Polishing NOS plastic. Calling MR. Clean and plastic experts. Help.

[Yamaha3wheeler]

Hey guys,

I have a peice of nos plastic and there were a couple of very light scratches in it. I used some very mild synthetic polish and lightly rubbed the area. I now have a spot where the plastic is slightly hazy. It is still shiny after buffing it with very light strokes (hand buffing cloth), but will reflect haze rather than having a mirror like finish when looking at it with the reflection of a light such as the lights in my garage, the sun etc. Does anyone know if I could use some kind of rouge / pad to lightly buff out the spot and make it look exactly like factory or am I SOL. Any finishing details would be so great!

And yes, i know the story. Why am I trying things on NOS plastic. Learned my lesson and luckly the spot is very small and not in plain view. Just would be so cool if I could bring it back to origional.
Would a felt or muslin buffing wheel with some Acrilustre work?


Thanks

[El Camexican]

All it takes is a few good high side crashes and you won't notice that spot at all.

[just ben]

What brand of plastic? If it's yamaha I wouldn't touch it with a buffing wheel.I have polished kawi and honda plastic with a plastic "rouge" and the proper wheel but the yammi plastic seems to have a lower melting point and didn't work well (for me). Whatever it is, it takes a very light touch with a buffing wheel and chances are it will be harder to do one small spot rather than the whole thing.

[toki]

i have a ytm200 that polished up nicely. although i did most of it by hand. sand the oxidized trailprotrailprotrailprotrailpro away, wetsand, and buff buff buff. i found that the buffing compound i was using left a residue. i had to take a clean cloth and buff again. and then ANOTHER clean cloth. and then i washed the whole thing down and rubbed some more. a TON of work.

i also have a headlight housing for my 83 250r that will NOT polish. the oxidation was sooooooo deep on it... i sanded and sanded and sanded. and wet sanded. and sanded some more. i thought i finally broke through to some good plastic but no matter what its still a cloudy pink. anyone ever had this problem? i really dont know what to do with it lol. it has a small crack and i have no problem spending money to replace it. its just pissing me off that it won the fight.

[Rigaman]

What grit is good for wet sanding light scratches out? 400 then 600?

[barnett468]

What grit is good for wet sanding light scratches out? 400 then 600?


This is a judgement call based on experience. If you can feel them start with around 400 wet. If you can not feel them start with 2500 wet and if it is too fine to remove them then try 2000, then 1500 until you find a great that removes them with moderate effort.

[atc007]

You WON"T be sanding a new piece! Just polishing.Search the threads for the best stuff. Darius was the last polish thread here on his 350X's and they are indiscernible from new machines in the pics. 400-600 would be a starting point for a very heavily scratched/oxidized piece.

[barnett468]

You WON"T be sanding a new piece! Just polishing.Search the threads for the best stuff. Darius was the last polish thread here on his 350X's and they are indiscernible from new machines in the pics. 400-600 would be a starting point for a very heavily scratched/oxidized piece.


Tamaha3wheeler and atc007

My post #6 is in response to a question from another member. Please do not use 400-600 on your fender. Unfortunately I have no good answer for your question however. I have downloaded the post I think atc007 is referring to. I will post it later.

What polish did you use EXACTLY and what cloth?

All polishes have abrasive in them as far as I know. Anything you try that has ANY abrasive in it will be “experimental” for you and might make it worse. Hard to judge what to suggest without seeing it in person.

Most polishes MAY have an MSDS sheet available online. This sheet will contain the grit size and type of abrasive material used in it. Find one that is finer and smoother grit than what you had.

I don’t know what the newest fad is in polishing cloths. I just use old school baby diapers, new no used, lol. I have used microfiber but only on paint.

You might try imperial hand glaze at least for final finish. I have used it for years, non abrasive, no wax, no silicone. See the link below.


http://3mcollision.com/3m-imperial-hand-glaze-05990.html


You might also call a plastic polisher for info. See link below.

http://www.eastcoastmfg.com/plastic_polishing_services.htm

[Darius1502]

My last step was just a Maguires foam buffing wheel on a rotary buffer. It did add shine back to dulled out plastic...but be careful. Honestly...I'd leave it alone.

