How to Remove Scratches from Glossy Plastic - Sony PS3 Case Restoration

[@BorderlineOCD]

Hello friends. I didn't think this brain-fart of a project would be one of my most popular videos, or that I would still be responding to comments on it more than a year later. I appreciate all of you that discovered my channel through this video and hope you're finding my more recent content engaging. This was literally my first attempt at detailing anything and my primary content remains more on the electronics side of console repairs, rather than cosmetic restorations. Thank you for all the comments and suggestions, I hope to put them to use on a future restoration and improve on the results I achieved here. KZbin is a quirky business. I probably put the least amount of effort into this project compared to my average repair which can sometimes take me a couple of weeks to wrap up and publish. I still scratch my head at how an hour of dicking around in the garage messing with scratches on a PS3 lid got this much attention 🤷‍♂ Nonetheless, thank you for dropping by and be sure to check out my more recent content if you're interested in console repair work. Cheers.

[@jakeamato6761]

Never underestimate the appeal of watching someone else dick around in the garage to those without a garage in which to dick around. Congrats on the views and keep 'em coming!

[@LeavingCaladan]

best candid response from a creator 😂 love it

[@ThickpropheT]

Problem lots of people have + guy offering relatively easy and effective solutions == success. Keep up the good work!

[@davidswanson5669]

I’m glad you haven’t found the comments overwhelmingly frustrating. I think the best way to explain to you why this video is performing the way it is, is that it’s like the equivalent to one of those in-app ads (while playing a mobile game) where the game seems so obvious to solve but the virtual player is making all the wrong moves. Those ads are effective because it causes people to want to play the game, just to show how easily they could have done it right. Your video is providing people that same excited reaction, where the answer seems so obvious, and so they rush to the comments section to explain what you should have done (or to “thumbs up” an agreeable comment). Meanwhile, you’re not an idiot, you never proclaimed to be a pro cosmetic restorer, and I’m sure you learned a better way to polish the plastic within weeks of posting the video (yet a year later you get fresh new eyeballs and enthusiastic comments about what you should’ve done). Again, I’m glad you take it all in stride. I especially appreciate the conflicted complication of having a popular video also appear to show your “incompetence”, and therefore worry that viewers won’t want to see what else you’ve done on your channel, to realize how talented you are. It’s like you want to bury this video, but can’t because it’s a helpful spiderweb for eyeballs, and a gateway for the percentage who give you the benefit of the doubt - who end up subscribing after watching your other videos. Maybe you’ve already done this (I’ve yet to check out your channel), but you ought to make a “comeback” follow up video, with nearly the exact same title, where you implement all the suggestions, and surpass expectations. The algorithm will work in your favor, because although your initial PS3 restoration video will still be the primary video that the algorithm delivers to new people, in short time your follow up video will show up next in their suggested video feed. Back to the enthusiastic audience (who can’t help but blurt out the obvious solutions in the comments section), they love seeing things done the right way even more than they love seeing things done the wrong way (so long as they get to see it being done the wrong way first). It’s cathartic to correct someone, and even more cathartic to see someone learn from their mistakes.

[@DINGOS30]

​@@davidswanson5669no grammar or spelling mistakes... different breed.

[@CapitanAP]

Actually, the dremel paste was the most effective. The trick is when you polish something - you almost never do it with only one compound. That red compound you've got is apparently pretty coarse. After using it you should use finer compounds, and step by step you will achieve mirror gloss result

[@mrvbnz]

got to the comments only to write that the dremel pastewas probably a good intermediate step

[@krishanuneogy]

Exactly like when sharpening a dull knife we use corse stone first and finer stone later

[@Gunzee]

Should have tried it on the middle left and worked his way up, in terms of grit. Either way it's not a bad job. Just far too much product used.

[@aubry980]

so what would you consider using after the paste?

[@Gunzee]

​@@aubry980the cutting compound is enough. Using less and working it in would give a near perfect finish. Watch car detailing clips where they work on glossy/piano black trim. Edit: I wasn't thinking. After using cutting compound you'd use a polish to protect, remove any reside and make it shine.

[@mk2dubster]

The Ps3 "fat" for me was the best design styled Ps system. Nice work on the restore.

[@CK47CD]

From a car detailing perspective, I'd use less of the products, it seemed a bit much on a small area like this. I think that way you'd have to do less passes to have the same great result as you had at the end.

