I think I'm gonna polish my ProVari

[dam718]

So I bought my ProVari second hand. It's working fantastic, so no complaints there. Just got it back from a v1 to V2 upgrade from ProVape a few days back

It's a satin silver, and I'm just not real fond of it. I think it's a couple years old and was heavilly used so the logo is all but gone... So I've been considering polishing it to a nice mirror sheen... Or even possibly just finishing it to a brushed SS look, and sending the tube and extension cover to get a satin red powder coat

I don't think this is uncharted territory, so I wanted to see what folks thoughts were on this? Anyone done this in the past? Is there a preferred method for getting the satin silver finish off?

I just planned to take it to a 120 grit flapper wheel initially, then 220, 320, 500, 800, 1000, 1500, and finally 2000 grit hand sanding, and finally hitting it with fine polishing compound with a buffer...

 

[beast1911]

I've been fighting the urge to go dremel Dan status on my PVs lol. I have a brass mechanical I'm going to polish but my satin black mini isn't dinged up enough to warrent anything yet. If your going to have it coated I'd say go.for it and post pics of the transformation.

 

[dam718]

Polishing it up now... Looking real nice... I'll post pics...

Still contemplating having it powder/ceramic coated satin red though...

If only to make Baditude green with envy

 

[dam718]

I done went and did it...

I'm a little sad that the ProVari logo is gone now, I mean it was barely there before... But now it's gone forever... I like it though...

I didn't take it all the way to a mirror shine, didn't want it to be more shiny than the top cap...

 

[jimmyh]

Looks very nice. I would do mine but I have the tear drops on it and I figure it would be a pain.

 

[Thrasher]

i saw one in the classies a while back where they left the black paint in the grooves and cap dimples looked real sharp.

why they wont offer an uncoated one is beyond me.

 

[DaveP]

Your Provari looks nice after the polish!

I've always wondered about the logo on the Provari. They fade, but someone mentioned that it was laser etched and only required re-inking to restore. I pictured rubbing some ink on the tube and then wiping it off with the ink being retained in the etching. Did you find that to be true when you polished yours or was it just metal with an ink stamp?

 

[serenity21899]

Polishing it up now... Looking real nice... I'll post pics...

Still contemplating having it powder/ceramic coated satin red though...

If only to make Baditude green with envy

My first thought when I read the OP was don't show it to badattitude I agree though that the shiny ones do look nice, and I think it is worth the time to do this.

 

[miketreeguy]

I done went and did it...

I'm a little sad that the ProVari logo is gone now, I mean it was barely there before... But now it's gone forever... I like it though...

I didn't take it all the way to a mirror shine, didn't want it to be more shiny than the top cap...

Nice. You do good work

 

[dam718]

Your Provari looks nice after the polish!

I've always wondered about the logo on the Provari. They fade, but someone mentioned that it was laser etched and only required re-inking to restore. I pictured rubbing some ink on the tube and then wiping it off with the ink being retained in the etching. Did you find that to be true when you polished yours or was it just metal with an ink stamp?

It's definitely laser etched in there... Even with most of the ink faded away, at the right angle / light you could clearly see the ProVari logo... The etching did not penetrate the finish though, so after polishing it's completely gone now...

 

[zapped]

I have the polished chrome version and LOVE it.

 

[dam718]

Waiting for a quote from my powder coating folks... Either satin red (Like the picture Baditude always posts) OR a glossy burgundy, like a Dr. Pepper Can... Either one will be hot...

I dig the bare metal look, but I think it would be a lot more unique in either one of those powder coat finishes...

 

[tnt56]

Looking really good so far. Makes me wonder about mine when they start to get dinged up. Or at least until the warrenty runs out.

 

[PLANofMAN]

I was thinking about sending mine out to be powdercoated at the powdercoaters my company normally uses...then I remembered my cousin works at a powdercoater about a block away from where I work. doh.

I still haven't made up my mind on the finish, though. does anyone know if ProVape will still service repainted mods?

 

[dam718]

I was thinking about sending mine out to be powdercoated at the powdercoaters my company normally uses...then I remembered my cousin works at a powdercoater about a block away from where I work. doh.

I still haven't made up my mind on the finish, though. does anyone know if ProVape will still service repainted mods?

I'm sure they would... If it's out of warranty, and you're paying full price to get it fixed, I would imagine you can do whatever you want...

 

[LV SuzyQ]

I done went and did it...

I'm a little sad that the ProVari logo is gone now, I mean it was barely there before... But now it's gone forever... I like it though...

I didn't take it all the way to a mirror shine, didn't want it to be more shiny than the top cap...

It looks great Dam!

 

[L7D4N]

If I had the balls to do that, I would totally get it down to a brushed finish.

As it stands, I only have one ProVari, but I'll buy a second one in a couple weeks and see how difficult its going to be on my beater.

 

[Dansauls]

Looks nice

 

[dam718]

So I'm taking the sandpaper to it now... Started with some 220 grit, just got done with some 400... Already to a high sheen... Next up 800, then 1000, then 1500, then 2000... Then some Mothers metal polish til I can brush my teeth in it...

I've decided to go mirror!

For now... LoL

 

[dam718]

Wow! So I just got done with the finish sanding with the 2000 grit sandpaper and this thing could seriously blind someone if the sun hit it the right way... LoL

And that's without polish!

Gonna polish it up and put up some pics... This thing is impressive! Chrome is cool, but stainless steel polished to a mirror finish, this is special!

It's gonna look strange I think... I'm not gonna sand the top cap cause it's still wired up to the PCB. So the top cap is brushed. As is the original battery cover...

The tube and extension are polished... Oh well, gonna see how it all looks here in a few