old man emu Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I'm slightly off topic here as I'm not dealing with planes, but .... I've noticed a few fine scratches in the perspex of my bike's windshield. I suspect they have been caused by wiping wet dust over it when getting rid of dew. They are not deep gouges, and can't really be seen unless you get up close, but, to me, they detract from the appearance of the bike. Can anyone suggest a method to polish out these small scratches? OME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Head in the clouds Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 There are special polishes for acrylic, or you can make your own using rouge and a fine vegetable oil. Alternatively Brasso works a treat on some plastics. Not sure what your windshield is made of so make sure you try it on a scrap piece first. Brasso contains ammonia which doesn't affect most plastics but start cautiously just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
terryc Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 brasso is the best I have found Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ozzie Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I used toothpaste and a little water to thin it out. Cornflour to buff it up. If you want to get fancy and professional like buy a Micromesh kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Maguires PlastX from my local car shop works well. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 McQuires.........."Plastx"........ works a treat....supercheap sell it. Plexus......marine grade...any good boat shop. This i use after, and as a cleaner often. in combination they do a great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Geez PM...we hit the send button same time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly_tornado Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 swirl remover works well on polycarbonate, should work well on other plastics 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
408059 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I've used Brasso to remove scratches on both windscreens for the Ducati's I own. Some scratches were deep. Works a treat. Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
01rmb Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I have used Novus #2 on my windscreen to remove some small scratches with perfect results. https://www.novuspolish.com/fine_scratch_remover.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 When I used to work in 501wing undercarriage work shop, I used to change out the F111 canopies . We also used to use a plastic polish. It was a white bottle but I cant remember the name if it. It was good stuff. Fast jets have their canopies made from an aircraft grade polycarbonate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted October 27, 2015 Author Share Posted October 27, 2015 Thanks a lot everyone. Being a tight ars e, I'll try the toothpaste. Ipana, Pepsident, Colgate or Sensidyne? OME 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 When I used to work in 501wing undercarriage work shop, I used to change out the F111 canopies . We also used to use a plastic polish. It was a white bottle but I cant remember the name if it. It was good stuff. Fast jets have their canopies made from an aircraft grade polycarbonate. I have used Novus #2 on my windscreen to remove some small scratches with perfect results.https://www.novuspolish.com/fine_scratch_remover.html Well bend me over and tar me with a feather, you typed this when I was typing my post and I think that was the stuff we used in the RAAF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrZoos Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 I though ammonia and perspex where fatal enemies. I worked today at a place that has perspex lockers and they have a sticker on them that say, no amonia based cleaning products. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stewy Posted October 27, 2015 Share Posted October 27, 2015 Novus polish works well can use with a electric buff if you want make sure it variable speed though and start slow If it is polycarbonate like head lights are made of you can use wet and dry starting at 600 and work your way to 2000 and then use fine polish to finish Stewy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrZoos Posted October 28, 2015 Share Posted October 28, 2015 Another set of plex lockers a different sticker. Window cleaning fluids tend to be ammonia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dieselten Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 Novus No. 1, Novus No. 2, Novus No. 3, or Craftex Plasti-Polish, or Meguiars No 17 Plastic Cleaner. Brasso is good but contains ammonia which can adversely affect some plastics. Test an inconspicuous area first if you are going to try using it. All the others are perfectly safe on pretty much all plastics. They contain finely-divided Diatatomaceous Earth in a light hydrocarbon carrier with waxes. Clean the scratched area well before applying polishes etc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guernsey Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Plexus definitely works and will not damage any type of plastic. Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Howard Hughes Posted October 31, 2015 Share Posted October 31, 2015 Thanks a lot everyone. Being a tight ars e, I'll try the toothpaste.Ipana, Pepsident, Colgate or Sensidyne? OME Geez mate it's a bike, surely an old geezer like you has some Brasso hanging around somewhere! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 I used all the Brasso on my chrome nuts. OME Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazza 38 Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I used all the Brasso on my chrome nuts.OME We used Brasso on our belt buckles when in the RAAF at rookies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Pukallus Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I was recommended years ago from a veteran driver of convertible cars who swore by Kitten no 1 car polish to restore the rear windows made with polycarbonate and Perspex. Used it on drifter windscreens, Mazda MX5 windows and all aircraft windscreens, bike visors etc works a treat. Use a soft piece of flannelette to smear on and polish off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Russ Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I used all the Brasso on my chrome nuts.OME nothing like a good set of sparkling nuts to "show off" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pmccarthy Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 Do they itch after polishing? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
old man emu Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 Had intended to go on a Pink Ribbon Charity ride with my son today on our bikes, but mine ceased to function while I was puttering along the Freeway. After doing all the usual checks for dumb-arsed mistakes, and then checking spark and fuel, I concluded that I couldn't get back going from where I was, so called for a recovery vehicle. Got the bike back home and started digging in. Cleaned and gapped the plugs and that didn't do any good. So I started in on the carby. Pulled the air filter off and immediately saw the problem. The choke plate was closed over the intake port. Further investigation found that a the grub screw which secures the choke plate shaft to the choke lever had gone walkabout, so the job wasn't being done. No chance of locating one anywhere handy (QED Hardware is closed on the weekends), so out with the baling wire. A few deft twists later and the lever was on the shaft as tight as a bogan at Octoberfest. Hooked a nice thick rubber band around the end of the lever and secured it so now the lever swings back to the fully open position when I want to ride. Luckily, while I was messing about with the carby, I discovered that the two big nuts that secure the intake manifold to the heads were loose. So out with the Yankee spanner and cold chisel and after a few healthy blows the manifold is nice and tight. Started the bike and all was well. Even managed to adjust the idle speed, so now I can sit at the lights and the bike will pop away like an old Lister shearing shed engine. The lesson to be learned here is that vibration will cause more annoying problems than catastrophic failures of major components. If you own your own plane, you owe it to yourself to frequently spend an hour or two with a handful of spanners and a few screwdrivers making sure your nuts are tight and you've given everything else a good screw. OME 1 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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