Guest Pete McCrary Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 What's the best method for cleaning/polishing/etc the windshield? It's beginning to get little pits and scratches in it. Ditto on the headlight covers although they appear to be a different material. Any and all help/suggestions appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 My windshield looks like crap. I have a friend that has a little business on the side polishing headlights. I've been meaning to have him give a go on my windshield, has anyone else tried this? I figured nothing from nothing equals nothing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 I like "Plexus" plastic cleaner and polish. It's about $5 for a can. Quick and easy for both the screen and the light lens. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 PLEDGE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :thumbsup: it works wonders! i put in on my vfr :rolleyes: . use what ever to take the bugs off, then pledge your little heart out and vouala! shiny B) , smooth and with a hint of lemon, or orange, or pine, or whatever sent you get. You can even use it on all your plastics and your visor on your helmet. The tank i really think it won't work as well because its metal. but Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bikes Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Tried lots of different products, Meguiars Mirror Glaze, cleaner and polish worked best for me. Link for the cleaner Meguiars plastic cleaner Link for the polish Meguiars plastic polish These products have been around and withstood the test of time, best thing going for polishing out those $100 Arai face shields. :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB-Oz Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 +1 plexus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer pm_wizard Posted September 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 13, 2007 +1 on the Mequiars products. I've been using them along time and they work well, just follow the instructions. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer HiDesertMLB Posted September 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 13, 2007 I like "Plexus" plastic cleaner and polish. It's about $5 for a can. Quick and easy for both the screen and the light lens. Wow. My local Honda stealership really put the markup on a can of Plexus. $10.25 is what I paid for my last can. I'm suspecting that Plexus is alot like Pledge furniture polish anyhow. It has a hint of that polish smell, and same foamy-waxy consitency when sprayed onto the plastic before wiping off. Gotta admit, Plexus works good on reducing the cobweb effects on plastic. I might try Pledge when my can of Plexus runs out. :idea3: I use Meguiars plastic cleaner (white bottle) to rub out the yellowing that occurs on my car's headlights. Works great if you're looking for more of a cleaner than quick buff & shine like Plexus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer VFRiderGal Posted September 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 13, 2007 +1 on the Meguiar's and Plexus! (and the Hondabrite) (The Meguiar's cleaner/polish got a TON of scratches out of my husband's V-Strom's screen.) My two pennies are that you regularly clean your screen with one of these products. I'm talking after every or every other ride. Be sure to use a clean 100% cotton cloth or a microfiber towel. I clean my shield, along with the nose of the bike, after nearly every single ride. It's a lot easier to clean it a little at a time... especially when the bugs are 'fresh' and not baked on (you don't have to scrub as hard). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer BonusVFR Posted September 13, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 13, 2007 I use Plexus on both of my bikes. Some wingers obsess about their shields and many use cleaning products from a leading aftermarket shield company, Tulsa. They sell a "special 210 polish" and a scratch remover too. Never tried them as Plexus works for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzed_viffer Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 After using Plexus for years (and years), I'm switching to Pledge. Plexus is good, but not that good considering what it costs. My windscreen is - despite my best efforts - pretty much fubar. It got brake fluid splashed on it, and has a series of small impact marks from a rock or summat hitting it. I *did* improve it heaps by taking it off and sitting it on a balled-up old bedspread for support, polishing it with an electric buffer and Meguiars (I think) "Swirl Remover" and then "Plastic Polish" (Or the other way round - whichever one is finer was used lastest). I followed that up with lots of hand rubbing with Plexus, and then windscreen rubbing with Plexus, by hand. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AB-Oz Posted September 13, 2007 Share Posted September 13, 2007 Some people have success with using toothpaste as a scratch remover on screens. Personally I would do this, but if I were to try I'd use CRELM toothpaste, suitably described halfway down this page: http://www.ibras.dk/montypython/episode24.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Thanks to each and everyone of you. By the Megiuar's, do y'all mean #7? I just got some of that to do the bike with followed by an application of #21. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 15, 2007 Share Posted September 15, 2007 Plexus & Pledge :thumbsup: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 16, 2007 Share Posted September 16, 2007 I have used Plexus alone, but currently I am happy with adding Zymol Cleaner Wax. The Zymol stuff does improve my screen's appearance in between Plexus quick clean ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Q-Dawg Posted September 16, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted September 16, 2007 Novus and a really good wax for me. I did a set of taillights on my truck and they are so new again. Probably a no-no, but I even sanded away all the DOT marking stamped into them and they are so SMOOV now! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 17, 2007 Share Posted September 17, 2007 Bought me a bottle of Meguiar's "PlastX" today and am going to give it a try. (Only decent looking product Pep Boys had on the shelf). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 18, 2007 Share Posted September 18, 2007 Would any of that stuff work for a scratched face shield? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 4, 2007 Share Posted October 4, 2007 Got my order of Plexus in today. Very impressed!!!!! Much better than Meguiar's PlastX. The only problem is the stuff is hard to find or either I looked in the wrong places. After looking at Pep Boys, Advance Auto, Eckerds, etc, I ordered it from AutoGeek.net. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Plain white toothpaste is one of the best and cheapest methods for polishing plexiglass. Got the tip from an F-16 crew chief. Works good on all kinds of stuff that scratches easy.. gas mask lenses, headlights, etc... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mechdziner714 Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Almost any bike shop carries Plexus, Wally world has the pledge for much cheaper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted October 23, 2007 Share Posted October 23, 2007 Pldege - which works best - lemon scented or plain? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer thx1139 Posted October 23, 2007 Member Contributer Share Posted October 23, 2007 Tried lots of different products, Meguiars Mirror Glaze, cleaner and polish worked best for me.Link for the cleaner Meguiars plastic cleaner Link for the polish Meguiars plastic polish :idea3: on that Meguire's #17 and #10. Found my latest pair of bottles on the shelf at NAPA. But if you really want it to look like new, or have some deep scratches that the polish just can't touch; you have to break out the sandpaper! A few strokes with 1000 grit will level those gouges right out. Work your way up to 2000-2400 as if you were wet-sanding the last stage on a clear-coat paint job and you will be amazed. Just make sure you have plenty of clean terrycloth for the final two-step with the Meguiar's or you will only introduce new scratches on the surface you had just fixed . I actually polished the road-rash out of a friend's CBR600 windscreen with this technique. Not a trace left. Fix your ruined CD's the same way... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
E-Ticket Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 So now I know what to use to polish my windshield. But what you guys recommend using to remove seriously baked-on, 130mph bug bodies? T'anks! E-Ticket Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SEBSPEED Posted July 30, 2010 Share Posted July 30, 2010 I know this is a dusty, crusty old thread... but since it's been bumped already... my 2 cents: - the autobody tech in me just has to say that for a pitted screen, 2500 grit sandpaper and buffing compound applied with a buffer are the best way to get rid of surface irregularities. The creams, waxes, pastes and sprays are all just cover ups and temporary - like makeup. Mechanical removal is the only way to get a real finish back. - for spiderweb cracking and hazing, if it's deep, do the buff then follow up with a few passes from a heat gun. You'll actually melt the surface of the screen to a depth and fuse it back into being smooth and clear. (military uses that trick too) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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