Removing surface scratches on a resin Zippo lighter badge
Posted: Sat Feb 06, 2010 10:02 am
This may be something most of you guys already know how to do, but for those of us who are more timid about fiddling with their gear I thought this might be of some help.
I ordered an Elsa lighter with resin badges from Relic Raider back in September, but it came with a gouge/scratch on one of the badges over the right lower portion of the four-leaf clover.
At first, I tried to ignore it since it really wasn't THAT noticeable unless you looked at it closely, but the thing that bothered me was that it was definitely palpable when I handled the lighter. So, I contacted Relic Raider about it and he was most helpful. He said that when making each badge he sands them down twice both before and after application to the lighter, but that this was a spot he must have missed while sanding. He gave me instructions on how to sand down the defect myself or if that did not work he would fix it for me for free, including shipping.
Essentially, just use 600-grit waterproof sandpaper (The abrasive side of waterproof sandpaper is usually dark grey or black), MOISTEN it with water, and abrade the surface in that area until the scratched looking area looks smooth. You can start out with coarser 400-grit if needed but should follow-up with 600-grit. The finish of my badge looked dull afterwards, but with some handling the natural oils from my hands shined that out nicely.
Just thought this was a good thing to know if you happen to get a surface scratch on your Zippo. Thanks to Relic Raider for a beautiful prop piece and for his excellent customer service.
TJ
I ordered an Elsa lighter with resin badges from Relic Raider back in September, but it came with a gouge/scratch on one of the badges over the right lower portion of the four-leaf clover.
At first, I tried to ignore it since it really wasn't THAT noticeable unless you looked at it closely, but the thing that bothered me was that it was definitely palpable when I handled the lighter. So, I contacted Relic Raider about it and he was most helpful. He said that when making each badge he sands them down twice both before and after application to the lighter, but that this was a spot he must have missed while sanding. He gave me instructions on how to sand down the defect myself or if that did not work he would fix it for me for free, including shipping.
Essentially, just use 600-grit waterproof sandpaper (The abrasive side of waterproof sandpaper is usually dark grey or black), MOISTEN it with water, and abrade the surface in that area until the scratched looking area looks smooth. You can start out with coarser 400-grit if needed but should follow-up with 600-grit. The finish of my badge looked dull afterwards, but with some handling the natural oils from my hands shined that out nicely.
Just thought this was a good thing to know if you happen to get a surface scratch on your Zippo. Thanks to Relic Raider for a beautiful prop piece and for his excellent customer service.
TJ
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