Badly Scratched Plexiglass Window - Help Needed!
Discussion
Is there a way to get a scratch polished out of a plexiglass window without making it 'cloudy'?
The dealer I bought the car from took it to a specialist valeter who said it wasn't possible without leaving a myriad of tiny scratches, which would make it look 'cloudy' and more unsightly than the single scratch there is now.
NB The valeter in question regularly does plastic headlight lenses and they are left perfectly crystal clear, but for whatever reason the rear plexiglass window he was unable/unwilling to tackle. (different material?, plexiglass vs. plastic perhaps?)
I'm hoping that whilst not a job he was able to undertake, it might be something a more specialist person/company might be able to do.
Any recommendations?, Ideally Surrey/Sussex/SE England but will travel to get the best result.
The dealer I bought the car from took it to a specialist valeter who said it wasn't possible without leaving a myriad of tiny scratches, which would make it look 'cloudy' and more unsightly than the single scratch there is now.
NB The valeter in question regularly does plastic headlight lenses and they are left perfectly crystal clear, but for whatever reason the rear plexiglass window he was unable/unwilling to tackle. (different material?, plexiglass vs. plastic perhaps?)
I'm hoping that whilst not a job he was able to undertake, it might be something a more specialist person/company might be able to do.
Any recommendations?, Ideally Surrey/Sussex/SE England but will travel to get the best result.
Spoke to a couple of specialists today and sent them the above image, they weren't very optimistic.
I need to ascertain whether its made of Acrylic* or Polycarbonate*. If Polycarbonate i'm told its a definite no, and if acrylic then it depends on how deep it is.
- *These being intrinsically different materials, all other names - Plexiglass, Perspex, Lexan etc are just brand names I'm told.
There is a product designed to remove scratches from caravan windows (which are plastic) made by Fenwicks called Windowize.
I successfully got rid of the haze caused by multiple small scratches on my caravan windows using it. It was £7 or £8 from Halfords. They also do more abrasive products for deeper scratches, it may not be suitable for your purposes but at least it has been designed for use on plastic and acrylic windows.
I successfully got rid of the haze caused by multiple small scratches on my caravan windows using it. It was £7 or £8 from Halfords. They also do more abrasive products for deeper scratches, it may not be suitable for your purposes but at least it has been designed for use on plastic and acrylic windows.
I've done a lot of plastic caravan window scratches for a trade customer using a compounding mop & Farecla G3.
Be very careful to avoid a build up of heat as it can be game over very quickly.
If the scratch is very deep you may well get a smooth & shiny surface again but you are also likely to get a 'hall of mirrors' type distortion.
Be very careful to avoid a build up of heat as it can be game over very quickly.
If the scratch is very deep you may well get a smooth & shiny surface again but you are also likely to get a 'hall of mirrors' type distortion.
As Chris says - it is entirely possible to reduce and often remove scratches from plastic screens.
We often do so on aircraft windscreens where lack of distortion is obviously key. The trick is to use a forced rotation DA such as the Flex VRG or new Rupes Mille (when it's released) as the movement helps to dissipate the heat, where the forced rotation ensures that the machine does not bog down on curves.
As another has stated, that does look to be a deep scratch that may even require some light sanding, but no amount of polishing is going to reduce or remove the stress cracks that you can see further down the picture.
Do let me know if we can help at all - we travel nationally and may be able to fit it in with another job in your area - www.aircraftpaintprotection.co.uk
We often do so on aircraft windscreens where lack of distortion is obviously key. The trick is to use a forced rotation DA such as the Flex VRG or new Rupes Mille (when it's released) as the movement helps to dissipate the heat, where the forced rotation ensures that the machine does not bog down on curves.
As another has stated, that does look to be a deep scratch that may even require some light sanding, but no amount of polishing is going to reduce or remove the stress cracks that you can see further down the picture.
Do let me know if we can help at all - we travel nationally and may be able to fit it in with another job in your area - www.aircraftpaintprotection.co.uk
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