob said:
Jeff, thats what I'm afraid of...it looks like the surface has been melted or etched, so thats why I was wondering if I would have any luck sanding it and re polishing it?
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You could wet sand and re-polish, but you will wind up creating a "lens" in the acrylic with a distorted spot as previously mentioned.
Don't ask me how I know :shutup:
 
I have a novel idea... why not call a qualified art conservator?
 
Dave said:
I have a novel idea... why not call a qualified art conservator?
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Have they branched out into the field of repairing the finish on Plexiglass, Acrylite, TV and generic clear acrylic glazing ?
 
Ah... sorry. I misread! I thought we were talking about an acrylic painting and was appalled at the suggestions!

At least I was entertained for a while. :icon21:
 
Hopefully the glue dropped down on the lower left or right corner. You could just cover the blemish with your shop sticker! :icon21:

What... doesn't everyone put their stickers on the front of the glazing?
 
Believe me when I tell you that I have tried every method on earth to "fix" a flaw or a speck or a scratch or a mark on plexiglas and never even once have I been even remotely successful.

But still I try.....
 
Dave said:
Hopefully the glue dropped down on the lower left or right corner. You could just cover the blemish with your shop sticker! :icon21:
What... doesn't everyone put their stickers on the front of the glazing?
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Back in the 80s when conspicuous display of luxury goods logos became all the rage, I briefly toyed with the idea of sandblasting or etching our logo into the lower corner of the glass (like the translucent logo "bug" that many cable channels use) , so that our customers could subtly show their friends what superb taste they had in choosing our shop for their framing. We had a good laugh over it, but never followed through with the idea. (Which is probably for the best.)

:cool: Rick
 
Have you tried Novous' products? It might not solve this situation, but for minor scratches it works magic. Years ago, I was constantly showing work with plexi, the plastic distributor turned me on to this: http://www.novuspolish.com/ I went from replacing my plexi every show to working out scratches. I have yet to fix a deep scratch, but scuffs and minor scratches can be fixable with effort. It's a time / cost issue.
 
NO you can't fix or repair that acrylic with a solvent or buffing or Novus 3 or anything else to make it acceptable for framing. Sorry. How did you get the glue or solvent on it in the first place? Just wondering.
 
Acrylic Queen said:
NO you can't fix or repair that acrylic with a solvent or buffing or Novus 3 or anything else to make it acceptable for framing. Sorry. How did you get the glue or solvent on it in the first place? Just wondering.
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I think he was trying to get it on the acrylic painting, like Dave suggested he do, and the plexi got in the way...

Dave, thank you for your earlier reply, made me smile :) I thought I was the only one that misread comments here....

As to the logo on the front, I was toying with the idea a long time ago of selling ready made mirrors. I had a local novelty guy make me a couple 100 stickers like the Jiffy Lube folks use, clings, to attach to the front of mirrors. Used them for a while and the customers weren't buying the mirrors. They didn't want to have to deal with peeling off the stickers....
 
Acrylic Queen said:
NO you can't fix or repair that acrylic with a solvent or buffing or Novus 3 or anything else to make it acceptable for framing. Sorry. How did you get the glue or solvent on it in the first place? Just wondering.
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Lois, its actually an acrylic box you recently sent us. If it was just a piece of plexi on artwork I'd just replace it and not even bother with trying to fix it.

I was gluing a frame on top of the acrylic box and accidentally smudged the glue, I've been working on it for over a month now and I hate to have to get a new box and start from scratch. The customer has already been more than patient

Can use a cloth buffing wheel in a drill to polish it out? Back in plastics class in high school we used to cut objects out of acrylic and buff them on a polishing wheel till they were smooth as glass, but I dont know if that works on the type of acrylic used in your boxes???
 
Acrylic

Surface scuffs can be buffed out with plastic polish, but anything deep enough to make a sound when a fingernail is run across it will be deep enough that if it is buffed out, a lens will be formed by the removal of the plastic and that will show.



Hugh
 
carbox 001.jpgcarbox 007.jpg

Thought I'd give you all an update (and a picture of the box so you can see what I was talking about)....I was starting to realize that a fix to my problem was probably impossible because everything I tried just made it worse.

I figured out that fingernail polish remover takes most of the super glue off of the acrylic, but it also causes a white milky ring around the area and smudges the glue around, which is only removed with more polish remover which then makes a bigger foggy ring and more smudges.

I finally went over to the local home improvement store and bough polishing/buffing wheels (see attached picture) for $9.95. I used the buffing wheel till my drill was dead with no removal of the foggy ring, or scratches (that were caused when I initially tried to scrape up the super glue with a razor blade when it was still wet).

So then I wondered what the waxy crayon looking things were that came with it, I broke down and read the directions on the package and discovered that you apply them to the buffing wheel before polishing the plastic....AND WOALAA!!! Took another 20 min of polishing but in the end all scratches, super glue, and fogy smudges were gone. I couldnt believe it, and no it did not create a "lens" effect.

I was just about to call the customer and tell them I had ruined the project, so glad I kept working at it!
 
framerbob said:
I finally went over to the local home improvement store and bough polishing/buffing wheels (see attached picture) for $9.95. . . . AND WOALAA!!!
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Do you still have the packaging? Can you tell me what brand/item you purchased? It might come in handy!

Andrew
 
Okay I have to tell you this is the very first time I have heard that polishing worked. It does look as if you used ruby polish and white is better for acrylic as it leaves less residue. I will have to read your post again...this is very interesting. I really don't recommend using acetone on acrylic as it is one of the chemicals that make acrylic. It could be an unpleasent reaction to the surface. Also as I have demonstrated in several classes you need to be careful of pouring any of these chemicals directly on to the acrylic. Acetone or alcohol because the can cause crazing (tiny cracks) in the acrylic that will eventually create big cracks. I have to say I think you were lucky and I just can't recommend that this would work everytime. I am really glad it did work for you!
 
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