Decided to sand the finish off my silver satin mini.
i like shiny, used 800 grade to remove finish 1500 to polish.
polishing will be ongoing.....
I Like Shiny
- Thread starter soba1
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Decided to sand the finish off my silver satin mini.
i like shiny, used 800 grade to remove finish 1500 to polish.
polishing will be ongoing.....
Yes I did it by hand. Didn't bother to try to get it out of the tear drops the groves and the lettering...
You can't see the other finish against it anyway.
I did this a while back on a V1. Turned out great. I went all the way up to 2000 grit and finished it off with 3 varying grades of polishing compound and a buffing wheel. Mirror finish, but it got little hairline scratches real easy. Probably better to leave it a bit brushed / matted. Or be prepared to buff it out frequently 
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Wow, that looks great! Maybe I should just do that rather than wait for the polished stainless steel one? I'm getting very impatient....
polished ss is going to be available tuesday!
Wow, that looks great! Maybe I should just do that rather than wait for the polished stainless steel one? I'm getting very impatient....
I did this a while back on a V1. Turned out great. I went all the way up to 2000 grit and finished it off with 3 varying grades of polishing compound and a buffing wheel. Mirror finish, but it got little hairline scratches real easy. Probably better to leave it a bit brushed / matted. Or be prepared to buff it out frequently
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I should have known before I researched that someone on ECF did something like this before.
Should have waited for a fellow ECF member to share his experience.
But I researched polishing metal, so after finishing with 2000 they suggested car wax. So maybe I will try some really light compound
Don't mind the buffing I'm really OCD, wait no CDO....
After a little bit of wax. Gonna try a light rubbing compound
No, you don't want wax... wax is just gonna build crap up on your ProVari... It's more of a protective coating, not a polishing compound...
Here is what you need to get the mirror finish...
Ideally you want to wet sand with 1500 and 2000... You'll have to pop off the top cap and remove the acrylic display window, which isn't hard to do at all. Get the sandpaper nice and wet, and run the tube under the sink while you're sanding... Or fill a big bowl with water.
With both the 1500 and 2000 grit, you want to keep working until ALL the swirl marks are gone. You want it baby bottom smooth. No micro abrasions or swirls left... It may take a bit, but it's worth the effort! Work lengthwise with the tube so any abrasions that are left behind are in a uniform pattern.
Next, you want to work with a rubbing compound... Nothing too abrasive. I prefer 3M liquid rubbing compound. It gets you to a real nice finish. This removes any of the hazing and really fine abrasions left behind by the sand paper. You can apply this by hand, or with a buffing wheel.
Next you want to use a polishing compound. This is where you really start to see the mirror shine come through. Polishing compound is usually going to come as a stick or thick paste, and is best applied with a buffing wheel.
Last, and this is what really gets it to pop... You want to get some Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. This you can apply by hand with a piece of cheese or terry cloth. Wipe clean... You can reapply as many times as you like. If you continue to see black residue lifting off onto the cloth, then there is still oxidation and compound build up. This will get all that off and leave you with something you can really admire.
Over time you will get small micro abrasions, which will require this whole process over again. LoL
It took me a good 2-3 days to get it to buff out to a mirror finish. But it was worth the effort!
And after ALL this work... Remember you can now get one that looks as good as all the effort you put into it straight from ProVape for a paltry $20 upcharge... You will know, as I do, that $20 is WELL worth getting them to polish it instead of you doing all the work! And yes, it takes them just as long as it takes you!
This was my 1000th post... I really need to get a life... Haha!
Here is a picture of how my V1 turned out:
You can see the reflection of the Dr Pepper can on the left side of the ProVari... It's SHINY mirror finished...
Here is what you need to get the mirror finish...
Ideally you want to wet sand with 1500 and 2000... You'll have to pop off the top cap and remove the acrylic display window, which isn't hard to do at all. Get the sandpaper nice and wet, and run the tube under the sink while you're sanding... Or fill a big bowl with water.
With both the 1500 and 2000 grit, you want to keep working until ALL the swirl marks are gone. You want it baby bottom smooth. No micro abrasions or swirls left... It may take a bit, but it's worth the effort! Work lengthwise with the tube so any abrasions that are left behind are in a uniform pattern.
Next, you want to work with a rubbing compound... Nothing too abrasive. I prefer 3M liquid rubbing compound. It gets you to a real nice finish. This removes any of the hazing and really fine abrasions left behind by the sand paper. You can apply this by hand, or with a buffing wheel.
Next you want to use a polishing compound. This is where you really start to see the mirror shine come through. Polishing compound is usually going to come as a stick or thick paste, and is best applied with a buffing wheel.
