Daily use of plastic items inevitably leads to defects on their surface. To eliminate scratches, chips, scuffs, and other damage to the material, it is worth figuring out how to polish the plastic. With the help of simple and affordable methods, it is quite possible to cope with the problem on your own, without seeking help from specialists.
Choosing Plastic Polishing Solutions
In order to choose the right remedy for removing defects on the surface of the plastic, it is worth assessing the complexity of the damage. Depending on this, in the future it will be necessary to give preference to one or another polishing method.
You can work in the following ways:
- mechanical;
- thermal;
- chemical.
If the plastic is covered with small scratches, a delicatehand polished with chemical abrasives. Special substances for polishing coarse and fine grain sizes are useful here. When dealing with deep enough damage, the thermal effect on the material, as well as rough mechanical grinding, will eliminate the problem.
Polishing plastic with a grinding wheel
Polishing technology in this way requires a drill. It uses a special grinding nozzle, which can be easily purchased at any hardware store. It can be used to clean any surface, not just plastic, as well as polish headlights with toothpaste and more.
If you need to save some money, then a piece of felt can serve as an alternative to a special sanding attachment. A piece of material must be rolled up into a roller and inserted into the drill chuck. Processing plastic with felt is quite effective. The only thing that is required to achieve the expected result is a reliable fixation of the material. Otherwise, the felt will jump off the drill, causing a whole lot of trouble in the process.
Using toothpaste
To polish plastic, it is not at all necessary to spend money on the purchase of specialized chemicals or resort to surface treatment with an electric tool. To eliminate the tarnishing of the material and remove minor scratches from its surface allows the use of ordinary toothpaste as an abrasive. The use of such an affordable household product makes it possible to return plastic products to their former brilliance. As practice shows, polishing headlights with toothpaste is especially effective.
The polishing process involves the following:
- Surfaces are cleaned of dust and dirt. Any household detergent that has a neutral chemical composition is used here.
- Plastic is degreased, rinsed and dried.
- Toothpaste is applied to a clean flannel cloth. Surfaces are polished in a circular motion in one direction.
- The resulting slurry is washed off. The operation is repeated.
- Remains of toothpaste are removed with a damp sponge. The plastic product is wiped dry.
Heat treatment
How do I polish plastic with deep enough imperfections? To do this, it is worth subjecting it to heat with a hair dryer, which will greatly simplify the subsequent grouting of damage.
For uniform stripping of plastic products, large areas are treated with hot air flow. As the material melts, the scratches will gradually heal. Be careful not to overdo it with the hair dryer, because if the heat is too high, the plastic can be deformed.
Referring to this method, one should not expect the complete, rapid disappearance of defects. It is enough to heat until the edges of the scratches on the plastic begin to melt slightly. Then you need to immediately go to theirgrouting with a grinding wheel or manually using abrasives.
Plastic Polishing Paste
To eliminate scuffs, chips and scratches on the surface of plastic, GOI paste is ideal. There are several types of this tool. Each of them has a different grain size. Therefore, the main thing here is to choose the right number of the substance, starting from the nature of the existing defects.
For rough, rough grinding, a substance with an index of 4 is suitable. Such a GOI paste, the price of which is about 200 rubles for a 100-gram container, will allow you to remove major damage to the material. In this case, you will have to resort to mechanical surface treatment using a grinding wheel.
To eliminate medium damage, a tool with an index of 3 is suitable. The presented GOI paste, the price of which is up to 180 rubles, is the ideal solution if you need to grout enough textured scratches.
As for fine polishing, here it is worth using a paste with an index of 1 or 2. These products are the least abrasive and are ideal for finishing surfaces.
Polish treatment
How to polish plastic to perfection? To do this, you should use a special polish designed to work with the presented material. It is recommended to apply the substance on the surface in a thin, uniform layer. In order for the surfaces to become smooth and shiny, it is enough to thoroughly rub the polish with a segmentflannel cloth or soft sanding pad. Such a seemingly insignificant nuance will fix the result, regardless of the method used to eliminate defects from the plastic surface.
It is worth noting that polishes are not protected from moisture and water. Over time, they simply wash off. Therefore, if tarnishing of the plastic is noticed some time after polishing, the surfaces should be wiped from dirt and re-coated with the substance. This approach will avoid the appearance of new defects and keep the shine of the product for a long time.
In conclusion
So we figured out how to polish plastic with our own hands at home. As you can see, for this you just need to use the usual tools at hand, as well as available tools that can be easily found on sale. Thanks to a combination of polishing methods and a competent approach to the task, any plastic object that has noticeable defects on its surface can be brought back to life.
Self-polishing products makes it possible to save a decent amount. With a little practice, relying on the above methods, you can learn how to efficiently restore plastic objects not only for yourself, but also for friends and loved ones.
