Restoring Black Paper Micarta

w.t. anderson

w.t. anderson

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Looking for advice: Recently, I lightly sanded the sharpest ridges on my SAR-3 black paper micarta with some wet/dry paper and a green scrub pad for a more comfortable feel. Although I've repeatedly oiled them to resemble the original black paper sheen, they soon revert to a dull black, especially the portion of the slabs that come in contact with the sheath. How/what do I use to restore/buff up the shine on black micarta?
Thanks for your suggestions,
"Bllody Bill"
 
Micarta isn't absorbent, so I believe what you would need to do is reapply. I recommend playing with your knives daily. :)
 
Ren Wax? Might be a tad slick when wet, but paper micarta is a bit slick anyway.

Carnauba wax would work well too. Both would eventually wear off, but easy to re apply.
 
richstag said:
You could use a buffing wheel and compound.
Click to expand...

:thumbup:

Work on the Micarta itself before applying other materials to it. Of course do both, but it'll still need maintenance if you want that slick look anyway.
 
go slow though it would be pretty easy I think to over heat the paper and discolor it ?
Maybe after buffing some more oil or wax ?
 
What grit sandpaper did you use. It could be that you didn't go high enough to get rid of scratches that may cause discoloration (lighter colored areas)
 
Thanks for all your inputs so far. I used 1500 grit wet/dry paper under the tap, but I probably messed it up when I followed it up by washing it with soap and a green scrub pad, dulling the finish.

Question: What compound do you mean? Also, I don't have a buffing wheel, tending to do all my woodwork/metal work by hand and old hand tools. I know the answer is probably going to be a lot of hand rubbing over a good amount of time, which I actually have right now just sitting in the office here, but what specific materials should I use?

Best Wishes,
"Bloody Bill"
 
Just a standard buffing/polishing compound. It's like a cream with very, very fine abrasives in it. You don't need a buffing wheel for this either--you can just apply it by hand.
It also comes in bars, like stropping compound, but those require some work to make them workable. The cream stuff, you just glop it on and start rubbing.

I used to rub on polishing compounds on plastic with a tissue and it worked fine, and it never really took that long, less than 10 minutes. It might take longer with Micarta since it's a lot harder than the plastics I used to work with.
 
Hey Bill, those cream types that Gary is talking about work good Bro just be sure to work it evenly. I use to do sitting infront of the boob tube. Take your time, be even and it will come out ok. The green scrub pad was the problem. They work good for cleaning blades but not so much on the grips. Paper Micarta is the worst to clean up because it is such a fine composition in it's make up that it shows blemishes big time. I have also used the red polishing compound BUT I had a variable speed buffer which makes it real nice. You have to keep the grips moving when you use equipment cause remember that the compound has grit in it and it will start removing material if left in one spot. I like the hand method more relaxing and more control. Good luck and let us know what you did!!!
 
Thanks for all your suggestions - working with what I had on hand here at the office, I applied some green compound with some mineral oil to the paper micarta grips, and rubbed them with the resulting paste using a thin piece of leather and an old toothbrush, rinsing and reapplying several times,then buffing with a piece of soft leather, mineral oil and a shoeshine cloth until they shined like polished buffalo horn. Now to see if it lasts. Thanks again!
Best Wishes,
"Bloody Bill"
 
My experience has been that washing black paper with soap after use makes the scales dim in color and go a bit grey anyway. I used my CABS in the kitchen on meat and wanted to get it clean for the next use so I used dishsoap on it. After drying completely, it is now not as black as it originally was. In contrast, I lightly sanded the b/p scales on my SAR3 to make them a bit smoother but noticed no real big discoloration from the wet/dry sandpaper so I am thinking its the soap scrubbing that did the deed. Mineral oil does not last long on the micarta so we can hope that the polishing will help your situation if you really prefer the dark color. I just called it patina for the scales on a user and moved on.
 
Get yourself some microtech abrasive cloth. They have the mx range which does metals and hard plastics in M400,M800 and M1200. Or they do the normal microtech in 1500 - 12,000 grits. Or go over the whole thing with 000 fine wire wool and then autosol and buff.
 
More good comments - thanks! I EDC/use this SAR-3 almost daily, so it's sure to show it; I just like how easily it cleans up and looks.
 
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