Plastic Cleaner/Polish....

[lip277]

Hi folks -

I have several illuminated gas station signs that I will be hanging in the shop sometime soon
A couple of them have weathering or abrasions in the surface that shows up fairly noticeably. The lens is colored from the rear - so the weathered surface is just clear - so I think I can just polish the surface to remove the defects... See the two pics below.

Any thoughts on different compounds that might be good to use for this? I figure I'd use a DA/orbital to apply - but don't know what you guys think may be a good choice to start with and what head to use on the machine???
The sign pictured is about 6' square - so it will be a decently sized effort to clean up - once I get to that point.

I have a confession to make... The last time I actually applied one iota of wax or did any serious polishing to a car was probably .... uh.... 1987 or so... LOL
So - I am a bit out of touch that way.
(and yes - that includes the Mustang - I have had that professionally detailed in the past - but my guy moved to Las Vegas - and then had a stroke - so can't give him a call, otherwise I would....)

Any guidance is appreciated.

[clyde]

Hi folks -

I have several illuminated gas station signs that I will be hanging in the shop sometime soon
A couple of them have weathering or abrasions in the surface that shows up fairly noticeably. The lens is colored from the rear - so the weathered surface is just clear - so I think I can just polish the surface to remove the defects... See the two pics below.

Any thoughts on different compounds that might be good to use for this? I figure I'd use a DA/orbital to apply - but don't know what you guys think may be a good choice to start with and what head to use on the machine???
The sign pictured is about 6' square - so it will be a decently sized effort to clean up - once I get to that point.

I have a confession to make... The last time I actually applied one iota of wax or did any serious polishing to a car was probably .... uh.... 1987 or so... LOL
So - I am a bit out of touch that way.
(and yes - that includes the Mustang - I have had that professionally detailed in the past - but my guy moved to Las Vegas - and then had a stroke - so can't give him a call, otherwise I would....)

Any guidance is appreciated.

Not sure if it makes a difference, do you know if it's acrylic or bakelight? (acrylic is my guess). Either way, it's hard to tell if it's stuff on the sign which can be removed with soap, water, and/or some kind of chemicals or if it will need manual abrasion with some kind of combination of steel wool, sandpaper, and/or some kind of compound and/or polish.

It looks like the white part of the star has yellowed and that may not be fixable. Given that, I'm not sure how much I'd want to clean it. With the rest of the grime (or whatever it is), it has a patina. Cleaned up but yellowed might not look nice. If it was mine, I'd be torn.

Before cleaning (and probably to help me figure out if I wanted to attempt), I'd probably try to watch a bunch of Youtube videos and see how other people do it and go from there.

[lip277]

Yeah - the yellowing is not going away (and was there when I got the sign).

It appears to be acrylic. The surface is not 'dirty' as such - it's just not smooth (with added defects/pitting/scratches) in places to add to the look. lol

That patina is what I am wanting to minimize - as best I can.
Did some searching before - and will do more (not finding much so far, so why I asked here).

The mat finish is my main focus - just so it looks like a sign should when illuminated from behind.

Will see how this goes...