Polishing Soft Platsics to Flawless condition?

Anything goes in the world of fiberglass and plastic



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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 2:40 am
I'm trying to get the fine scratches out of the plastic dashboard cover behind steering wheel. It is soft plastic & I'm using hand polishing pads. The first step was Meguiar's M205 with a soft white polishing pad, followed by M205 with a blue pad that has no cutting power.

What's left is close to new but has tiny faint scratches, as far as I can tell they are caused by the polish process it self. So how do I get a flawless new finish?

Maybe a limitation of hand polishing & I need a machine polish of some sort? Or finer polish? Or some polish specific for plastics?

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PostPosted: Wed Jun 15, 2016 10:17 am
Plastics can be very difficult to compound or polish as most are thermo formed or molded using heat. Hand working them is safest but doesn't do much of a job in actually leveling down to the depth of the scratches. If you try a machine polish the heat developed will start to mold and form the plastic again thus quickly ruining the surface profile. If you indeed think that remaining scratches are a byproduct of the abrasives in the polish itself, then yes, you need to move up to a finer grit polish. Here in the states one of the finest grit polishes is a plastic polish made by Novus. Novus numbers their polishes. Novus number 2 is about one of the finest abrasive formulas I have ever used. We use it in fine furniture compounding, I've resurfaced plastic headlights, and I've seen it used in resurfacing plastic aircraft windshields. If you could find a source for it in your country or just buy it over the net it might be worth a go.....
Here's a link so you can at least see the stuff....
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Novus-2-Plastic ... SwEeFVHphk
We use enough of it so we buy it in 1/2 gallon containers.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!



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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:10 am
Thanks DarrelK. I will try the Novus 2.



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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 3:28 am
Forgot to ask Darrel.

Rather than needing a finer grit Polish, could the pads themselves be causing the faint scratches? Since its a hand polish only maybe not really working the Polish or something?

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 16, 2016 9:51 am
To isolate something like this try keeping the polish the same and switching to a different pad/ rag combination. Polishing pads that contain synthetics (can even be the thread that binds the seams) like polyester can indeed scratch fine plastics. That is why you see most professional detailer guys using natural fiber products like wools and cottons.
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 2:46 am
I tried Novus #2 & to my surprise it was far closer to M105 in abrasiveness & more a compound with easily visible scratches. M205 is much finer. The instructions say just use a rag or soft cloth so a typical foam pad should be fine. Maybe it works better on hard plastics.

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 23, 2016 10:42 am
I only use the Novus with high quality wilized Frenching Cloth pretty much by hand with plastics. I've never had much luck using it with any pad other than twisted wool pads for coatings.
Metal, wood, fiberglass, we work it all... www.furniturephysicians.com We can restore the irreplaceable!

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