[@BorderlineOCD]

Yeah lol I could tell when it started clumping up the polishing wheel. I do think I was a little heavy handed towards the end there.

[@CK47CD]

@@BorderlineOCD When polishing a surface on a car, you always have to find the best combo to work with, as in pad and compound, and that needs a little testing. I think if this wheel and the Scratch Doctor is still not good enough, all you can do is find more stuff to try. Luckily compared to a car if you find a good one, it will basically work on every single ps3 of that type. I'd have used about 2 pea sized drops on each segment maximum, and that's still a bit much. :D It's also a good idea to prime the wool wheel with the product, so it doesn't start working dry. I have to add it was another great video!

[@budaroddy]

Yes I was thinking the same because I already used the car scratches removal procedure to clean some other things, thin sand paper and car wax, works just great almost with everything

[@RICKEYDD]

you can use this method for cleaning cd disks

[@arturoguerrero6082]

What is the best you can remove scratches and smudges from a xbox 360 slim glossy plastic as someone who is a car detailer ?

[@ThickpropheT]

You may actually be able to use the dremel compound's microscratches to your advantage. The fact that it's introducing microscratches means it's more abrasive than the other compounds. A common technique for removing scratches is to buff them out in stages by buffing with finer and finer abrasives. Given that the dremel compound's microscratches are relatively easy to buff out, you may be able to use it to get rid of some of the really deep scratches and scuffs, then come back through with another polish and buff out the microscratches.

[@Dragon-Slay3r]

Not t?

[@ThickpropheT]

@@Dragon-Slay3r yes. T.

[@seansean8008]

I was looking for someone else to point this out as soon as I watched the video- I felt that the dremel compound area looked better than the rest.

[@LordxJoe]

That's what i was thinking. The part that had dremel compound on it first looks much better. I would have used dremel compound, dr. scratch, and then the other one since it seemed to be the finest.

[@mrchin7562]

What he said. xD Looked like the compound will work getting rid of the glue or whatever that is.

[@MrFastFox666]

From a car detailing perspective, here's some things I'd try. 1. Use a heavier cutting compound first to remove deep scratches. For really deep ones, you may need to start with some 1500 grit wet sanding. 2. Use less product. For a surface that size, I'd try one or two quarter-size dollops of product, and work it in a little longer. 3. Use a foam polishing pad. There's inexpensive ones that attach to your drill. They're much easier to use and will likely provide better results. 4. Do a final pass with a clean, wet foam pad. This will give the plastic a deeper black gloss. You can sew in the last part of your video when the light hits the plastic it makes it look a little milky or hazy, this step will get rid of that.

[@xandrelphane]

Can u elaborate number 4? Im sorry for asking..i didnt understand what u meant by 'Do a final pass'

[@MrFastFox666]

@@xandrelphane when you're done sanding and polishing, take a clean, soft foam pad, get it wet, put it on a drill or polisher and use just the wet pad to polish, I had great results doing this on piano black plastic on cars.

[@xandrelphane]

@@MrFastFox666 Thanks for ur elaboration..really appreciate it 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@kenshiroFNS]

Is there any way to buff out scratches on a hockey helmet?

[@rolandberendonck3900]

@@kenshiroFNS Same procedure as above. And also use fine sandpaper first to get rid of the deep scratches and work from there.

[@glbernini0]

The microscratches you mention are actually a good thing! You are leveling off the surface area, you can even just use sandpaper, 1000 or so, on the glue & remove it. Then compound & polish for a perfect finish. Bigger wheel will give you much better results, but ya gotta work with what ya got!

[@CD-vb9fi]

yea, I was going to say I have seen many very high quality polishes start off like that. It is disappointing that he stopped without following it to conclusion. Sure not all polishes are equal, but some have very different approaches to their repair!

[@dmitryhetman1509]

I liked matt finish it produced

[@Ubergite]

@@alexandermatthews145 punctuation

[@Helladamnleet]

@@CD-vb9fi Kind of a gamble on a rare variant of PS3

[@ONI1013.]

As a detailer, I will say using a 1000 grit sandpaper on this soft plastic is the WORSt idea. These are micro scratches. Medium/Fine cut polish with a 2-in DA polisher will make it look almost perfectly new.

