Brutuskend's tip of the day.

[Brutuskend]

Several years back I was restoring a 72 VW convertible and during the restoration I decided to try and clean up the tail light and turn signal lens' since they were the original lens' that came with the car. Not having any good plastic polish kicking around or having had much luck with ANY plastic polish I had used in the past (and I had used a LOT. One of my jobs in the Marines was cleaning/polishing aircraft canopies, and I used to have a Plexiglas windshield on a motorcycle I owned) I decided to try this metal polish I had had good luck with. In the end, I was astounded with the results. After rubbing this stuff in and buffing it off the lens' looked BRAND NEW. Today I tried it again on some clear plastic lens' off my speed'o and turn signal/fuel gauges. Same results! All the scratches are GONE and these things look brand new!

Got some scratches on some plastic? CDs or DVDs? Give this stuff a try, you will be amazed!! I wouldn't even hesitate to try this on plastic sunglasses or reading glasses, it's THAT GOOD. It also works quite well on metal!

Simichrome Metal Polish

 

[Amused]

Simichrome rocks. I love the stuff!

 

[andylawcc]

must it be this "Simichrome" brand?
can I use alternative metal polish that I can find in my local hardware store?

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: andylawcc
must it be this "Simichrome" brand?
can I use alternative metal polish that I can find in my local hardware store?

Most metal polish is much more abrasive than Simichrome in my experience. You can try it if you want but don't blame me if it does more damage than good.

 

[jfall]

I was expecting a joke

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: andylawcc
must it be this "Simichrome" brand?
can I use alternative metal polish that I can find in my local hardware store?

Most metal polish is much more abrasive than Simichrome in my experience. You can try it if you want but don't blame me if it does more damage than good.

accckk... okay. thanks anyway.

 

[UncleWai]

hahaha 10/10

 

[IGBT]

..I recall using this stuff years ago polishing aluminum mag wheels and it worked great. Made the alum.look like chrome.

 

[Lurknomore]

Novus plastic clean and shine #2 is pretty good too.

 

[CrackRabbit]

If you can find it Meguiars's Plastix plastic polish works wonders on headlights and taillights.

 

[jst0ney]

How about for plastic cases on laptops?

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: jst0ney
How about for plastic cases on laptops?

yep, works great on those, as well as LCD screens and plasma TV screens (made of plastic)

 

[marleymarl]

that webpage is straight outta 1990

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: CrackRabbit
If you can find it Meguiars's Plastix plastic polish works wonders on headlights and taillights.

I have some of the #10 mirror glaze clear plastic polish sitting right here in front of me and believe me, compared to the simichrome, it's crap!

 

[b0mbrman]

So...where can I get this stuff locally?

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: b0mbrman
So...where can I get this stuff locally?

If you have a bicycle shop locally and they deal with J&B Importers, you can order it from them.

 

[irishScott]

Would this work on my iPod?

 

[Brutuskend]

Originally posted by: irishScott
Would this work on my iPod?

If it's plastic, YEA! Cell phone screens, CDs, DVDs, ... anything made out of plastic and it's also the best metal polish I have ever used, and I used a LOT of metal polish while in the Marines.

 

[DanTMWTMP]

a bit off topic i guess, but how do you get rid of swirls and tiny scratches (the ones you can only see from the reflection of sunlight off the car paint) from car paint? I doubt this will work on that?

I have a scratch on my digicam (plastic+metal parts..etc). I gotta try this on that.


oh, and someone should post action pics of this thing. B4, during, and after pics would be nice

 

[giantpinkbunnyhead]

Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
a bit off topic i guess, but how do you get rid of swirls and tiny scratches (the ones you can only see from the reflection of sunlight off the car paint) from car paint? I doubt this will work on that?

Yeah, that wouldn't work on paint. For swirl marks like you describe, there's a couple options. You can either erase the problem or cover the problem. If you want to actually get rid of those marks, it's best to let a skilled detailer work his magic on it, as it usually involves rubbing compounds or other abrasives to polish all that stuff out. But if you just want to "hide" them, you can use a glaze. 3M makes a good glaze that works pretty well. A glaze goes in and fills those small scratches and causes the light to refract away from them instead of revealing them. Glazes make your car shiny as well, but a coat of it doesn't last very long. Some in-between options include polishes that advertise "swirl remover" on them, but the quality of these products varies WIDELY.

I believe SVTcobra has an excellent detailing guide someplace on these boards that would have a lot of info for you.

 

[andylawcc]

Originally posted by: giantpinkbunnyhead

Originally posted by: DanTMWTMP
a bit off topic i guess, but how do you get rid of swirls and tiny scratches (the ones you can only see from the reflection of sunlight off the car paint) from car paint? I doubt this will work on that?

Yeah, that wouldn't work on paint. For swirl marks like you describe, there's a couple options. You can either erase the problem or cover the problem. If you want to actually get rid of those marks, it's best to let a skilled detailer work his magic on it, as it usually involves rubbing compounds or other abrasives to polish all that stuff out. But if you just want to "hide" them, you can use a glaze. 3M makes a good glaze that works pretty well. A glaze goes in and fills those small scratches and causes the light to refract away from them instead of revealing them. Glazes make your car shiny as well, but a coat of it doesn't last very long. Some in-between options include polishes that advertise "swirl remover" on them, but the quality of these products varies WIDELY.

I believe SVTcobra has an excellent detailing guide someplace on these boards that would have a lot of info for you.

:thumbsup:

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: Brutuskend

Originally posted by: b0mbrman
So...where can I get this stuff locally?

If you have a bicycle shop locally and they deal with J&B Importers, you can order it from them.

Most Harley and Honda MC dealerships carry them as well.

 

[Howard]

Originally posted by: daveymark

Originally posted by: jst0ney
How about for plastic cases on laptops?

yep, works great on those, as well as LCD screens and plasma TV screens (made of plastic)

What about the coatings on the screens?

 

[notposting]

Ha! Jokes: http://www.newmantools.com/humour/

 

[funboy6942]

Marked for later to buy. Thanks OP, I will give it a try.