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RockStock
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2004
Posts: 4249
Location: England
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 Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 3:59 pm Post subject: Polishing Plexiglas Corner Windows |
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can anyone recommend the best way to polish the early plexiglas corner windows?
the pair i have have some light scratches, but also some quite deep scratches
is there a machine i could use? or does it have to be elbow grease & 1200 grade wet & dry paper?
is there anything i can do about the deep scratches?
thank you
RS
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Last edited by RockStock on Thu Apr 28, 2005 2:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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tmcpeek
Samba Member
Joined: September 30, 2003
Posts: 120
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 4:16 pm Post subject: |
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I have used Novus products for my Boxster back window and my acrylic aquarium. It works great. I got a kit from an aquarium distributor that came with sandpaper and cleaner and 2 or 3 polishes. You should be able to get it all from and automotive paint jobber.
I do mine by hand but a 3" polisher would probably work nice.
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DubStyle
SBS Hit Squad
Joined: July 26, 2003
Posts: 6249
Location: SBS headquarters: Missery
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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There is a kit called a Micro Mesh Kit that will take that to a shine. 3M makes it I believe!
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Fish
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000
Posts: 6050
Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 6:07 pm Post subject: |
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| tmcpeek wrote: |
I have used Novus products for my Boxster back window and my acrylic aquarium. It works great. I got a kit from an aquarium distributor that came with sandpaper and cleaner and 2 or 3 polishes. You should be able to get it all from and automotive paint jobber.
I do mine by hand but a 3" polisher would probably work nice. |
Watch out with the power tools. Even with a lot of polish they will heat up the plastic which in turn will burn, distort or frost. It's hard to work up any heat by hand polishing plastic. It just takes longer. NEVER use windex or any solvent based (like alcohal) glass cleaner on your plastic windows. It will dry them out, cause fogging and crazing. Becareful which material you use to polish with as that can leave more scratches then were there before you started. The Novus products are very good and there are different grades for different scratches. Just like sand paper start out rough and work finer. If you do use sand paper, wet sanding is best. Unlike wood it is easyer to see distored areas that are over sanded or sanded flat. Some times it's better to leave the deep scratches and just polish them clear.
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Bongo
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Joined: December 03, 2004
Posts: 872
Location: Egå, Denmark
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| Posted: Mon Apr 25, 2005 10:39 pm Post subject: |
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Brasso works fantastic. It'll take some elbow grease tho. You can also use it after the wet & dry to get the shine back. My daughter recently took my watch for a scrape along the floor, and although the face was covered in scratches, after a couple of hours with the brasso, it's as new.
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meinvw
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Joined: October 24, 2003
Posts: 835
Location: Georgia
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 6:48 am Post subject: |
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In another thread, someone had mentioned Flitz Metal polish as being a way to clarify and polish plexiglass. I am not familiar with it but maybe someone else on here is.
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Fish
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Joined: December 05, 2000
Posts: 6050
Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 7:52 am Post subject: |
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I have also used "Simichrome" polish on plastic. It will work fine, but may be more expensive although easyer to fine than plastic polishes. Use it as your finial polish with a soft cloth.
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60freak
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Joined: October 08, 2002
Posts: 861
Location: Indiana
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 8:30 am Post subject: |
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| Meguiars "PlasticX"......it's good stuff! |
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DubStyle
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Joined: July 26, 2003
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:32 am Post subject: |
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Oh another way you can clear things up is with some heat. If you can get a piece and test how much heat from a Butane Torch clears the edges. That will let you know how much will clear the haze up as well.
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Fish
Samba Member
Joined: December 05, 2000
Posts: 6050
Location: OB. It's beside the point.
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:45 am Post subject: |
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| DubStyle wrote: |
| Oh another way you can clear things up is with some heat. If you can get a piece and test how much heat from a Butane Torch clears the edges. That will let you know how much will clear the haze up as well. |
I would recommend not doing this even as a last resort. You can have all sorts of problems doing this. Maybe not immediately, but over time. Heat dries out the acrylic and will increase the chances of crazing. Small cracks in side the acrylic that will reflect light like hundreds of little prisms. Another problem is formed (heated and bent over a mold) acrylic has memory. Heat it up and it will try to return to it's original shape, flat. This will cause distortion in the heated areas.
Unless these acrylic bent corner windows are cheap and easy to come by your best bet is to sand and polish.
