Plastic windows

[Phil]

Any recommendations on cleaning plastic windows like the ones on Jeep wranglers without dulling them?
:dunno

[MattS]

A fwe that come to mind for plastic windows:

Meguiars PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish
Poorboys Professional Polish
Novus Plastic Polish

All three of those should polish nicely without dulling.

-Matt

[Anthony O.]

Well there is "cleaning", which should be done with a MF towel and a nice QD, like Poorboys, Clear Pearl, etc. Wipe in a linear direction only and never in circles.

I prefer to mist the plastic windows, get it fairly wet, and then use a blotting/wiping motion paying close attention to not grind any grit into the window. Don`t use the same side for drying as you did wiping, in fact I usually use all four sides on two plastic windows. Flip and fold and use the other sides for the rest.

Then we have "polishing", which is done to remove fine scratches and blemishes. In a pinch you can use good ol plain white toothpaste, such as original Crest or Colgate. When I use to build scale models for fun and competition I would have a tube of Colgate in my model box to rub out jet canopies and car windshields.

As said Meguiars makes a nice plastic polish which was orginally formulated for furniture polish. I personally use the Novus Plastic Polish System. This is a 3 step system with #3 being the most aggressive of the 3 and should only be used to try and remove your deeper scratches and only apply it in the direction of the scratches. Apply it with a applicator sponge or a soft MF towel. Use a new towel and some QD to buff of the residue.

Step #2 is designed to then polish out fine to medium scratches and this is applied in a circular motion, small tight motions. I use a sponge applicator for this step and again use the QD and MF to buff off. I do this step 3 or 4 times.

Then apply the #1 which is very liquidy and mainly designed to polish an already clean surface. Works great on instrument cluster covers, wood trim on the interiors and plastic lenses on the exterior. Works great on sunglasses and I have used the system to also remove scratches on CD`s!

Hope that helps....Oh, some folks also use Pledge on thier plastic windows and love it.

Anthony

[Phil]

I think were talking about the same thing, but just in case, I mean the type of windows youll find on a Jeep Wrangler soft top. (the ones that unzip to open). Are we talking about the same ones? Ive never heard of "polishing them" I could be wrong

[Dad_A_Tude]

:bigups Have to say thanks on this one!
Probably would have asked same question in the near future.
:beer

[Beemerboy]

Phil

Anthony is talking about the same type of windows. I ahve a few cars that I do ands I have used Novus and its the bomb. Depending on how bad they are it can really do the trick. Just remember that they are really soft and scratch easy and I do mean easy. Having said that I wonder is the ones on Jeep are harder plastic. I would still use Novus with the application that Anthony has posted

[Phil]

Thanks a mill you guys, I knew I could depend on DC for this one
:dcrules
Ill post pics when the job is done

[NozeBleedSpeed]

I have some Plexus. Any opinions on that?

[Anthony O.]

Plexus is a great polisher but it has no cleaning abilities, at least in the way of removing fine scratches.

Beemerboy,

Thanks so much for that great reply to Phil :)

Anthony

[JeffBruce]

Anthoney:
Where do you get Novus Plastic Polish....TOL???

[Anthony O.]

jeff,

check out your local Harley dealer. They carry the larger size bottles.

Anthony

[Dave Holmes]

For Novus, you can call 1-800-548-6872 for the nearest distributor (according to the bottle).
Anthony, as usual, is right on. Novus is a great system of products. And his application instructions are impeccable.

Dave

[Anthony O.]

Here is a picture I have posted before but this seems like a good time to re-post it. I used the Novus system on here and please note that product #3 is pretty aggressive so it should not be used on the whole plastic window but just the larger, heavier scratches.

Then I used #2, then #1, QD it then a few buffs with Plexus for gloss.

Before:

[Anthony O.]

After:

[Anthony O.]

Now alot of what you see is just caked on dirt but there was some slight hazing even after the washing due to paint overspray which was removed with some delicate clay work.

My main goal was to try and remove or at least lighten up the plastic windows crease or fold line. This is caused by people lowering their plastic windows without first cleaning them. The grit and grime then get folded in on themselves and grind away at the plastic causing scratches.

The most improvement came from a marked difference in clarity. Before it was like looking out a foggy window and after it was so much clearer and you could actually make out things in back of you :)

Anthony