Removing Scatches from plastic

[Honda 250r 001]

What are the steps to removing scratches from plastic and then making them shine good again? What all do i need? Im pretty sure i can sand the scratches out by hand. but then what do i do to make them shine again? i would prefer if i didnt have to buy a bunch of stuff. Should i use plastic renew?
Thanks

[C41Xracer]

plastic renew for sure, i think troybuilt used some on his build if i remember correctly

[atvmxr]

I thought I heard something about a floor cleaner/wax, like pinesol.. of course then dust sticks to em like a mo-fo..

[atv fan 28]

Originally posted by atvmxr
I thought I heard something about a floor cleaner/wax, like pinesol.. of course then dust sticks to em like a mo-fo.. Pledge with future shine. http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=373440&highlight=tri5ron

[croat1]

check the other R site. troybilt did a nice write up of how to restore plastic.

[troybilt]

Here's what I do:

disclaimer: AT YOUR OWN RISK... Don't blame me if you ruin plastic, because you're too lazy to sand, plastic renew works good, but its not magic!

Use plastic renew, some others claim mop and glow works too. However, I have that too and didn't seem to work too good... just my opinion, some claim it works just fine, though.

1.) Sand with 220 grit, wet sand, and soak the paper in water for 15 minutes, makes the sand paper very pliable. Dip in water very often as you sand, this actually cleans the paper, the sole reason for wet sanding.. ;)

a. If you have deep scratchs may have to use 100 grit or even 80, but be careful with that stuff. Makes it harder to sand out the scratches when you get to 220 grit.
b. Also try and sand one direction with each grit of paper, so when you get the subsequent grit you can see that you are sanding the previous grit lines off. Sometimes not alway possible, but good practice
c. NEVER USE POWERTOOLS!!, i made this mistake more than once, got lazy and got out the ol'palm sander, buffing wheel, disk sander, tried them all... plastic is so soft that is will gouge or burn the plastic.
d. rinse the plastic with water often to see how you are doing.

2.) Sand with 320 grit, wet sand same as step 1,
3.) Sand with 400 grit, wet sand same as step 1 & 2

Here's where things get interesting, I've tried continuing on with 600 grit all the way up to 2000 grit. It actually works better if you stop at 400 grit. The plastic renew works best to fill in the scratches at 400 grit. When you go too high on the grit count, you almost "polish" the scratches and the plastic renew basically glazes over them... looks weird.

Now, that the plastic is fully sanded, (took me ~10 hrs on 20 year old rear OEM plastic that was horrible, spider cracks, brown color...
4.) this where you apply the plastic renew, use paper towel and fold down to about 2" square, I've tried brushes, foam, you name it, paper towel works best, less streaks.

a. apply 4 coats, letting dry (~5 minutes) bw. each coat, it will still look shytty at this point don't worry yet! Polish with ultra fine steel wool, and then wipe with clean cloth.
b. Continue this pattern for 15 to 20 coats, it will start look really good after 12-15 coats, I usually go for 30 coats or so. You'll be able to tell where you didn't sand that well. ;) Go back and re-sand those spots, and start back at step 4.

Lastly, I spray with pledge and then polish. Looks like new when done! Works on well on white, red and black colors, probably more too. These are the only ones I've tried.

IF YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO SAND COMPLETELY THEN STOP RIGHT NOW, AND DON'T BE PO'd AT ME!! :D :D DON"T GET IN A HURRY EITHER...

BTW these instructions are on the back of the Plastic Renew bottle, who would of thought that would be the best way!! :D

[troybilt]

Here is some of the work that I've done. The OEM rear fenders I redid and the red front hood. The front plastic is brand new Maier for comparison.

Both of which were in "throw-away" type condition. The hood was spray painted with a clear paint... Dan gave it to me to try out.

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/robltc/my%20250r%20Build/DSCN0355.jpg

[troybilt]

Another pic of the rears: not perfect by any stretch, I didn't touch where the kickstart lever goes, and there was some really deep scratches that I had to leave in there, but looks nice, I was pleased.
http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/robltc/DSCN0287.jpg

[troybilt]

The rear black plastic I did on my 450. I was worried on this one, I heard you couldn't renew black, but it actually turned out about as good as I've seen for renewed plastic, near blemish free. Sorry for the 450r picture in here!!! :grr:

http://i74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/robltc/img_0126.jpg

[MisterGraphic]

Hey guys sorry to bring this thread back from the dead, but I figured it would be better then starting another one.
Does anyone know anything about sanding and then using a heat gun to bring back the shine ?

I figured you guys would have more experience about the subject than on the 400ex side :)

Thanks for your help,

[troybilt]

I've tried it and didn't have much luck. I tried on an old hood I had, I sanded it then used a heat gun to bring back the shine. The problem I ran into was to get the shine the way I wanted it I had to heat it up so miuch that the plastic warped. I suppose if you really worked at it you might be able to get it to work. I wasn't too impressed with it, though... pretty much ruined the hood when I tried.