I would just put some Novus 2 on it. Let it dry. Butff it out with this pad below:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-Novus-8-oz-Polish-Kit-Plastic-Cleaner-Polish-Scratch-Remover-2DayShip-/290914835801?pt=Guitar_Accessories&hash=item43bbe01d59

BUT If you BURN IT ITS RUINED. VERY DIFFICULT TO DO RIGHT. I'd leave it alone.... :)

169485

[Darius1502]

Hey guys,

I have a peice of nos plastic and there were a couple of very light scratches in it. I used some very mild synthetic polish and lightly rubbed the area. I now have a spot where the plastic is slightly hazy. It is still shiny after buffing it with very light strokes (hand buffing cloth), but will reflect haze rather than having a mirror like finish when looking at it with the reflection of a light such as the lights in my garage, the sun etc. Does anyone know if I could use some kind of rouge / pad to lightly buff out the spot and make it look exactly like factory or am I SOL. Any finishing details would be so great!

And yes, i know the story. Why am I trying things on NOS plastic. Learned my lesson and luckly the spot is very small and not in plain view. Just would be so cool if I could bring it back to origional.
Would a felt or muslin buffing wheel with some Acrilustre work?


Thanks

Let's see a pic of it. Let's see the scratches.

[Mr. Clean]

Here are the pics I got from the "dude".

Not sure what tools the "dude" has available, buffer, pads etc.

What I would do is get out my Dewalt high speed buffer with black foam polishing pad and apply some 3M Perfect-It 3000 Machine Polish 32 oz. - 06064 and follow up with some 3M Perfect-It 3000 Machine Polish Swirl Mark Remover 16 oz. - 39061 followed by some finishing wax (no cleaner wax!!!) from your FLAPS (friendly local auto parts store) I prefer Eagle One NanoWax as it comes with microfiber towel. I would also put a blanket or something between the fender and the tire to alleviate the downward pressure I use to "buff".

If anyone wants to learn this process I would say prep a car body panel, paint it BLACK, and then wet sand and buff to a mirror shine ....this will teach one how this process is done.

There are many variables, what kind of towel was used, what kind of product, were you primarily using fingers and not the palm when rubbbing (that sounds so wrong) :lol: but if your using the point of your finger you will get scratches versus the blunt surface area of your palm.


. Learned my lesson and luckly the spot is very small and not in plain view.

Unfortunately the tip of your front fender is in plain view, next time do it on the back of the fender which is not in plain view :welcome:




http://i42.tinypic.com/2zsp8wh.jpg


http://i41.tinypic.com/jkhb85.jpg


http://i43.tinypic.com/2yx3qr6.jpg

[Yamaha3wheeler]

Thanks for the advice. Oh, and dude = Chris. Sorry about that. Your comments cracked me up about the finger. No, didn't do any fingering. Just palmed it. And I did it very gently! :naughty: But seriously, you can only see it in the reflection of light. I'm just going to leave it alone since I don't have polishing skills.

[sweetip2000]

If you used mild abrasion like scotch brite or comet steel wool ect then you can go straight to 2000 grit Maguires sandpaper. Its made in Japan and needs to soak in water 15 minutes before you use it. You can do it by hand. Get the fender off the bike. Wash it good. Get a bucket a sponge that you use for the kitchen sink and a peice of the 2000 grit sand paper.
Get some simple green or fabuloso. Add some soap into the bucket. Wrap the 2000 grit paper around the wet sponge ( do not squeeze water out of the sponge) You will be using the sponge to hold water while you wet sand and it will prevent burn marks from your finger tips. Do the entire surface of the plastic. Sand wiith medium to light pressure and follow the lines of the fender the long way. Sand for about 30 minutes. Dry off plastic. It will look hazy dull when you dry it off. Dont freak out. Get some Maguires ulimate rubbing compound. Rub that in with a damp sponge in circular motions. Go in all different directions.
Add some more compound if needed. If it dries up on you mist some water on it to wake up the compound. Do that for 40 minutes by hand. Wash it off with water and a clean damp sponge. Now get some butchers bowling alley wax. Put that on the plastic. Drink 6 beers. By that time you will feel better and wax will be dry. Buff it out by hand or for a better shine use a buffing wheel with light pressure. From there on in the best way to keep your plastics looking fresh is with that foam tire shine stuff. Hope that works out for you. Good luck

