Plastic polishing.

[Johnny4428]

Hi all! I am currently trying without success to improve on inner rear plastic mudguard. I wondered if anybody had tried plastic polishing compounds or any other miracle products? I have tried so far - T cut, Brasso, plastic trim polish, fibreglass polish, toothpaste (extra minty), and the buffing wheel the latter being the most successful. I could paint but they are not painted originally. I know that these are mostly out of sight but I will be annoyed every time I flip up the seat.

[McCabe-Thiele (Ted)]

On car headlights made from Polycarbonate I have used the following with great success. To remove the top surface I used wet & dry in wet mode starting with 400 grit then progressing to 1500 grit. Then I used Brasso with a buffing kit in my drill. The final finish was to use the clear headlight gel application by Turtle Wax H/L sealant. Typically it took 2-3 hours of work per headlamp but they looked close to perfect. On wrist watches with plastic faces Brasso works
but takes several hours to remove a good scratch. With plastic being quite soft I would use something like Wet & dry for deep scratches if it's to return that gloss look then Auto Glym Clear Bumper Gell works well on automotive black surfaces. Downside is that the finish is not long lasting so needs weekly finishing with a light layer of the clear Gel. Water or uV seem to break it down back to dull.

[Andrew-S]

I've been using this stuff for years on my concours entry TRs, it work for me: https://www.meguiars.com/automotive/products/meguiars-plastx-clear-plastic-cleaner-polish-g12310-10-oz-liquid

[Johnny4428]

Thanks guys, I had to fine sand to remove quite a few marks that’s why i now need to put shine back on. I will keep trying with different compounds and if all else fails I can polish on buffing mop.

[4wDaz]

Have you tried heating it up with a hot air gun ? obviously don’t melt it but it brings all the mould oils to the surface and shines again, mine came out like new.

[Johnny4428]

Have you tried heating it up with a hot air gun ? obviously don’t melt it but it brings all the mould oils to the surface and shines again, mine came out like new.

Have not tried heat gun, funny thing though I was just watching this morning a guy on YouTube taking scratches out of plastic trim using heat gun, seemed to work well.

[philward]

I used progresively finer emery paper concluding with plastic polishing compound (on a sponge polishing mop)