The surface of my PVC white Tipple flute is not as shine and new any more, has many tiny markings all over. I guess I should really keep it in a pouch for transport, not just throw it into the backpack when going for a (musical) walk!
Now I heard somewhere that one can easily make it shiny again by wiping the surface carefully with a cloth soaked in something. Do I use for this PVC solvent cement, which can dissolve PVC, or some other solvent? Obviously I don’t want to melt down the flute, just a little surface treatment.
I am not familiar with a product that is especially designed to restore the finish of PVC pipe. I don’t think that anything that would soften the pvc (solvent) would be a good idea. However, many products designed for restoring automotive painted surfaces will also work on pvc. Automotive polishing compound contains a fine abrasive and can be rubbed onto the surface of the pipe with a soft rag, and paste wax will fill in some of the light scratches so that they won’t be so noticeable. The downside to automotive products for me is the smell, as most of them contain petroleum. However, if don’t mind a flute that smells like a new wax job on your car, then you have shelves of products to choose from.
Now I heard somewhere that one can easily make it shiny again by wiping the surface carefully with a cloth soaked in something. Do I use for this PVC solvent cement, which can dissolve PVC, or some other solvent? Obviously I don’t want to melt down the flute, just a little surface treatment.
I suspect you may be talking about accetone, which is, as Doug pointed out, a solvent. Acetone is used to clean PVC pipe in the plumbing trade before glueing. It can be powerful stuff. It is a common ingredient in nail polish remover. The fumes can be very nasty. I use it to clean the PVC and CPVC whistles and flutes I make. This removes the plumbing codes (only on some brands of pipe) and generally evens the surface to begin final finishing. It generally does not leave a shine on the surface but more of a satin finish. If you use too much, you can melt the PVC. It is a good chemical agent to help shape PVC tubes. If you are looking for a glossy finish, follow Doug’s suggestions. If you do not want to use automotive polishing compound you could try toothpaste. It is also a light polishing compound. It smells and tastes better than DuPont’s polishing compound in my experience. I use jeweler’s rouge and a buffing wheel to get a good shine. It is a tedious process but the results are worth the effort. Some types of PVC take a polish better than others, so results can vary.
Thanks for all the detailed advise! I think I will do some experiments with acetone, on some non critical piece of pipe first. And then with toothpaste
I thought of a couple other details after I posted my last remarks. If you try toothpaste avoid the gels. Older more basic brands work best - Crest, Colgate, etc. It needs moisture to work, so add some water. It takes a lot of work to get good results.
I also remember that a certain Shakuhachi site recommended using Armoral to shine a PVC flute. Once again, as Doug suggested, it’s another car care product. I can’t say I have used it on a flute but it makes the car shine. Just spray and wipe.
I’d be very careful with that acetone treatment. It can crack plastic. That happened when I wiped a pair of snowboard bindings with an acetone-soaked paper towel. Personally, I think your flute will look worse after applying acetone than how it is now. I suggest trying what Doug said, if the goal is to shine it up. That, or the Armoral that Feadoggie mentioned.
Recently I was at http://www.mcgee-flutes.com where I see that Mr. McGee has long recommended Brasso, the brass polisher, as being the perfect thing for removing scratches from CD recordings.
Just what the difference could be between PVC and whatever kind of plastic CDs are made of is not known to me, but maybe there could be something to it. Perhaps your local hardware store could supply a small, low cost piece of PVC, to test the Brasso on. Such a store may even have the Brasso, too.
The mention of Brasso brings back memories of ROTC (Reserve Officer’s Training) when I was in college. It used to be compulsory for two years if you attended a state university. Our military uniforms had brass buttons, and these had to be kept bright or else you got demerits. I remember cleaning with Brasso as being somewhat messy.
Ahh, but do you also remember that every brass item of military decoration was also covered in some sort of clear, hard, (plastic?), finish, which had to first be ever so tediously polished off with something such as Brasso, before the otherwise spectacular results of one’s polishing efforts could appear?
