restoring old plexiglass windshield

[mdgpl]

Just bought an old 1960 runabout with a plexiglass windshield. Its has 50 years of light scratches and is slightly yellowed. What products and processes do I use to restore it vs replacement?

 

[26aftcab454]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

motorcycle shops sell kits to remove scratches.

It might be easier to make a new one. A table edge & propane torch/ heat gun can make simple corners..

tell us about your boat- mfg..model...

 

[kenmyfam]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

Personally I would fix it with a new one.
Welcome to iboats

 

[crazy charlie]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

Based on the age .....Replace it and save yourself a bunch of time and money.Charlie

 

[mdgpl]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

The boat is a 1960 SeaKing aluminum run-about boat with a 1960 Evinrude 10hp. The windshield is in pretty good shape, the previous owner did not have it attached for many many years, it was stored. There is just a fair amount of surface nicks. Easy to see through, but likely to be a distraction when heading into the sun. You'd think a high speed buffer with the right compound you could work them out.... Well, i have lots of other things to get to first like the wood transome pieces, seats, and the dashboard and a complete strip down of the trailer.

 

[Fed]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

I used a product called 'Plexus' and it made my 25 year old cloudy screen almost new again, I do have to apply it every now & then to keep it good.

 

[5150abf]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

Autozone has some stuff for headlights that should workpretty good, I'm sure it si just some super fine rubbing compound but it does work.

I had a car with really bad headlights, hit them with some 2000 grit wet paper then buffed and they looked like new again.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

I used some of the headlight restorer on some 30 year old snowmobile windshields and the results were pretty impressive. There are a number of different mfg. of the headlight restore products most I looked at mention other applications such as plex windshields, helmet faceshields etc. Stick with some of the name brand stuff for best results, it may cost a bit more but usually worth it. Meguires, 3M, Mothers, etc.

 

[witenite0560]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

I used some stuff I found on E-bay on my 68 Crestliner Del Rio and it worked great. Unfortunately, I don't recall the name of it. Do a search on E-bay and you'll find it. Ahh, just remembered.... Isenglass cleaner, I think. I believe Isenglass is what they used then. It's technically not Plexiglas, but similar.
I recommend if you decide to try to buff it out with any kind of machine you keep it wet with some clean water while you're buffing. Acrylics are actually quite heat sensitive and overheating it will cause further crazing.
The Isenglass cleaner worked very well and basically applied just like car wax.. apply and buff off.

 

[NYBo]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

Meguiar's Plastx.

 

[Lone Duck]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

I have heard that Pledge works well .

 

[DaNinja]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

Meguiar's Plastx.

I've had good results with that as well. There's some other kits that have a similiar compound with different levels of very fine sand paper.

 

[JSMoore]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

When I was in VietNam as a Huey crewchief, we could almost NEVER find plexiglass cleaner to clean/polish the windshields on our aircraft. But, Brasso was always available. So we used brasso most of the time. It's very good at rubbing out small scratches and surface haze on plexiglass. (It works good on watch crystals, too!). You can find brasso at most grocery/hardware stores in the section where all the cleaning stuff is. It's cheap, too.
Cheers!
JSM

 

[109jb]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

If you want the best product for refinishing plexiglass, get the Micro-Surface brand of products. I have used their Heavy damage removal kit on airplane windshields and canopies and it really does a great job. It is a multi-step kit and you wonder if it is going to work up until that last step and then WOW. It isn't cheap, but when it the best stuff out there ever cheap.

http://micro-surface.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=41

 

[witenite0560]

Re: restoring old plexiglass windshield

If you want the best product for refinishing plexiglass, get the Micro-Surface brand of products. I have used their Heavy damage removal kit on airplane windshields and canopies and it really does a great job. It is a multi-step kit and you wonder if it is going to work up until that last step and then WOW. It isn't cheap, but when it the best stuff out there ever cheap.

http://micro-surface.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=41

The Micro-Mesh products mentioned above work very well. This is the same system the AF uses at Depot level for refurbing canopies. It is spendy, but one kit will do more than one windshield, too. Definitely be careful not to overheat the surface.
Just some gee whiz background: I've replaced and reworked transparencies on F-4 and A-10 aircraft. The acrylics are very sensitive to heat. On F-4s we were required to set the panel in the frame, mark where the fastner holes went, then take the transparency panel out of the frame and drill the holes under water in a tank. Also, do NOT use anything that contains acetone! It'll cause crazing in no time. It sort of dries out the acrylic and makes it less flexible.