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Flame polishing clear plastic ramps
- Thread starter Durzel
- Start date
Do it yourself ya big wus
Apparently Helmut knows how to flame polish a ramp 
There was someone on here who offered that service. I’ll try and dig out their username from an old pm
Lol
@Montu32 ? Just found his thread from a couple of years ago. Hasn't been active since April though.
I would be interested to see what you need flame polishing, I watched a few videos on it and the plastic cut is usually the cause of the polish needed, so I don't have any idea of its effectiveness on aged items. Does anyone have any pinball before and after shots?
That’s him
I do it to all plastics on all the machines i strip down, they need to be clean first though, here are some ramps from a CFTBL i did a while ago, the bottom 2 ramps are done in both pictures but the top ramp shows the real benefit from flame polishing, you could practice on a subway if you have one on a machine?
Definatly have a go, Its pretty easy as Chris said just don't spend too long in one place, or use a plumbers blow torch!!
Good luck.
I've only done it once and found it really easy with a gas soldering iron with the flame nozzle fitted. Just take your time and don't get too close or spend too long in one spot, i.e. keep moving.
Antone done a vid of this I am going to give this a go on my next restore ?
Cheers
kev
Cheers
kev
I use a creme brûlée torch [emoji16]
Is that posh flame polishing !!!!
Wow, never heard of this. Think I'l steer well clear though. I can just imagine my attempts.....
Practice. Nothing beats experience. Just buy a few old clear plastics and have a go with them, after half an hour you'll have a new skill, I've even got some old plastics if you want to collect some. Probably some knackered ramps too.
I was in the same boat, lacking confidence. Just practice and the confidence comes - in all aspects of pinball and life.
I was in the same boat, lacking confidence. Just practice and the confidence comes - in all aspects of pinball and life.
+1 on creme brulee torch. Cheap as chips on Amazon and does the job on ramps with minimal risk as it doesn't get too hot.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Brulee-Butane-Utility-Lighter-Kitchen/dp/B019884YO2/ref=sr_1_11
If you are doing creme brulee keep it moving or you will burn the crunchy shell on the top.
https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Brulee-Butane-Utility-Lighter-Kitchen/dp/B019884YO2/ref=sr_1_11
If you are doing creme brulee keep it moving or you will burn the crunchy shell on the top.
Seriously impressive - especially as you cant even see the flame - I thought he was sand blasting it lol !!!!
It's pretty magical when you see all that cloudiness just disappear just waving a bit of heat in front of it.
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Wow.....just watched the video. It's magical!
You can practice on scrap pieces of acrylic , lexan, polycarbonate sheet. Any shop cutting plastic would have scrap you could probably take for free.
Scratch a side gently with sandpaper, attach to a heatproof surface (cork, cardboard, garden slab) with double sided tape. Get cooking.
As said above, keep the flame moving but you need to get the surface temp of the plastic up whilst not heating the gasses in the plastic enough to cause bubbling. Its better to heat and cool and reheat a few times then it is to keep the heat on and end up with blisters or a hole.
Also, some plastics are porous and or absorbent meaning they can hold a moisture content similar to what is in the air, if one of these plastics is heated it will blister really easily if the moisture content is high so it’s advisable to put ramps in a warm place (airing cupboard) for a little while before to dry out.
Scratch a side gently with sandpaper, attach to a heatproof surface (cork, cardboard, garden slab) with double sided tape. Get cooking.
As said above, keep the flame moving but you need to get the surface temp of the plastic up whilst not heating the gasses in the plastic enough to cause bubbling. Its better to heat and cool and reheat a few times then it is to keep the heat on and end up with blisters or a hole.
Also, some plastics are porous and or absorbent meaning they can hold a moisture content similar to what is in the air, if one of these plastics is heated it will blister really easily if the moisture content is high so it’s advisable to put ramps in a warm place (airing cupboard) for a little while before to dry out.