[@cptairwolf]

A few tips to get better results next time. 1) use varying strength of compounds and work your way from high to small grit with each pass. This will ensure even deeper scratches are removed. 2) apply thin even layers of compound (you're putting way too much on there). Having too much compound actually makes the work harder. 3) ditch the Dremel and use a proper orbital buffer to randomize the orbits. Removes any possibility of retaining swirls in the finishes product but also ensure uniform removal of substrate. 4) use a super fine polish after the last pass for a mirror finish.

[@98167]

I personally have used the “scratch doctor” on my car. instructions say to let it rest, i dunno an hour. then buff. was the same applied to all the wax’s, or was it applied & immediately buffed? nonetheless, amazing tips for the aesthetics 👍🏼!

[@dacasman]

The Dremel compound is specifically polishing compound. Which means leveling all the scratches into one consistent matte finish. The Nu Finish And Plastix are both buffing compounds for removing very fine micro scratches and creating a mirror finish. So ideally you should polish first, then buff. You can actually see the top right corner is the shiniest at the end for that exact reason. Side note: You're using way too much product. You want to let the wheel do the work, not the product. You don't want the wheel to be saturated in product because you actually need heat for the best results.

[@azharfahry_]

As a detailer hobbyist, try to use the foam polishing pad one after buffing with the cloth/cotton. Because the cloth/cotton pad could still leave some small scratch on the surface. Its good for buffing the deep scratches, but still leave some marks. Good video. I might try to do this to my PS3 too.

[@elijahwolter9235]

Wow man I don’t think I have ever seen a PS3 with that shiny of a finish. You polished it to a mirror finish, it looks great!

[@gaboaaa23]

buy a new one! You will see

[@markellul7461]

Usually best results are achieved by applying 3 levels of grit polishes, start with a rough like a metal polish to cut down the deep scratches even if it introduces micro scrathes, next would be soemthing like plastx which will deal with shallower scratches and the new micro scratches, and finally a fine product like a body wax such as turtle wax to finish and bring out the shine. Obviously change polishing wheel between grits…

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thanks for the advice, some great tips there. I was admittedly nervous seeing the results of the metal polish but it did mostly buff out, albeit with multiple passes and increased hand pressure. If you could choose your own grits, is there a particular sequence you would recommend for the initial stages? Would love to try this again on another unit and get even better results.

[@njones621]

@@BorderlineOCD I haven't tried consoles but I had polished my fair share of vehicle headlights. I wet sanded by hand with 800, 1500 and then 2000 grit sandpaper, then machine polished with Griot's Garage Correcting Cream and then Perfecting Cream. Obviously you wouldn't have to use these exactly, but you have the best chance for a glossy finish on plastics by using multiple levels of grit/polish. BTW I watched this because I also repair/refurbish old game consoles. Thanks for posting this. I haven't tried it and now I want to on my PS3!

[@PapaGleb]

Yep he is right. You start low and work your way up with sandpaper (wet sanding preferred for plastic) then use a compound. This cuts down on elbow grease significantly. Also very important you want to sand in opposite directions. So sand vertical with 1000 then horizontal with 1200-1500 then back to vertical with 2000. FYI compound also comes in different grit. Now aside all of that you did a great job and for a console this old it looks great.

[@caps741]

yep, its plastic so its the same as the headlight restorations I do. He actually could just bought the rustolium headlight restore kit for $14 and had everything he needed. I usually cut down to remove deep scratches, use 2 lesser grits for 2 stages of leveling, following but a rubbing compound then a polishing compound. Then like you said, something like a wax to bring out the shine would just make it really pop.

[@The_E_Lord]

@@BorderlineOCD Hey!, I wanted to ask, I have an Asus Strix G17, and it has a minor dot scratch, made from a falling compass (the one used to make circles). The problem is, the metal is anodized black, so any idea how to remove the scratch?

[@kiwikid4688]

Novus 1,2,3 works the best. It's the epitome of scratch removal/polishing in the acrylic industry.

[@callisvitor]

I don’t even had a PS3 and I don’t watch restoration videos, but I’m here watching this at 3am

[@MrVolksbeetle]

That red polishing compound is usually step 1, followed up by the finer white compound. I haven't tried it on this specific type of plastic, but a headlight 'restorer' kit might be a good option. Otherwise, I might have tried wet sanding it with 1500 or 2000 then stepping up to 5000 before a final polish with a super fine cut compound. I would like to applaud the results you accomplished, at least a 100% better than the mess of scratches it was. I just thought of another way to 'restore' this particular console if you don't have the required amount of elbow grease: vinyl wrap. There are several brands that have finishes similar to the piano black Sony was obsessed with using during this era... Looking at you PSP, lol.

