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Hand Polishing

At a glance

Applicable Materials

Acrylic

Colors

N/A

Applications

Enhanced cosmetic appearance

Texture

Smooth and glossy

About the Process

Hand polishing is a manual process where the part is sanded, then buffed on a set of abrasive wheels or rouges to achieve the desired surface finish. This is a subtractive process that removes material in order to eliminate scratches and other imperfections.

Design considerations

  • Radiused corners and edges generally produce better results than sharp ones
  • Wall thicknesses less than 1.5mm do not hold up as well during polishing
  • Internal or hard to reach features (including threads) are difficult or impossible to polish
  • Very tight tolerances, reamed holes, and threads may need to be excluded from polishing

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