• Required reading for all forum users!!!

    Welcome!
    Register to access the full functionality of the GSResources forum. Until you register and activate your account you will not have full forum access, nor will you be able to post or reply to messages.

    A note to new registrants...
    All new forum registrations must be activated via email before you have full access to the forum.

    A Special Note about Email accounts!
    DO NOT SIGN UP USING hotmail, outlook, gmx, sbcglobal, att, bellsouth or email.com. They delete our forum signup emails.

    A note to old forum members...
    I receive numerous requests from people who can no longer log in because their accounts were deleted. As mentioned in the forum FAQ, user accounts are deleted if you haven't logged in for the past 6 months. If you can't log in, then create a new forum account. If you don't get an error message, then check your email account for an activation message. If you get a message stating that the email address is already in use, then your account still exists so follow the instructions in the forum FAQ for resetting your password.

    Have you forgotten your password or have a new email address? Then read the forum FAQ for details on how to reset it.

    Any email requests for "can't log in anymore" problems or "lost my password" problems will be deleted. Read the forum FAQ and follow the instructions there - that's what we have one for...

  • Returning Visitors

    If you are a returning visitor who never received your confirmation email, then odds are your email provider is blockinig emails from our server. The only thing that can be done to get around this is you will have to try creating another forum account using an email address from another domain.

    If you are a returning visitor to the forum and can't log in using your old forum name and password but used to be able to then chances are your account is deleted. Purges of the databases are done regularly. You will have to create a new forum account and you should be all set.

how to re-new

  • Thread starter Thread starter GateKeeper
  • Start date Start date
G

GateKeeper

Guest
OK, so I am stumped.....

I have this small wind screen, and it looks like crap, well most of it does, has a number of scratches, gouges, scrapes, and so on....

The question is, how do I go and get it to look better, can it be buffed back to look good, or should I just sand it down smooth, leaving it a dull look, and paint the inside portion only, I like the see through, but it really don't need to be, I guess I can go a solid black, did this on my snowmobile windshield, so I could do it on this as well

P1080483.jpg


P1080488.jpg


P1080489.jpg


P1080495.jpg


and this is the snowmobile screen

P1080126.jpg


P1080130.jpg
 
If you performed a search you would find my threads on how to renew a windshield.;)

Sand out the scratches using the finest grit sand paper that will do the job, then work up with progressively finer paper until you get to 1500 or so. Next, get some plastic polish, Meguirer's sells some good stuff, and a DA polisher and bring up the shine. I've done two different windscreens this way and they wound up looking like brand new. Good fun project too.
 
Last edited:
Treat it like a headlight lens.
They make kits for renewing the faded plastic headlights found on so many vehicles today.
They include 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a polishing compound.

I just use McGuire's Mag and Aluminum polish and it gets most of the scratches out by hand.
Basically, it is just like fine valve lapping compound.
About $3.50 for a tiny little jar. Worth a shot.

Eric
 
Nessism said:
If you performed a search you would find my threads on how to renew a windshield.;)

Sand out the scratches using the finest grit sand paper that will do the job, then work up with progressively finer paper until you get to 1500 or so. Next, get some plastic polish, Meguirer's sells some good stuff, and a DA polisher and bring up the shine. I've done two different windscreens this way and they wound up looking like brand new. Good fun project too.
Click to expand...


Thanks...I did, and saw for a clear lens, was not sure if it would be different on a smoked lens, will it come back as see through or would it be cloudy....

7981GS said:
Treat it like a headlight lens.
They make kits for renewing the faded plastic headlights found on so many vehicles today.
They include 1500 and 2000 grit wet/dry sandpaper and a polishing compound.

I just use McGuire's Mag and Aluminum polish and it gets most of the scratches out by hand.
Basically, it is just like fine valve lapping compound.
About $3.50 for a tiny little jar. Worth a shot.

Eric
Click to expand...

Saw the kits, and a friend tried it on his car headlight, didn't turn out so great, still had a milky look to it


I guess I can go ahead and try, can't be worse than what it already is...


Thanks for the suggestions

.
 
I agree with being able to sand it smooth and polish it out. You might have to start with something like 600 to get some of those scratches out, especially the ones on the left side. Go to 800, 1,000, 1,500 and finish it with 2,000 grit then polish it with a buffer starting with a wool pad and finishing with a foam pad. It'll look real nice if done correctly.
 
Thanks for posting the correct procedure Larry.
I am off to FexEx to get more parts headed your way. I'll call later this evening.

Eric
 
I found this which could be of interest: http://www.headlight-restoration-kit.com/reviews/

As the other guys mention its a lot like buffing your aluminum. Sand to get the scratches out then polish and buff out. Tedious but a good project for keeping your hands occupied as you watch CSI Hamilton or any of your other favourite programs:p

Unlike aluminum, you shouldn't use a polishing disk or buffing wheel to finish. If the disk spins too fast it can heat and melt the plastic or worse gouge it. Just use gently circular motions by hand just like when you massage the lady's neck (or other favourite parts):D

Cheers.
 
spyug said:
Unlike aluminum, you shouldn't use a polishing disk or buffing wheel to finish. If the disk spins too fast it can heat and melt the plastic or worse gouge it. Just use gently circular motions by hand just like when you massage the lady's neck (or other favourite parts):D

Cheers.
Click to expand...


