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The right way to bring your plastic back to life.
Alright I was going to wait till tonight to start this thread but I'm bored at work so here we go. This is for the people like me that like the color of your plastic but its in rough shape and you don't have the cash to drop on new plastic.
You will need a bucket of water, 180,220, 400, 600, and 1000 grit sandpaper. ( 2 sheets each) Also you will need a liquid rubbing compound (medium is best), liquid wax, and a 10 inch buffer.
So here is what ya do. No need for any paint or Plastic renew or any of that crap. Wet sand then buff it out.
Keep in mind plastic is the same color all the way thru so sanding isn't going to be a problem. Depending on how horrific your scratches are is what grit to start with. Mine looked like a badger gnawed it. so I started with 180. Then to 220, 400, 600, and finally 1000.
It is imperative to only wet sand using as much water as you can. Plastic burs easy and wet sanding will prevent that.
With the 180 grit just sand the really bad places and get the deep scratches, nothing more. After they have disappeared, Use 220 on the whole bike. Sand until the color is even all over and the scratches are gone.
That was the obvious part. lol
By this time some part of your bike has dried and it looks almost white and foggy. Like the picture below.This is normal.
Now using lots of water again use the 400 grit and sand till you can't feel resistance between the sandpaper and the plastic.Should feel like your hand is gliding across a wet glass table. Do this with the 400, 600 and 1000 all over.
Dry off the bike completely. You will notice its still foggy and faded looking. Time to buff. I recommend using a buffer or even a mothers ball for the rubbing compound and wax. Usually i would say to do it by hand but plastic isn't like paint, it will need some persuading to buff to shine.
Don't be shy with the rubbing compound. It will be self explanatory when to stop. This will bring the plastic back to a shine. After going over the bike heavily with the compound, wipe it all off. Then do the same process with the wax.
Once its buffed, take a dry rag and wipe it down and you will have clean shiny plastic. ENJOY !
pics of how i did the process below in order of how i wrote this.