His Point of View

Disclaimer: Before I begin I must say that improper use of the recommended product or the techniques described can cause unrepairable damage to your belongings. Read post and follow tips at your own risk. I am not responsible for any damage which you may cause.

I came across a product that has helped me to solve a few problems. What problems? What product? If you were to ask me those questions I would say, scratched/scuffed plastic items such as, motorcycle helmet visors, dashboard instrument panels, sun glasses (The product is not recommended for use on colored plastics, but I have had success as long as the plastic is colored all the way through, and not just coated with a color.)  This product works just about any hard plastics that need to be brought back to a shine such as: acrylic, polycarbonate, CR-39, Polyurethane, and other plastics, but NOT GLASS and NOT plastic with a color coating.

The product that fixes these problems is Meguiar’s Headlight Restore Kit, or just the PlastX solution if you don’t need a buffing wheel(for use with a power drill) and polish cloth.  You won’t need the buffing wheel and power drill for small items. Now I must warn you that for colored plastics or shades you must know that the plastic is colored all the way through and not just a coating. If you use this polish on a coated item you might just have to strip off all the color to recover from the damage you will cause and then you will be left with a clear plastic item.  The manufacturer only recommends the product for use on clear plastics so you are at fault for any damage caused by off label uses.  I could not find the PlastX solution locally so I had to buy the kit which includes a buffing pad attachment for a power drill, and a polishing cloth, for $19.99 at my local Wal-Mart.

FYI:  If you have glass items which need to be polished back to a shine you should use Cerium Oxide powder and a felt pad.  These can be found online for as little as $10 plus shipping.

photo from www.autogeek.net

A few tips:
1. If you can feel the scratches with your finger or finger nail the damage is too severe to use with this product alone… you will need to sand down the damaged area with sandpaper, for minor scratches you should begin wet sanding with 2000 grit paper  and finish with 2500 grit paper.  Wet sand the damaged area until smooth to touch, and then polish with the Meguiar’s PlastX polish. You can not typically find 2000 or 2500 grit paper at your local hardware store, but most automotive repair stores and all automotive or marine paint & body supply stores should have it. You risk further damaging your product by taking this step, so if this is your first attempt at wet sanding find an online tutorial and practice first on some scrap plastic items.  If you are unsure of your skills or if you can live with the scratches you may want to delay sanding & polishing until the scratches become unbearable.

2. A like new white athletic sock and your own two hands work well when the sock is turned inside out and used with gentle to no pressure to apply this product if the included buffing wheel is too large to use on your item. The inside of an athletic sock should be soft and clean enough to polish plastic without causing further damage.

3. Be patient, use very little pressure and use a lot of time and elbow grease and you should get the job done without damaging your item.

4. Use Masking Tape or Painter’s Tape to cover any chrome, aluminum, or any thing that’s not plastic because this polish may damage metallic or wood finishes. I like Painter’s Tape myself because it sticks to plastic and metal very nicely and it leaves no visible residue if removed within a few hours.

5. Test this product on a small, hidden area or a scrap piece of the same material before you go to town, and cause major damage.

6. Remember to only use this product on hard plastics, it is not recommended for LCD screens such as your laptop, GPS Unit, or your 50″ flat screen.

Good Luck with your plastic polishing.  I hope I did not scare you, but the risk of damage is real especially if you need to break out the sand paper.  Its really a simple procedure overall.  In less than 30 minutes I polished a scratch out of a pair of shades and I polished my iphone plastic screen protector(not the screen itself which is glass, but an aftermarket hard plastic case I purchased for my phone)…both items look like new, and this was my first time ever polishing plastic, although I had a former life as an auto body repair man and painter so I am familiar with sanding techniques…