First time I polished a windshield I used a regular orbital polisher but it's really touchy; easy to over heat the plastic. I had much better results using a $15 DA waxer/polisher machine from Harbor Freight, or similar. Use a clean terry bonnet and liberal application of the plastic polish sauce. Polishing by hand may work, but seriously doubt you can get the same shine as using a machine.
 
Nessism said:
First time I polished a windshield I used a regular orbital polisher but it's really touchy; easy to over heat the plastic. I had much better results using a $15 DA waxer/polisher machine from Harbor Freight, or similar. Use a clean terry bonnet and liberal application of the plastic polish sauce. Polishing by hand may work, but seriously doubt you can get the same shine as using a machine.
Click to expand...

Agreed. You'll never get it to polish out by hand as well as you can with a buffer. You need the rpm's. You can use Velcro backed mini wool/foam pads with a drill attachment, too. The trick is just not to bear down on it so hard it creates a lot of heat..same as anything you're polishing. ;)
 
first attempt

first attempt

So I decided to give this a go....

I don't have all the available items needed, so I used what I had

emery cloth paper - coarse

sand paper 150, sand paper 320, sand paper 400, sand paper 600, sand paper 1000 and 2000 wet dry

finally some metal polish,,,,,,I didn't have anything for plastic, I will get some tomorrow, and probably a kit so I can get some rpm's going to do a nice polish....

the big gouges are out, some are really deep, and I better not go too far down, or I will end up with a hole.....LOL

so far so good, will be better once completed...

P1080554.jpg


P1080559.jpg


P1080566.jpg


P1080575.jpg


P1080578.jpg


.
 
It looks a lot better than it did and a polish should finish it off. If you can't find the plastic specific stuff ( that really shouldn't be a problem as I've seen it everywhere from Walmart to CT) you can also use a fine cut rubbing compound but liquid rather than paste followed by a good quality car polish. A bit more work.

I got to thinking a bit about using an electric polisher or a pad on the drill and I guess it would work if the speed is not too fast and its light pressure as mentioned. The reason I was against it is that I used a felt bob in my drill on a headlight and I gouged it quite noticeably. Ever since that I've been "gun shy" about using power tools on plastic.

I look forward to seeing how it turns out.

Luck.
Spyug
 
I use chrome polish for several going overs and finish up with toothpaste for the last few times. Good windshield cleaner and you're off to the races.
 
@Spyug, I think the felt bob was probably too hard and that is why you ended up with the gouge in the lens, I think for plastic it has to be very soft and flexible..

I have an idea on what I am going to try and use, going to try it on a small area and see how it goes, if it turns out bad, trust me no pictures will be posted....LOL

@6pkrunner - toothpaste....hmmmm with or without the mint flavor, just kidding but your right, it also has some abrasive properties, so it should work just as well...


I still think I need some more sanding, I might have to go back to 8 or 9 hundred grit and move up from there, lots of scratches still there that I don't think buffing will pull out, just a thought...

.
 
I've used a 3M headlight restoring kit on both headlight lenses as well as on a plexiglass windshield, and it worked well in both instances (18V drill with their pad-attachment). I also use Mequiers Plast-X polish and just picked up some Blue Magic Headlight Lens Sealer, all at Wally World. Haven't tried the Blue Magic yet, but am hoping it will help to protect against UV exposure over time.

When you do this to ANY plastic lens/windscreen you remove the UV coating that was originally applied, so if you don't regularly coat the surface with a protective product it will fog up again within a year. Luckily, even if this happens you don't normally have to go through the entire process again ... the Plast-X (or equivalent plastic polish) will usually do the job. My results have been excellent!

Regards,
 
GateKeeper said:
I still think I need some more sanding, I might have to go back to 8 or 9 hundred grit and move up from there, lots of scratches still there that I don't think buffing will pull out, just a thought...

.
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest this but didn't want to be a wise a$$. The photo shows a lot of sanding scratches which need to be removed. The polish will bring out the shine, but if you can see scratches through the haze you have to sand those out.
 
If you can't see through the screen, it's still not sanded enough with the finer grits. No amount of buffing will remove scratches any coarser then 1,000 on plastic. After progressively using the finer papers, (completely removing the previous paper's sand scratches) and by the time you get to 2000 grit, you should be able to, literally, see through it before ever touching it with a polisher. Hope that helps.
 
Nessism said:
I was going to suggest this but didn't want to be a wise a$$. The photo shows a lot of sanding scratches which need to be removed. The polish will bring out the shine, but if you can see scratches through the haze you have to sand those out.
Click to expand...

Wouldn't think of you as a wise a$$, all suggestions are good suggestions, especially if they help out and make a bad thing into a good thing

and your right, the polish only brought out the shine, did not clear anything up at all, but I didn't expect it to, polish is way too fine, more sanding will be a must....

nvr2old said:
If you can't see through the screen, it's still not sanded enough with the finer grits. No amount of buffing will remove scratches any coarser then 1,000 on plastic. After progressively using the finer papers, (completely removing the previous paper's sand scratches) and by the time you get to 2000 grit, you should be able to, literally, see through it before ever touching it with a polisher. Hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Yes thanks, same as above, I knew more sanding would be needed for sure, polishing out those scratches would never happen, too deep still


but crap man, my arms hurt today......LOL
 
Getting better.....

not 100%, but not even sure if I will get it all that much better, might quit while I am ahead...

P1080587.jpg


P1080590.jpg


P1080591.jpg


P1080592.jpg


.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top