plastic buffing?

[jzchev28]

Hey, does anyone have any luck or experience with buffing some small scratches out of the plastic? i'd also like to buff it all out to make it super shiney. what did you use? what compounds? and how did it turn out? thanks!

 

[konarider94]

novus is what people usually recommend on here. people say great things about it but i have yet to try it myself.

http://www.novuspolish.com/

 

[buelljek]

just get yourself a cheep buffing whell like a 6 incher from walmart, and most auto parts stores carry an abrasive compound that when it is used and then followed by a plastic wax does really well. such as Plastex is what I use. Makes headlights and plastic peices look like glass.

 

[anrkizm95]

the novus works great. novus 1 for cleaning and light polish.novus 2 for deeper scratches.

 

[jzchev28]

awesome thanks, ive never heard of that stuff i will give it a try im thinking, are there any store chains that carry it? i've got a buffer.

 

[anrkizm95]

you can get it here. buellparts novus 1&2

 

[tink]

Most HD dealers carry Novus 1 & 2.

 

[pur pony]

i work with all plastics at work and have done a bunch of buffing. I use the Novus like stated above. I wet sand up to 2000 grit and then machine buff first with #7 compound. Then follow up with the Novus heavy and then the light. Parts come out looking like glass.

I use a small air powered rotary buffer with a 3" pad.

 

[TerryS1980]

I've had great results with Mother's Plastic Polish. Found it at the local bike shop.

 

[nwguy]

I got kit a Walmart for this for less than $20. It came with the following:

- A 2 or 3" wide velcro faced attachment for an electric drill
- A coarse sponge pad for applying coarser rubbing compound
- A fine sponge pad for applying fine polishing compound
- A 3000 grit sanding pad
- A small tube of coarser rubbing compound
- A small tube of fine polishing compound

Their instructions were pretty good. I had some deep scratches (through the clear coat) in another bike I have so I went all the way down to 600 grit wet/dry sandpaper, then worked back up through 1,500 and 2,000 grit before using the 3,000 grit sanding pad included in the kit. I had a lot of scratches to deal with so I bought an extra bottle of the 3M rubbing compound. If you're patient and look very carefully at your work as you go you can totally eliminate pretty deep scratches and get back to a pure gloss surface. I used Meguiar's #7 and #2 for the final polishings, and then car wax. Nice and shiny when done. Note that the rubbing and polishing compounds fly all over the place when you use a power tool to apply them. It's pretty messy.

The drill attachment, pads and 3k grit paper with the kit from Walmart

My assortment of rubbing and polishing compounds

 

[jzchev28]

interesting, im going to have to get busy

 

[dave_xb12r]

I've got a collection of polishing compounds. The best I've found is Novus. Just take your time and the shiz will come out like glass.

I use a 6" buffer (home depot) with microfiber cover(bought online).

 

[Pegasus]

I bought Novus 1, 2, and 3. I'm also trying to get rid of the kind of ghost decal I have left after I took the Buell decals off my tank.

 

[xfirex]

just what i was looking for

 

[Bad Liver]

on my old dirtbikes, i would sand with progressively finer grits of sandpaper and then use 'MopNGlo' floor polish to shine up the plastics. Makes them nice and shiny and prevents stuff (mud) from sticking in the future.