Thread Number: 4080
Polishing Plastic? 		[Down to Last]

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Post# 46603   7/17/2008 at 01:59 (5,761 days old) by azmach2 ()        

Hello,
I've been looking at all the wonderful vac collections of the members and It's become obvious that most of you have plastic polishing down to a science. What componds/materials/products do you recommend for polishing and/or removing light scuffs.

I tried some snowmobile plastic windshield polishing compound on a Hoover Decade 80 but it was a very old bottle and didn't seem to work very well.

Post# 46606 , Reply# 1   7/17/2008 at 08:33 (5,761 days old) by louvac (A)        

Gary,

Try Brasso, Dupont No. 7 (automotive compound)-lightly, BarKeepers Cleanser, any car waxes containing cleaners, MagicEraser, and anything with petroleum distillates.



Post# 46615 , Reply# 2   7/17/2008 at 13:12 (5,761 days old) by kirbyboy1 ()        

Try Turtle Wax ice. It works great. If you can let it sit over night. It works great on all plasitcs. The best is the paste wax cause you can easily apply it with the applicator.

Post# 46617 , Reply# 3   7/17/2008 at 15:08 (5,761 days old) by azmach2 ()        

Thanks! I'll give those a try.

Post# 46827 , Reply# 4   7/21/2008 at 10:19 (5,757 days old) by vacvacvac ()        

Does anyone know how to remove a yellow tinge from plastic parts? I don't know whether some of this yellowing is related to plastic being exposed to light/sun or whether it's because of lack of air, as I have stored a vacuum out of the sunlight and a year later, it had yellowed.

Post# 46832 , Reply# 5   7/21/2008 at 10:56 (5,757 days old) by vacuumkid3 ()        

It's oxidation or UV damage, most likely...but sadly the only way to get that out is by sanding it and then polishing it. I am restoring a telephone right now that was badly "sun tanned" as the parts that wouldn't get much light were fine but the parts that did turned a much darker tan! I guess being that the phone color is tan makes my tanning analogy much better! :-D

Start with a lower grit, work your way up until you are in the 1000s, and then you can polish with a buffing wheel or plastic polish. Good luck!

~~K~~

Post# 46844 , Reply# 6   7/21/2008 at 15:29 (5,757 days old) by filterqueen83 ()        
sometimes

 magic erase will get this out if you work on it long enough.

Post# 46934 , Reply# 7   7/23/2008 at 00:09 (5,755 days old) by vacvacvac ()        

Thanks. Unfortunately, the plastic has a texture to it and I feel that sanding it or using a magic eraser will remove the texture. I wish that I could just send it out for a bleaching.

Post# 46941 , Reply# 8   7/23/2008 at 08:34 (5,755 days old) by luxg ()        

Jay, I don't believe that the magic eraser will remove the texture. Give it a try on a very small part that doesn't show.

Post# 46947 , Reply# 9   7/23/2008 at 11:41 (5,755 days old) by logan ()        
Magic Eraser

 PLEASE be careful with the Magic Eraser. I have a Eureka power nozzle that has a textured plastic hood and I used the Magic Eraser on it. The result was "scuff marks" that are very visible. It is now ruined.

I have found that using regular car CLEANER wax works best on plastic. I prefer Zymol, but any brand will do fine I'm sure.

Post# 46952 , Reply# 10   7/23/2008 at 13:17 (5,755 days old) by vacvacvac ()        

I, too, have had had less than great results with the magic eraser. It sometimes embeds streaks and dark marks into plastic. I think that the friction from the material heats the plastic up and can embed undesirable materials into the plastic.

Here's another recipe for cleaning plastic that I've been keeping to myself because I didn't know whether or not it's old hat and I wasn't certain how people would respond to it. It's cheap and it's quickly and easily made with household ingredients that I already have on hand.

I used to be in the sewing machine business. To keep people buying new machines, I would have to take trade-ins. As I'm certain we all have experienced in the vacuum world, one person's concept of "Excellent Condition" or "Like New" can vary from another person's. I used to end up with a lot of sewing machines that had stains from fabric coloring rubbing off onto the machine beds, black streak marks on the plastic sewing machine cases, and so on.

Like most of the people I have read about in this discussion forum, I also love refurbishing something to pristine cosmetic condition. Therefore, I would cosmetically refurbish the machines extensively, trying to replace as few trim pieces as possible.

The good news in terms of applying my experience to the realm of vacuum cleaners is that most of the plastics and paints used in modern sewing machines are very similar to the plastics and paints used in modern vacuum cleaners.

(If anyone's ever interested in my take on which is better plastic vs. metal machines--vacuums or sewing machines, just send me an email).

I used to make a paste out of Windex and baking soda to polish the marks out of the plastic and painted surfaces. Start with the baking soda, spray in a little Windex until it's a loose paste, put it onto a cloth, and gently buff and scour the surface of the machine to take out marks. It can sometimes take a little bit of pressure, but nothing heavy or extraordinary. Always test an inconspicuous spot first before trying this on a more obvious part of a vacuum. Be careful not to wipe too hard on surfaces that have screen-printed or painted logos, as I would be concerned that any abrasive or solvent/oil-based product (like car wax or Brasso) could erode the printing/paint.

I prefer this paste to other products for two reasons:

1. Because Windex is a dilution of ammonia with other cleansers and alcohol, so it dries quickly and does not remain in contact with plastic surfaces for extended periods of time. Car waxes and other solvent-based cleansers are usually petroleum or non-petroleum oil based, which I have found can cause degradation of color in some plastics if the products are left on for too long.

2. The baking soda gives a nice, very fine level of abrasive that quickly breaks down and that does not tend to erode plastic surfaces (especially textured plastic) unless you really apply tremendous pressure and repeated scouring. You usually have a great deal of warning before you damage any surface texture, though, and it's tough to really go too far with this.

3. (I know that I wrote that I had 2 reasons) This paste is cheap to make and it consists of stuff that most of us already have around the house. You can also make the paste out of ammonia and baking soda, but I am sometimes concerned about whether there are negative effects of applying undiluted ammonia to plastic surfaces.

Maybe people have already been using this and I am not suggesting something new. I will, however, tell you that I usually gravitate to this as the best method for cleaning textured plastic surfaces before I move on to a solvent or petroleum/non-petroleum oil-based product.

There is one (very minor) down side, however. The baking soda can sometimes leave a very fine powdery residue that you'll have to wipe off. This is easy...simply spray a cloth with Windex or water and wipe off the residue.

Hope that this is a good contribution and that people who have never tried this paste give it a go.

Post# 46973 , Reply# 11   7/23/2008 at 22:37 (5,754 days old) by luxg ()        

Thanks for that tip Jay, I am going to give it a try! It sounds like it would do a great job.


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