My ProVari got polished!

[lunchbox0]

So i was looking at all the nice chrome ProVari's that everyone was showing off and started feeling kinda sad about my non-bling-bling standard ProVari. Friday i was cutting a new carto for the liquinator with my dremel and noticed the polishing wheels n polishing compound that came with my kit. No less than 5 seconds later I'm polishing my extension cap to "test" and if i didn't like it i could order a new one. Almost got it all done and I'm very happy with the way it turned out. I am no longer feeling left out, in fact if i damage mine i can simply buff it out now. It's so smooth now, i love the feel of it now. Not that anything was wrong with it before but it's much nicer. Turned out pretty pimpin to me. If you look close the inside of the grooves are not polished and gives a nice look in person. It's hard to tell how shiny it really is in the picture but I bet you would think it's chrome.

View attachment 52721

 

[Dalton63841]

Unbelievable man! That is so sexy... My girlfriend is gonna have me do that to hers when she buys one.

 

[lunchbox0]

That picture wasn't working after the server when down.

Dalton, it didn't take too long at all. I would just sit down for a minute and do a small section at a time. Before the weekend was over i had it almost done. It starts to get warm if you do too much at a time, once it started to warm up i would stop.

 

[Yallrun]

I just ordered me a non chrome Pro-Vari friday From ProVape. Have to try this, good work Lunchbox0.

 

[MiXoLoGiSt]

I didnt think that satin silver finish could be polished to look like that. Looks just like a chrome provari now without the logos of course.

 

[lunchbox0]

I didnt think that satin silver finish could be polished to look like that. Looks just like a chrome provari now without the logos of course.

I had no idea it would be so shiny either, made my liquinator look dull. Now i need to buff the tank SS to match.

 

[otrpu]

I'm the proud owner of an Pre-order satin finish ProVari. . .and will fight to the death for my right to keep it JUST LIKE IT IS. JMHO

Cheers,
otrpu

 

[lunchbox0]

Yallrun, thanks! Glad you are going to give it a shot. Unlike the other plated finishes we can fix any scratches or imperfections without concern for damaging the plating. So toss it in your pocket with keys and never stress over it getting scratched.

otrpu, I think everyone is entitled to an opinion. Happy vaping!

 

[Tasteles]

Question, how hard was it to keep off the window when you polished that?

 

[lunchbox0]

Hey Tasteles, I used the dremel on a low speed and very little pressure. I laid the dremel on the edge of the table and held it in place with my left hand. Holding the ProVari in my right hand, I would work very small sections at a time. A small piece of masking tape over the window will protect it if you are concerned that you can't control the dremel. I thought it was super easy to do.

 

[Tasteles]

I was thinking that maybe masking tape might do the job, I may just give it a try some time, thx!

 

[naga77777]

Looks very nice

 

[sportyfortyeight]

what kind of polish did you use and i wonder if this voids the warranty

 

[lunchbox0]

I used the polish that came in the dremel kit i bought. It's a red-ish color. I don't see how this would effect warranty as this is an external mod, same as painting for example.

 

[lorderos33]

Did polishing remove the laser etching?

 

[gman1000]

It would probably remove the etching since your basically burnishing the satin finish down. I just did my extension cap so it would match the top cap. 5 minutes on a buffing wheel mounted on a bench grinder. Wrapped the body in layers of masking tape and buffed it out. Since its a glass bead finish, you might need to start with grey colored compound for coarse metals then follow up with red compound as the final polish. Red or white is normally used for the final look. The colors of certain compounds are designed for certain types of metals. Stainless though is very versatile with different compounds since it has less carbon in it. You might want to try on it on the short end cap bottom to test the quality of your compound.

 

[MediocreTrombonist]

Looks great, I suppose that means you could fairly easily remove the logo from an already chrome ProVari. Do you think that's feasible?

 

[Dalton63841]

Looks great, I suppose that means you could fairly easily remove the logo from an already chrome ProVari. Do you think that's feasible?

Since the Logo is laser etched, and chrome is already a fairly thin layer, you would risk damaging the chrome finish.

 

[gman1000]

Agreed, the laser etching most likely is etched in to the chrome plating, it may chip around the logo if you try and polish it out. I was contemplating doing the same with the rest of the body on mine as I love a polished stainless look. But for me it's more for function, maybe in time.

 

[sportyfortyeight]

i got mine done in about 2 hours with the black then to white polish bars and finished it off with hand polishing. turned out great and even removed a tiny scratch in the window. for those that want to try and have a "pimpvari" its very simple and easy to do. now to polish my tank and tube to match lol