Polishing an acrylic screen

[talkToTheHat]

So I picked up an MRA screen on ebay. It was cheap, and is height adjustable so less fuss about whether it is the right height. Will make a handful of upcoming long journeys less uncomfortable.

It needs some minor scratches polishing out. I have toothpaste, various off-brand t-cut like substances and various metal polishes. Do I need to fork out for Xerpol or is one of the items I have as good/better? I know tothpaste did a gret job on my amber indicators when they were cloudy.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Rogerborg]

You could try heating it. That's ameliorated scratches for me.
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Biking is 1/20th as dangerous as horse riding.
GONE: HN125-8, LF-250B, GPz 305, GPZ 500S, Burgman 400 // RIDING: F650GS (800 twin), Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 500 AVL, Ninja 250R because racebike

[Just_James]

It does depend on the depth of the scratches on what amount of cut you'll require but you don't need any fancy specific products.

Removing scratches from plastic / acrylic is not really any different from removing them from paintwork (except you have more material to play with). If the scratches are very light, you may be able to just remove them with something with a light cut such as G3 or maybe even T-cut.

For deeper scratches you may need to flatt them out a little with some 2000s wet and dry paper first, then work through a couple of grades of abrasive paste to brink it back up.

Even very deep scuffs and scrapes can be removed, I salvaged a headlight that was very badly scuffed and had to start with 240's paper on it!
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Current Bikes / Projects: 1999 Rieju RS1 50
Previous bikes - 1986 DT125R (field bike), 1989 KX250, 1980 KX420 (with 500cc big bore), 1992 YZ250, 1988 KX500, 1989 XR250R, 1988 VFR400R NC24, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 2008 Rieju RS2 50 , 1993 Honda NSR 125

[talkToTheHat]

They're fairly light. I've got a HJC visor that looks worse.
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Bandit. does. everything.

[Just_James]

If they're light, just have a go with the lightest abrasive you have and see if it makes a difference.
keep to using straight lines with moderate pressure rather than swirls / circular motions.

If the scratch remains you'll need to use a more coarse abrasive and work your way back to a finer one to achieve the final finish.
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Current Bikes / Projects: 1999 Rieju RS1 50
Previous bikes - 1986 DT125R (field bike), 1989 KX250, 1980 KX420 (with 500cc big bore), 1992 YZ250, 1988 KX500, 1989 XR250R, 1988 VFR400R NC24, 1999 Cagiva Mito 125, 2008 Rieju RS2 50 , 1993 Honda NSR 125

[Major Doss]

Dremel things with a soft wheel are awesome for this.
I have had results using mediums such as;

1; t-cut (goes a bit cloudy, but will polish out with a final buffing-I would not do this for a long term fix).

2; Farecla (Cannot remember the grade; worked, but maybe TOO fine, had to do the rest of the screen to match- bike got stolen so no idea as to long term. Hope the thief got ghey AIDS from touching it).

3; fine grade valve lapping medium seems to work really well on a slow speed and nearly no pressure.

Regardless, Slow speed, little or no pressure, release often or you will melt the screen. That can be a git to smooth out.
Then you can raise your speed if you can reduce the pressure even further.


Hard to explain, as The Strokes once suggested with such verdant alacrity.

TL:DR Shit help really, have a go, nothing to lose.

edit; sorry JJ, circular is the way to go, it levels it out.

[Just_James]

[Major Doss]

boss it, feller, boss it.