Lexan and Plexiglass Scratch Repair

Theoretically yes, step by step lapping with decreasing grit of emery can correct it,

But practically you need to see if you can get flat lapping wheels of this size.This method is used to make acrylic lances and prism here.

A car polish will work to remove the fine scratches. There are all so products available to remove scratches from plastics. Have all so found them at auto parts stores.

Never a trivial effort, I have seen decreasing grits of buffing compound used with an automotive buffer.

But I think what you are looking for might be more of a filler compound. You don't actually want to give up material, and the effect of the scratches is actually like gouging little prisms into the material.

For a place to start you might try starting with Rain-ex, and then work on thickening it up a bit.

Good idea! Industries would include motorcycles which make heavy use of acrylics in both the body work but also the accessories. Helmet facescreens.

Try Brillianize. If it doesn't work nothing will!

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=112

I used lemon pledge on the head lights of my car that were so fogged on the inside, the light barely shone through at night. I removed the head lights. sprayed lemon pledge inside and left it sit for 24 hours, sprayed again, let sit and rinsed them out with a hose and let dry. Made a 100% difference to where I could see the roads at night again.

There's a world of difference between Lexan (GE polycarbonate) and Plexiglas (Rohm and Haas acrylic) especially when it comes to solvent resistance.

Stressed polycarbonate will literally crumble when exposed to certain solvents.

Test in an inconspicuous spot first.

In USA circle track automobile racing on dirt the race cars are open and the plastic (usually clear polycarbonate) curved eyeshields on the driver's helmets get dirty quickly during the race. Some years back someone invented "tearoffs". These are many layers (25 or so) of clear plastic film each layer with a pull tab that the driver can grab with his gloved hand and pull off when dirty to expose a clean clear surface to see through.

Perhaps some enterprising fellow can extend this idea to work on construction equipment windshields and develop a profitable product.

Meantime a supply of water spray bottles or even windshield washers and a supply of Bounty Towels from Costco would help reduce the problem after you manage to fix your scratched windshields.

Actually I have used the stuff from Tap Plastics and it works reasonably well with very fine scratches.

Ed Weldon

GA from me.

Also, they should plan every year or two to replace the windows, they are most probably flat, therefore cheap.....safety should be the first commandment!!

Once, there was Gold Seal Glass Wax, a product developed to clean and polish Plexiglass aircraft canopies. It was a bit messy, and a little smelly, it but worked extremely well. It hasn't been available for years, but it is very fondly remembered.

There are now a number of products sold for cleaning and polishing aircraft windows, which are generally made of either Plexiglass or Lexan. Experiment. Those soft plastic windows in that dirty environment will give you plenty of chances to find which one works best for you.

If you just want to remove dirt, a paper towel moistened with ordinary rubbing alcohol (70% isopropanol) works extremely well, and it won't hurt the plastic. Avoid anything with ammonia, which tends to turn it yellow.

We used a plastic polish made by Greygate to clean perspex, canopies on older naval aircraft.

The NATO Stock No. is 7930-99-224-2028 (DTD 770A)

This polish is not suitable for Cellulose Acetate, but they have an alternative product.

There should be polish available in the USA for cleaning aircraft windows or Greygate may ship out of the UK.

Greygate Chemical Products Ltd, Fir Tree Lane, Groby, Leicester, UK

Word of warning ... NEVER use petroleum product to clean plastic windows, it will develop masses of fine cracks all over the plastic and ruin it!!!

You can do two things: preventive and corrective.

Preventive is to put a plastic film on which you replace from time to time. A bit like the formula one drivers, you could put several on.

Corrective would be to put some clear oil between the plastic sheet and the scratched screen. I'm not too sure about this one, but the refractive index might have to be quite close to the original plastic. Anyone got any idea if this might work?

I have had great experience with MICROMESH products : Essentially, a set of progressively finer water resistant abrasive paper (from 400 (!!!) to about 2000 with a flat rubber block. The whole experience is done by hand with plenty of water. Of course, you start with a coarsness appropriate to the damage. It is quite an experience to see the windshield uniformly white from the coarse sand paper progressively regain its clarity to perfect clear. In the kit, they do provide a polishing paste to finish the job - I cut a little bit short (shame on me) and applied Pledge.