[@garthstrange1479]

Awesome! I love how you go straight to the point! The way you sectioned off the surface and compared all 4 products in real time on the same object is what all KZbinrs need to take note of!

[@kevinkite3418]

It looks amazing! I don't have this model of PS3 but I would love to try it on my Wii U, since it also has a lot of micro scratches like these.

[@RomansDomainTTV]

I was just thinking this!!!!

[@ES-qy2ju]

X3

[@brandonnel6905]

Gamestop's console refurbishers: *Sees the Dremel No. 421 Compound leaving noticable scratch marks* "I'll take your entire stock."

[@ResidentFurryx]

As much as I like to dunk on Gamestop, their problem is half-assing refurbs, and not the use of the dremel polish. In fact, that dremel polish is the a good first step to a proper polish. As the goal of a harsh compound like that is to remove the large and deep scratches. Then compounds with finer grits are used to remove finer scratches. With a final stage of wax or similar compound to give it the final mirror finish. What this guy did was essentially skipped the multistep polish route entirely and tried to do the whole job with a single compound. This is not how you properly polish anything, period. At least not efficiently.

[@jackdaw7792]

@@ResidentFurryx He also used a single compound across the entire surface right after sectioning it off to test three others. If this was just a demonstration it'd be one thing, but following through with an attempted finish restoration at that point didn't end well.

[@D3nsity_]

I think the combo of scratch doctor and dremmel 421compound. the 421 buffed the deep scratches then scratch dr cleaned up the 421 marks. That section looks awesome

[@TheJackal483]

I have used Flitz polish for heavy scratches. Works great on clear plastics.

[@MegaManX7]

Holy wow man all that polish you poured on is absurd! I think people have told you though so I won't egg you on. It just hurt coming from a detailer to see that much polish on such a small surface area

[@thegreatjonzini]

I have a PS3 test console that really could do with this treatment. Great video as always 👍

[@BorderlineOCD]

Thank you. Good luck with your PS3 treatment.

[@TheCoolDave]

I'm going to have to try this too, my PS3 is pretty scratched up, I have the Novus kit I am going try, it's designed for plastic...

[@feonjun]

I love (bro love) a man who takes a day off to clean his game console and put it on KZbin. A man after my own heart.

[@jedivlix]

Headlight repair kits use 1000 - 4000 grit sandpaper plus polish to remove scratches. Treating that plastic shell just like a headlight should give great results. Just realize even a small scratch in plastic is "deep" and will require material to be removed in order to make it go away. This is not a quick process. Plan to devote some time. No prize for first place when cleaning up plastic. Awesome video!!!!!! Not bad for using a drill!!! Great job!!!!

[@Krakondack]

A single wipe with acetone, that dissolves the upper layer of plastic and fills in the cracks, might have done the job. It certainly does with headlights lenses.

[@Catchmyep3]

Maybe try a headlight restoration kit, sanding the surface and polishing it back up may remove more of those scratches.

[@itmessenger77]

Been waiting for this video for a while… nice done

[@BorderlineOCD]

Hope you enjoyed it!

[@alwhitney-muskoka]

Looks a lot better, but will only get scratched again. These shinny surfaces were a bad idea. I paint mine with a high quality enamel finish. I have done 2 so far. Turned out amazing. Can now be wiped down without scratching. This also covers up any old scratch damage as i fine-sand the shell housing down before painting. Looks like a brand new console.

[@briansmith2739]

Thank you for the video. I've been searching for a scratch remover, and your channel came up. I'll use this product to remove scratches on my Xbox Series S and the edge of my gaming monitor, not the glass. This helps.

[@atranfanatic]

I used the Meguiar's Plast-X on a Sega Genesis I sold to a friend of mine that was really scratched up. All I used was a micro fiber cloth a few tries. And the console looked way better and almost new. So this method I am sure would work even better with the buffing pads and a drill.

[@2414kels]

I still own my day one PS3 60gb model. When I heard about the ylod my brother who is IT and repair gaming PCs and Macs I had him put better thermal paste on for me. It's still running today. I use to wax it for easy dust removal on the surface. And use my father air compressor in the garage to blow out the dust lol!

[@Shrebina-kq4cs]

this has to be done in stages (not using the same compound multiple times), pad is too soft (use sponge cutting pad first), stay in the same spot for longer using more pressure and less compound, and only use polishing wheel at the end.

