Plexiglass Question
 

I have a question for anyone who may know how I can fix this problem ...

Today I take out my dad and his friend both are in their early 70's so it's a slow ride all day today everywhere we went, I don't want them to get hurt in any way by full throttle power or any fooling around but any way here's what happened ... we come back in after 6 hours of fishing and having a good time and they both offer to chip in for gas and bait but I say no I don't want any money I just wanted you's to have a good time. So they both say well the least we can do is help you wash the boat down and get all the mess we made off it, so I say okay but take it easy and don't hurt yourself. Well we're all in the boat washing away and I'm at the stern, my dad's washing the gunwhales and his friend is washing the bow down. All of a sudden something caught my eye and I look up and my dad's friend is cleaning the BRAND NEW plexiglass windshield with get this ... STEEL WOOL!!!! :gf: :crying:

I damn near died and yelled to him "STOP"! But the damage was done, I have scratches all over the new windshield :crying: "BOTH" sides! Now for all you experts out there is there any way to get some of the scratches out or do I have to replace the windshield again? The guy said he was sorry and what can you do, ya can't kill him. I held my temper and said don't worry about it accidents happen, but man there better be a place in heaven for me after this.

The windshield is 3/8 plexiglass and was custom made and took 3 weeks to get, any glass guru's out there that can help me out or something to try?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and also for letting me vent a little.

Tight lines Guys!

There is a company in Whitman next to Distinctive Automotive that sells new plexiglass. You could buy it an install yourself or any auto glass company will do it. You are not getting those scrathes out. Thats quite a brain fart even for an old guy.

Thanks for the info on that company Swimmer but unfortunately it couldn't be that easy for me, it never is. I have a 22' center console and the plexiglass wraps around the console and it's a big piece of plexi at that and I'd have no clue as how to bend it around the corners.

You know that thing called "Murphy's Law?" Well that was written with me in mind, and trust me when I say it's never easy when it concerns me.

Do you know if they do custom work if no one else has a solution?

Try the acrylic aquarium scratch remover...
http://thefabricatorssource.com/products/15micro.htm

betcha there already is just for giving them a good time today. :hihi:

bullsheet
 

you can usually buff those out with a buffing pad and some

super fine polishing paste ....i worked for a year in a plexiglass factory
and thats how we took an edge cut with a table saw and buffed it clear...

so.....since its all f-d up as you say...you have nothing to loose by giving it a try.

now that i have a new barn and wood shop ..i am going back into the plexi glass/ lexan business because frankly i love the versatilty of the material

having heater bars and bending it or mini ovens to heat pieces and they become like rubber and all bond together with ease so fast...that its interesting and fun material to work with,,,,thats for sure...

i was pricing it at home depot last night in fact...
a sheet was 75 bucks. that was 3 feet wide by 6 feet tall.

Gel coat scratch remover from boating store or compound paste polish will work. Auto supply house will have polishing compound that they use to polish plastic headlight assemblys.

id give "Brasso" a try... but id try on a small spot first....
you can get it at walgreens. it took the scratches out of my ipod facing.

http://todd.dailey.info/archives/200...can-of-brasso/

Like Raven said you can buff that out. No problem.

When I was younger I worked in a hop that did allot of plexiglas worked. I would have to buff the machined edges after sanding.

The steel wool should have left at least fine scratches.

How about one of those Flitz balls and paste you see advertized.

if you want to make your own, you can buy a piece of flat plexi and use a heat gun to bend the corners over a form. its kinda fun.


if you polish it i dont think it will ever look as good as it once did.

Raven Since you were in the business you can stop me if this sounds like a bad idea but what about applying a heat to the surface of the plexi with a heat gun of map gas torch.Have some one hold a wet sponge on the other side to keep it from getting to hot and warping.

nebe's right
 

and i meant to mention that...

typically the plexi will get a little blurry and you'll loose some clarity
but the scratches wont be there anymore.

no it will make it either bubble or sag...deform ect...

when we did our bending the heat strips were kept at a precise temperature
using individual transformers...

no heat guns?? i guess i am old school.

I made a bunch of beautiful displays (risers) for my gallery using a band saw to cut out the pieces from a larger sheet, then a heat gun. but that was all small pieces. Do larger pieces require direct contact form a heat source?

well you can use one
 

a heat gun...

but by keeping the gun at a reasonable distance you
the operator are the thermostat.

you can generally buff them out with a high speed buffer and some polish and compound .

Thanks for all the answers guys!

I will take the windshield off the boat and try the aquarium method first on a small spot and see if it works and if that fails I'll try the buffer on it.

I know I probably won't have the same result as new glass because it got washed on both sides of the plexi with steel wool (SOS) so the outcome is probably going to be a negative but I'll try anything first and then as a last resort I'll just have to have another one made.

You guys are great and thanks again for all the help and for you're time.

You's all deserve keepers on your next trip out!

After you fix it, get the SOS off the boat!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:eek: :eek:

nebe is old school :jump:

teaser go find yourself some "Novus" scratch remover. It's a 2 part polish that is meant to do specifically what your looking to do. One part is a gritty polish which gets the scratches out gently then the other one is a fine grade jewelers polish that will buff that thing out to as good as new. Will take some elbow grease but it's under $10 and it will do a beautiful job. I use this stuff all the time.

damn straight im old school. since i shape molten glass every day, bending plexi is a piece of cake.

what did you used to make in plexi raven?

oh thanks nebe
 

now i have to use the way back machine
and go all the way back to 1974
33 years ago....

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c6...b1/peabody.jpg

we made those little plexi glass sugar baskets
for restaurents ,planters, shelves in a 90 degree bend
mostly ornamental gifts ,some large ,some small
made them by the thousands all thicknesses too
but.......
askin me to remember that at this particular time
is like askin me to go retrieve a roof shingle from a tornado :hee:

Thanks #^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&#^&, I'm going to order some tonight.

there is a product called PLEXUS it is supposed to take scratches out of plastic