Where Is The Best Plastic Set?

These may be a little smaller than what you want, but they are nice:

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/chess_pieces/plastic_chess_pieces/marshall_staunton_chess_pieces_to_3_3_4_king

These are even nicer and the king is a 4"

http://www.wholesalechess.com/chess/chess_pieces/plastic_chess_pieces/super_staunton_collector_chess_pieces_to_4_king

www.houseofstaunton  also has nice quality plastic sets......

HOS sets are great but my plastic Collector has mold lines. They could be taken down with judicious sanding, as I've read comments in rec.games from people who've done it.

The linked sets are HOS sets, btw, and are matte rather than glossy.

Matte is better in terms of practicality, naturally.

If you live in Hollywood, it should be easy to find a 'plastic' surgeon who could give your pieces a bit of a face lift.

I don't advise trying to sand the mould lines down yourself.  I tried this on one of my own pieces and afterwards I was like 'oh my God I've made it worse'.  The problem was that most of the plastic was shiny, but there was like a dull bit where I sanded it? 

Anyway, I ended up having to paint it with clear varnish (I just happened to have some with a little brush in my bag).  The end result is fantastic, but it is soooo time consuming.

I suppose if you want quality, you just have to pay for it.  Buying a good chess set is a bit like buying a good pair of shoes, but completely different.

Thanks for sharing !

If possible I would be interested in seeing a before and after picture of your set when you've finished.

If you buy micro-mesh finishing paper (google it) you can easily restore the luster to the area where you sanded off the mold line (parting line of the two molds).  You can get a kit of micro-mesh, starting with 1,200 grit and going all the way to 12,000 grit.  You can restore the luster to many plastic items easily this way.  With 12,000 grit, you can even improve upon factory luster.

But it won't work for the chess pieces.  they are not painted; it's like the plastic was colored before molding.

It'll work on the bare plastic, too.

Fairy

Don't buy online, go to Chess Palace in Long Beach and choose one.

Fairy

Don't buy online, go to Chess Palace in Long Beach and choose one.

micro-mesh is not designed for painted pieces.  It is designed for bare plastic. You use micro-mesh on plastic molded pieces, where the color pigment has been mixed with the plastic before molding.  Micro-mesh can also restore badly damaged CDs and DVDs.

My understanding was that it was originally developed for removing scratches from something like plexiglass. It has applications in all sorts of plastics as well as various surface coatings.

The success in removing mold lines will depend largely on the care and skill of the person doing the work. Of course problems in the casting as well as misalignment of the mold halves can be a problem. Frankly, this seems like a lot of trouble to go through when the solution is so simple it can be summed up in one word: Wood. Looks better, feels better. Is better.

If you mean inserting pictures like this....

then I'm not sure if it is possible.

However, if you click on the picture icon immediately to the right of the little chessboard (above the picture above) you can probably find a way of doing it.  As they say, it's better felt than dealt.

Best, Max.

The sound quality of the CD is pressed into the aluminum disc within the plastic. By polishing out the plastic scratches and defects, you restore the CD. Polishing the plastic does not affect the aluminum disc sandwiched between the clear plastic.