[Mr. Clean]

Um okay. :wondering In my humble opinion using any type of sandpaper is going backwards. That fender does not need any sanding, just polishing at this point...my opinion.

However I am in violent agreement on "Drink six beers" so long as your of age. :Bounce


Drink 6 beers.



If you used mild abrasion like scotch brite or comet steel wool ect then you can go straight to 2000 grit Maguires sandpaper. Its made in Japan and needs to soak in water 15 minutes before you use it. You can do it by hand. Get the fender off the bike. Wash it good. Get a bucket a sponge that you use for the kitchen sink and a peice of the 2000 grit sand paper.
Get some simple green or fabuloso. Add some soap into the bucket. Wrap the 2000 grit paper around the wet sponge ( do not squeeze water out of the sponge) You will be using the sponge to hold water while you wet sand and it will prevent burn marks from your finger tips. Do the entire surface of the plastic. Sand wiith medium to light pressure and follow the lines of the fender the long way. Sand for about 30 minutes. Dry off plastic. It will look hazy dull when you dry it off. Dont freak out. Get some Maguires ulimate rubbing compound. Rub that in with a damp sponge in circular motions. Go in all different directions.
Add some more compound if needed. If it dries up on you mist some water on it to wake up the compound. Do that for 40 minutes by hand. Wash it off with water and a clean damp sponge. Now get some butchers bowling alley wax. Put that on the plastic. Drink 6 beers. By that time you will feel better and wax will be dry. Buff it out by hand or for a better shine use a buffing wheel with light pressure. From there on in the best way to keep your plastics looking fresh is with that foam tire shine stuff. Hope that works out for you. Good luck

[Darius1502]

Um okay. :wondering In my humble opinion using any type of sandpaper is going backwards. That fender does not need any sanding, just polishing at this point...my opinion.

However I am in violent agreement on "Drink six beers" so long as your of age. :Bounce

Agreed as well!!

[badass350x]

Mike did you happen to take before and after pics of my blue Trx tank? At least put a pic up to show how the blue should be polished or any color for that matter! Mike "Mr Clean"knows plastic polishing anybody doing this needs to take mikes advice! Seen it for my own eyes as well as many others..

[barnett468]

Hello yamaha3wheeler


The following is one of the posts I mentioned I would send to you. It is not a recommendation of how to fix your NOS fender. It is just a post on how to polish fenders but may be of future use to you and/or others.

The description of how the parts were polished is in post 18 followed by comparison photos in subsequent posts with the last photo in post 33. In my opinion from what I can see with the available lighting is that it has a very high quality finish which the poster mentioned was achieved after many hours of work.


DARIUS1502 PG 18, PG 33 XLNT POLISHING

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/155327-Polsihing-Fenders...what-gives/page2?highlight=polishing+plastic

[Yamaha3wheeler]

Hey Guys, It's "The Dude" looking for some more information. Can you guys share what exact buffer / wheel you are using. Mr. Clean, if you can help me with this I promise to mop my house this weekend with your product and then buff my floors using your buffing methods, lol.

I have my old fenders that I'd like to practice on so I'm looking for the model of the buffer / size of pad / exact replacement pads including all product numbers, ect. All information regarding the products you are using to buff would be awesome. Thank you all so much again.

[Darius1502]

Hello yamaha3wheeler


The following is one of the posts I mentioned I would send to you. It is not a recommendation of how to fix your NOS fender. It is just a post on how to polish fenders but may be of future use to you and/or others.