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Ace
Samba Member
Joined: July 07, 2003
Posts: 1903
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:56 am Post subject: |
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| I second the megulars. They make a buffing and a polishing wax that is used on polycarbonate lenses. If you just want to wing it, use toothpaste. |
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Rusting Hulk
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Joined: August 20, 2002
Posts: 646
Location: Malvern UK
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 2:49 pm Post subject: |
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RS,how's things?
i have read recently that 'Mothers plastic polish' is good £12.99 a bottle available at: www.crystalclean.ltd.uk and also 'Novus No2 Fine scratch remover' £5.95 available from: www.moss-europe.co.uk
there is an article in this months 'Classic and Sportscar'(may issue)they are testing them on Soft top windows,so i guess they are worth a try.
Simon
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iowegian 
Samba Curmudgeon
Joined: February 16, 2005
Posts: 9985
Location: Somewhere between Dubuque and Keokuk
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 3:06 pm Post subject: |
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| meinvw wrote: |
| In another thread, someone had mentioned Flitz Metal polish as being a way to clarify and polish plexiglass. I am not familiar with it but maybe someone else on here is. |
Flitz is wonderful for any cleaning/polishing tasks I have ever come across.
I've used it for over 25 years on chrome, aluminum, fiberglass, plexiglass,
etc, etc, etc. There are several people selling it on eBay (buy it now)
It ain't cheap, but a little goes a long, long way. It's made in Germany,
so you know it has to be good.  |
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RockStock
Samba Member
Joined: November 26, 2004
Posts: 4249
Location: England
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 4:39 pm Post subject: |
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thank you to all, that's top
toothpaste?! which brand?!
i'll look to let you guys know how i get on
(RH - things are good thanks. james was 2 on sunday, lost a big footie cup final last week on penalties, week's holiday next week, parts hunting going ok.....see you at SH?)
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the barNdoor bulli'Z
Samba Member
Joined: July 31, 2004
Posts: 35
Location: Paradise,New Zealand
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 5:21 pm Post subject: . |
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Rockstock.
I am a big follower in the wonders of Brasso,it works fantastiic on those Barndoor Plexiglass corner windows,take your time,plenty of elbow grease and they will come up perfect....mine are coming up nicely.I also have used this to bring up that original finish to my bakelite interior light bases too and the things look perfect.
Hope the parts hunting is going o.k.....the bits are still out there.
3spoke. |
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Anchovy
Samba Member
Joined: August 05, 2000
Posts: 2996
Location: San Diego, CA
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 9:16 pm Post subject: |
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If you can get them polished-up it is always best to stay with original, but if the windows are too far gone with deep cracks and crazing, then go for a new set. Mark L. makes a perfect reproduction with the logo and everything. Check them out on my site in the "Details" section: http://www.1954samba.com/details.html
Regards, |
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j.pickens
Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2002
Posts: 9831
Location: Exit 7, New Jersey
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:15 pm Post subject: |
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I would stay away from any polishing product which has "Petroleum Distillates" on the label. Brasso is 65% "Stoddard Solvent", which is mineral spirits, think paint thinner. Most of the metal polishes like Weenol have this in them as well.
This stuff will damage the plexiglas in the long run, drying it out and causing crazing and cracking.
Go for the water based plastic polishes.
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Kommercial
Samba Moderator
Joined: December 28, 2000
Posts: 1195
Location: San Tan Valley, Arizona
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| Posted: Tue Apr 26, 2005 10:28 pm Post subject: |
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Some ideas:
These are used for aircraft plexiglas canopys.
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/menus/cs/avlproducts.html
Also, someone mentioned above about fine sanding- Go to a hobby store and you can buy kits for polishing out model aircraft plastic canopys. Comes with the polish, rag, and multi grades of sandpaper for fine polishing. I have used one of those kits before with excellent success. Makes it nice to buy all the supplies at once when your doing a serious sand down/re-polish job with big scratches. |
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j.pickens
Samba Member
Joined: December 03, 2002
Posts: 9831
Location: Exit 7, New Jersey
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 5:01 am Post subject: |
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Uh,
Is it just me, or did Spongebob and Patrick just appear at the top?
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| BeaterBarndoor wrote: |
i wish more people would actually drive their vws rather than just talking about what they have in the garage. |
| Red Fau Veh wrote: |
| If you've seen one sunroof swivel seat kombi, you've seen them all! |
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splitpile
Samba's Worst Speller
Joined: May 03, 2000
Posts: 5928
Location: back to living where hell meets the suface
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| Posted: Wed Apr 27, 2005 9:10 am Post subject: |
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There is a product called PLEXUS available at marine stores. It turns yellow scracthed eisenglass clear and clean again. We used in on the 51 to 55 BD 23 corners windows and it worked excellant to clear and clean them up
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