Last, and this is what really gets it to pop... You want to get some Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. This you can apply by hand with a piece of cheese or terry cloth. Wipe clean... You can reapply as many times as you like. If you continue to see black residue lifting off onto the cloth, then there is still oxidation and compound build up. This will get all that off and leave you with something you can really admire.
Over time you will get small micro abrasions, which will require this whole process over again. LoL
It took me a good 2-3 days to get it to buff out to a mirror finish. But it was worth the effort!
And after ALL this work... Remember you can now get one that looks as good as all the effort you put into it straight from ProVape for a paltry $20 upcharge... You will know, as I do, that $20 is WELL worth getting them to polish it instead of you doing all the work! And yes, it takes them just as long as it takes you!
This was my 1000th post... I really need to get a life... Haha!
Here is a picture of how my V1 turned out:
You can see the reflection of the Dr Pepper can on the left side of the ProVari... It's SHINY mirror finished...
Last edited:
Another polish that works really well for a mirror finish is Flitz. My hubby uses it on his knife blades.
No, you don't want wax... wax is just gonna build crap up on your ProVari... It's more of a protective coating, not a polishing compound...
Here is what you need to get the mirror finish...
Ideally you want to wet sand with 1500 and 2000... You'll have to pop off the top cap and remove the acrylic display window, which isn't hard to do at all. Get the sandpaper nice and wet, and run the tube under the sink while you're sanding... Or fill a big bowl with water.
With both the 1500 and 2000 grit, you want to keep working until ALL the swirl marks are gone. You want it baby bottom smooth. No micro abrasions or swirls left... It may take a bit, but it's worth the effort! Work lengthwise with the tube so any abrasions that are left behind are in a uniform pattern.
Next, you want to work with a rubbing compound... Nothing too abrasive. I prefer 3M liquid rubbing compound. It gets you to a real nice finish. This removes any of the hazing and really fine abrasions left behind by the sand paper. You can apply this by hand, or with a buffing wheel.
Next you want to use a polishing compound. This is where you really start to see the mirror shine come through. Polishing compound is usually going to come as a stick or thick paste, and is best applied with a buffing wheel.
Last, and this is what really gets it to pop... You want to get some Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish. This you can apply by hand with a piece of cheese or terry cloth. Wipe clean... You can reapply as many times as you like. If you continue to see black residue lifting off onto the cloth, then there is still oxidation and compound build up. This will get all that off and leave you with something you can really admire.
Over time you will get small micro abrasions, which will require this whole process over again. LoL
It took me a good 2-3 days to get it to buff out to a mirror finish. But it was worth the effort!
And after ALL this work... Remember you can now get one that looks as good as all the effort you put into it straight from ProVape for a paltry $20 upcharge... You will know, as I do, that $20 is WELL worth getting them to polish it instead of you doing all the work! And yes, it takes them just as long as it takes you!
This was my 1000th post... I really need to get a life... Haha!
Here is a picture of how my V1 turned out:
You can see the reflection of the Dr Pepper can on the left side of the ProVari... It's SHINY mirror finished...
I don't mind the effort, you're not the only one that needs a life. Thanks for the info.........
I have one of the shiny ones already from Provape.
Nice job looks great.....
I think I'd just end up finding a way to mount it on one of my lathes
I used buffing wheels on a bench grinder... You think I did that all by hand? Hell to the no son! LoL
Putting the tube on a lathe for the initial sanding would probably work out well. I used a dremel for the low grit sanding and getting the original finish off, and wet sanding by hand at 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000... That's what took the longest... The rubbing compound and polishing compound were done with a buffing wheel on the bench grinder, and the mothers polish was by hand.
If I did it all by hand, I probably would have quit... Or left it brushed...
That looks great!!! When I couldn't buy a chromed/polished mini at Provape, I thought I'd do that too. I have a Cabmate, so it wouldn't be hard. But once I got it, I realized that the brushed finish doesn't show fingerprints and dirt. So I decided to leave it alone, and depending on how the light hits it, it can look shiny anyway.
Hand sanding... wow...
Hand sanding... wow...
I don't know if this will help or not, but provape recommends, another polishing compound.
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/provape/490637-caring-you-polished-provari.html
http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/forum/provape/490637-caring-you-polished-provari.html
Looks like they also recommend the Mothers Mag & Aluminum polish that I had mentioned for removing minor surface scratches... So I wasn't too far off the mark I've never tried the Cape Cod polish before, but if they're using it, I'd bet it's good stuff
I've never tried the Cape Cod polish before, but if they're using it, I'd bet it's good stuff- Status
