MrSelfDestruct
New member
lov2xlr8 said:
Exactly. Follow up with a polish to remove any swirl marks left by the compound. Now your paint should look good and you can wax/seal.
How can I make sanded plastic shine again?
- Thread starter lov2xlr8
- Start date
Exactly. Follow up with a polish to remove any swirl marks left by the compound. Now your paint should look good and you can wax/seal.
Jimmy Buffit said:
Ok but those "hills" that I sanded off became dull and the "valleys" were shiney so I figured I messed it all up, but it seems that I need some rubbing compound to bring the dull "hills" clear again. Correct?
1500grit should be good enough for a quad.. its no show car thats for sure.. lol
You need to entirely level it up FIRST ... Sand sand sand till it's smooth THEN hit it with rubbing compound , follow that up with perfect it also from 3M .... THEN hit it with wax ...
I'd try wetsanding down to 2000 grit then try rubbing compound/then perfect it then wax (skip the clearcoat ... I use this to polish Carbon fiber parts I make
I'd try wetsanding down to 2000 grit then try rubbing compound/then perfect it then wax (skip the clearcoat ... I use this to polish Carbon fiber parts I make
jimmybuffit
That'll buff right out!
Those valleys are not yet dull because the 'hills' are still in the way. Until you level th hills, the valleys will remain.
Remember y'all, that this is a plastic piece...
Jim
Remember y'all, that this is a plastic piece...
Jim
imported_Bence
New member
Yet another context-clearing issue:
In its present state it won't look good, no matter what you try on it.
If you sanded it down with 400 grit, then sprayed the 3 coats of CC, you have locked in the rough surface of that 400 grit sanding.
So:
- strip the clearcoats off to reveal the original 400 grit surface
- sand it again with 1000/2000 (and preferably 4000)
- after you've sanded it, go over it with an aggressive compound (not necessarily rubbing compound; and this will NOT finish down to a crystal clear look yet)
- follow it with a milder polish, which will further refine the finish and will give good gloss/clarity
- then you can stabilize this appearance with a sealant like the Z2 you mentioned
Grit levels and not show car or quad-dependent, and -specific factors. They are simply needed to produce a surface which is sufficiently smooth enough to establish a good gloss on it.
In its present state it won't look good, no matter what you try on it.
If you sanded it down with 400 grit, then sprayed the 3 coats of CC, you have locked in the rough surface of that 400 grit sanding.
So:
- strip the clearcoats off to reveal the original 400 grit surface
- sand it again with 1000/2000 (and preferably 4000)
- after you've sanded it, go over it with an aggressive compound (not necessarily rubbing compound; and this will NOT finish down to a crystal clear look yet)
- follow it with a milder polish, which will further refine the finish and will give good gloss/clarity
- then you can stabilize this appearance with a sealant like the Z2 you mentioned
Grit levels and not show car or quad-dependent, and -specific factors. They are simply needed to produce a surface which is sufficiently smooth enough to establish a good gloss on it.
ScubaStevo
New member
Look into getting some Meguiars #83, and some megs #82. You're going to need a rotary polsiher, because if you try it by hand, you'll be there for hours and hours and hours. Need to create lots of heat to level out the plastic.
imported_Bence
New member
lov2xlr8 said:
Okay, I get it but the 400 grit/clearcoat paint ×3/1500 grit will still show the 400 grit's structure. Or you sanded back all of your clearcoats to the bare plastic???
Steve's recommendation is good. Buy some #83, #80 then seal it with for example NXT Paste. If you still want to use the Z2, I recommend to do a 50/50 IPA wipedown (isopropyl alcohol/water), to get rid of the trade secret nourishing oils from the Megs polishes. Zaino doesn't like oils.
The process not necessarily needs a rotary. If the plastic is hard enough, it will finish up surprisingly good. I've done exactly this on my little digital diary. Its original softlack coating was peeling, so I decided to shine it up. I scraped the softlack (the rubbery-smooth coating VW/Ford/... uses for their door pullers, etc.), and sanded the surface with 1000/2000 grit papers and brought up the shine with the AutoGlym PR/SRP combo which work beautifully on plastics. Done by hand; it was quick and easy.
this is unpainted plastic.
I am pretty sure you can restore a shine to this. try treating this like a sanded clearcoat, use a heavy rubbing compound, move to a fine rubbing compound, then move to a heavy polish, then a light polish. you might try wetsanding it with 2500 or 3000 grit first.
see how that works. try to avoid getting the plastic heated up too much polishing it.
I am pretty sure you can restore a shine to this. try treating this like a sanded clearcoat, use a heavy rubbing compound, move to a fine rubbing compound, then move to a heavy polish, then a light polish. you might try wetsanding it with 2500 or 3000 grit first.
see how that works. try to avoid getting the plastic heated up too much polishing it.
imported_Bence
New member
Came out great!
triaxmaster
New member
jdhutchin said:
There is a way to get the shine back but it is really tricky to do and involves the use of a propane torch basicaly it is flashing the surface of the plastic with the torch but you need a broad flame that has lower temps than a regular propane torch. i worked in a plastics moulding factory that made interior parts for GM. ( dashboards, door panels etc.) we would do this all the time if we had to sand a sag out of a part. the torch we used was almost identical to a weed torch. I AM NOT SUGGESTING you try this but you might find out if there are any plastics manufacturers around your area and see if it is something they might do for you