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Why does acrylic need surface treatment?

Surface treatment is for repairing the appearance of acrylic and make the acrylic smoother and brighter. Also, by creating chamfer or using sandblasting will give acrylic an added value.

Table of Content

Why does acrylic need surface treatment?

Surface treatment is for repairing the appearance of acrylic and make the acrylic smoother and brighter. Also, by creating chamfer or using sandblasting will give acrylic an added value. The cutting face of the acrylic will turn matte or become rough after cutting. Therefore, polishing the surface can let the acrylic become smooth and shiny. Also, the edge and side of acrylic are sharp, so using edge shaping and chamfer can prevent from getting scratch.

Polish

Diamond polish

Diamond polish uses a high-speed spinning diamond knife. It can be use at flat or tilted surface but cannot use at rounded angle.

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Flame polish

Flame polish uses oxyhydrogen flame. The flame will melt the surface of the acrylic and let it become smooth and shiny. First, the acrylic needs to be sanded, and then polish by the flame. The temperature of flame polish is about 800°c to 2800°c degrees. When using flame polish, moving the flame slower will make the acrylic smoother, but there is more possibility to overburn or cause bubbles. Flame polish is better for a small area or places not easy to reach, like a folded area, hole, or corner.

Cloth polish

Cloth polish need to use a polishing paste. The surface will look smooth after polish, but it is not useful for shape that are complicated or object with concave.Cloth polish smooth the surface, but it does not work with surface that are complicated or object with concave.

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Debur

Edge Debur uses ceramic blade cutter on sharp edges, and let the edges become smooth.

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Chamfer

Chamfer is for making 45 ° side to make it aesthetic and functional. Also, it can avoid the side or edge being too sharp.

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Sandblasting

Sandblasting uses small particles to cave the surface of acrylic. The surface will turn in to many little marks and become matte.

Glue

Solvent Methyl Ethyl Ketone (MEK)

The solvent will melt the surface between 2 acrylics, and cured after the solvent is dried, but it takes longer drying time. Acrylic of any color can work with solvent, but thin board works better. Also, it is easy to have glue marks and bubbles, so it is not suitable for making quality goods.

UV Glue

UV glue works better with clear acrylic, because the UV light can transfer through the acrylic. It dries fast and adherence is strong (100kgf/cm2). It is good for gluing 45° side, thin and thick board (10mm). It does not have glue mark or bubble, so it is very suitable for making quality goods.

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Bending

Using the heating wire to heat the acrylic to 160°C, and bend the acrylic before it cool down.

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