The description of how the parts were polished is in post 18 followed by comparison photos in subsequent posts with the last photo in post 33. In my opinion from what I can see with the available lighting is that it has a very high quality finish which the poster mentioned was achieved after many hours of work.


DARIUS1502 PG 18, PG 33 XLNT POLISHING

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/155327-Polsihing-Fenders...what-gives/page2?highlight=polishing+plastic

Yep that was me!!! BUT I would never do that whole process with NOS plastic.

I would just take what Mr. Clean said and do that. No more!!

The fenders I had were really bad!!

[Darius1502]

In the light compared to NOS 250R fenders:

169530169531

Still not as perfect as NOS... trust me...but they look good. If you look close in the 2nd pic you can see some slight waves in the plastic. Not perfect but pretty darn good.

With your NOS plastic...I'd leave it alone or just do a light buff like Mr. Clean said.

[Yamaha3wheeler]

Yes, I think I want to try a light buff like mr. clean said, but I don't know exactly what type of polisher / pads/ to buy. I'm going to practice on some old just fenders first. Could you please let me know your setup Darius?

[Mr. Clean]

I called you "The Dude", I was having a Big Lebowski moment......

Chris, Here is another thread where I show what I use.

http://www.3wheelerworld.com/showthread.php/73033-Gas-tank-polishing-Fix-your-old-faded-and-oxidized-plastic-tanks-to-like-NEW!/page6

I like these pads, but have used 3M etc.

http://www.buffandshine.com/

Your local auto body supply store is your best bet unless you want to order online.

[bkm]

Or you can do what I do and just send your stuff to this guy^^^^. When it comes to anything that involves sandpaper, patience, and the expectation of looking good, I'm the last guy to be messing with this stuff. I'm the perverbial sh!t fingers when it comes to restoring any kind of plastic/metal.

[Yamaha3wheeler]

Thanks for all of the help Mike. I kind of like being know as "The Dude".

I think I'll be ordering a buffer / polisher and pads with all of your 3m recommendations very soon. I'm going to try and get to where I get lots of practice on the old stuff before I ever touch that fender again. Is the nano wax the liquid spray? When doing final polishing, as if you were buffing the fenders I have at the stage they are at now, would you use low to med speed with many many light passes?

[honda200x1987]

I would ONLY recommend you us a Random orbital buffer with a synthetic wool bonnet with no compounds. Just a dry buff and barley glide the synthetic wool bonnet with little to no pressure. It will come out new just buff buff buff, should only take about 30 minutes.

[honda200x1987]

Here is a pic of the bonnet and random orbital buffer I bought at Oreily's Auto Parts. I had a NOS white fender that had scuffs and it buffed them out without damaging the plastic. The white fender pictured was a used fender that I restored with this buffer, no compounds or polish was used. On the NEW fender that had scuffs I just barley glide the bonnet across the fender until they were gone and it came out like new,shiny azz hell.

[honda200x1987]

Here is the NOS fender , it had some very very light scuffs on top of the fender from years of storage. I dry buffed them out with the orbital buffer by just barley gliding the bonnet across the fender, came out perfect. This is the only way I know personally and I have tried everything out there, I don't cover up plastic with amourall or waxes ,heat gun,etc. This is the closest thing I have found that will stay shiny like factory IMO.

[Darius1502]

Here is the NOS fender , it had some very very light scuffs on top of the fender from years of storage. I dry buffed them out with the orbital buffer by just barley gliding the bonnet across the fender, came out perfect. This is the only way I know personally and I have tried everything out there, I don't cover up plastic with amourall or waxes ,heat gun,etc. This is the closest thing I have found that will stay shiny like factory IMO.

Looks awesome man!! Good to see my old 'plastic polishing buddies' come on here....

That is one amazing white fender..... simply amazing. I need to break out the synthetic wool pad and finish up my white 350X fenders... :)