[MisterGraphic]

Would you just recommend sanding / plastic renew ? or is there any other method you tried that works better ?

Thanks for the help :)

[troybilt]

Originally posted by MisterGraphic
Would you just recommend sanding / plastic renew ? or is there any other method you tried that works better ?

Thanks for the help :)

Wet sanding from 220-600 grit plus using plastic renew worked the best for me so far. I have heard of other methods, or solutions out there where you sand with grits from 220 up to 6000 or something crazy like that... I've tried going up to 2000 grit wet sanding and then using plastic renew but I didn't have as good of results as just stopping at 600 grit. Seems the plastic renew worked better, and that's what the instructions said on the back too...

I'd sand up to 600 grit, then apply plastic renew approx 4 coats, then used extra fine steel wool and buff, then apply more coats of plastic renew... I repeated this about 6-7 times... also buffed with cloth in bw. too.

[MisterGraphic]

Cool,

Just out of curiosity, is plastic renew a chemical that transforms the first layer of plastic or is just a temporary coating ?

Sorry for all the questions,

[troybilt]

Originally posted by MisterGraphic
Cool,

Just out of curiosity, is plastic renew a chemical that transforms the first layer of plastic or is just a temporary coating ?

Sorry for all the questions,

Its a temporay coating, but it does somewhat bond to the plastic. I've had mud packed on and washed them and the shine stayed... I also hit them with pledge and that keeps them shiney too.

[MisterGraphic]

Thanks for the good information :)
It will save a lot of headaches!

[protrax]

this thread should be pinned

[JohnBeton]

Indeed Troybilt, Plastic renew FTW.
I used it on my brothers blaster and on my tri-z that I rebuild.
The white plastic where almost brown from scratches and dirt and the red was very dull. Sanded them for hours and applied serveral thin coats of plastic renew.
Patience is the key to success !

http://img519.imageshack.us/img519/6563/cimg3004.jpg

[C-LEIGH RACING]

Just letting you guys know, about a new product on the market, named Red Max Wax. You can get it at Lowes building supply 15 bucks a gallon.

I used it on our 99 year fadded out motorhome & you wont believe the difference in shine. It worked so well on that I tryed some on the ATV plastic & BAM!!! what a shine.
My daughters 3 year old, black Laker Custom Plastics on her 250R looked like new.
No sanding, but it could have used some on the ruff spots, I just didnt take the time, only pressure wash it clean & then applied the wax.

The Red Max has 4 steps you can use if you choose, but I only use step #3 on the motorhome & atvs.
#1 is a stripper/cleaner
#2 is a sealer
#3 is the wax
#4 is a wax maintainer
This wax is a floor wax, but it has proved itself to be good on many old & fadded out motorhomes & camper trailer out in the weather.
If it didnt work, I wouldnt be telling you about it. At the least, it will be the best 15 bucks you ever spent.
Neil

[socal]

Neil,how long does the Red Max wax last on the ATV plastic,does it need to be redone after every ride?I might try it anyways,I currently use pledge but it needs to be redone after every ride and that stuff aint cheap so $15 a gallon is not bad!Also,can the Red Max wax be sprayed out of a bottle?How is it applied?As far as the Plastic-renew,I have had luck with it as well,but like said before,dont be lazy on it!When my plastics get to that point,I will be using it again!

[C-LEIGH RACING]

I used a lint free cloth about the size of a wash rag, a plastic bucket (5qt ice cream bucket) poured some Red Max in the bucket, soaked the rag & then squeezed it out & then just wiped it on. Nothing special about wiping it on & if you miss a spot, no problem you can get it next coat, no laps or anything.

Takes around 4 coats to get a deep shine.

Far as lasting, on the motorhome, I applied it back in Nov when it was cold & it is still shinnie today & been washed several times.
Some RV owners on rv.net, said they have had it on their class a campers & trailers at least 2 years & the shine is still good.

This product is kinda new, dont guess its probably been out over 2 or 3 years from what I'm reading.

I use Totally Awesome cleaner on our bikes, real strong soap like the old purple stuff youst to be & first wash it took the shine off. I did use the soap straight not deluted & I guess it was to strong.

My old Ford pickup is dark blue & that crappie silver gray that always pops off & then the rust comes, I put a coat on one of the fenders, on the blue & B Dog, I didnt know it was matalic blue.
Now I got to clean the whole dang truck cause of the one fender top shinning.
Neil

[chronicsmoke]

you might find this thread of use;

http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=467160

his turned out pretty good too

[chronicsmoke]

you might find this thread of use;

http://www.exriders.com/vbb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=467160

his turned out pretty good too

[fastrnrik]

The Maxima SC-1 spray is awesome stuff. The best "shiny" stuff I've ever used. Well worth the 8 bucks a can.