[@NGproductions23]

Thank you so much for this polish restoration video Borderline OCD! Being new to this channel and video, this gave me more insight for properly removing the scratches off of my Playstation! Definetly got yourself another subsciber! Awesome video! 5 stars on YELP! Lol

[@dreamseeker2346]

Thanks for the in depth product comparison tutorial video, I may end up buy one of these older models from a friend of mine and I like to keep my stuff looking nice and know how to take good care of the stuff I have so I definitely appreciate this

[@Namudi2]

Was looking for this topic about a month ago and this is by far the best vid appreciate it

[@Sonnell]

Thanks for the comparison. However, if you hold the drill at a fixed angle, it does not matter much if you move it in any direction, because the polishing head will affect the plastic mostly from one angle, that is the rotation of it. key is to change the angle of the drill at every pass, and not just back and forth but like +30 degrees every time to make a full rotation.

[@BennoBettels]

The third one just ruined it all...

[@damo690]

I'm sure you have a fair idea of what you are doing. But if I was to offer some advice, it would be to realise that there are different grits in the compounds you use to do this. If it's heavily scratched like this was, you could try a lower grit polish first and then hit it with a finer one. A bit of car wax after that works wonders. If you want it really perfect you can start sanding it with 400 or 800 grit paper (depending on how deep the scratches are) it's important that at that stage you remove all the scratches you want to. You may not remove them all as some can be stubborn and beyond what your paper can do. After your first choice of paper just work your way up in twos untill you reach at least 2000 grit. Then buff with a compound greater than 2000 grit. And finally a fine grit polish followed by a coat of wax.

[@Dinkalinsky]

Wish me luck ima do this on my 3ds

[@denniswiden8909]

Great video. Question, would this work on a pair of over ear headphones?

[@_mylastname]

That Dremel compound definitely works nice, gives a nice smooth area to them go in and do final polishing... Always start with course, fine, then finer, then finest. Great video!!

[@lazytommy0]

Nice job. Love the user name. Also, rotary tools are the best aren't they haha

[@peterford9369]

There's a video on line where a person polished a PS2 slim with the high gloss side. And though he did not show the compound he used, it came out 100% looking brand new. It was amazing the outcome. You did fine as well but he had 0 haze in bright light. I've found that if you moisten your pad, it thins down the compound even more, reducing the grit factor even further. 👍👍

[@Losiu9]

Do you have this video somwhere perhaps? :)

[@peterford9369]

@@Losiu9 Type in, polishing the PS2 shell. The guy opens the unit and cleans the optics and interior then does the outer case. Good luck

[@Pastashock]

I polished mine by hand because I was scared of overheating and fogging the plastic. I used Mother’s headlight restoration polish to similar results.

[@KubanKevin]

I’ve been detailing for years. The dremel one impressed me because it is a very aggressive compound. Ideally I’d go dremel > scratch doctor > finishing polish

[@Adriaan1987]

i would definitely do the whole thing with the dremel stuf to remove the bigger scratches and the glue, and then the scratch doctor to polish it.

[@memadmax69]

I like to use the "headlight scratch remover" kits. The ones that are in a kit that come with the cleaner, yellow remover and polisher, the "ceramic" ones work really really good especially with a drill.

[@MagicTheKrakening]

ceramic coatings have a life expectancy and require you to apply it again year after year. not a good choice.

[@d.r.807]

Great work borderline OCD! I've done the same polishing technique to my PS4 and Xbox One (both with piano black plastics). I have experience with car detailing and paint correcting and was able to implement the same methods to achieve amazing results. I used 3 inch polishing pads (of various firmness levels) attached to a cordless drill, Meguiar's rubbing compound (to eliminate deep scratches), Meguiar's polishing compound (to eliminate light scratches) and a few micro fiber towels. Polishing pad spins quickly, arm movement is moderately slow, dril/polisher moves in a grid like pattern from left to right and top to bottom (with 50% overlap), liquid level is just enough to keep the surface moist but not overly wet. I repeated those steps until I got the desired look. Final step is a protectant that will further smoothen out the appearance of the remaining surface scratches. I tend to avoid this as it sometimes leaves behind an oily feeling.

[@Ayixlia]

Fun fact: The PS3 Backwards compatible models A01 all has a smoked transparent housing which is why this console is expensive and becoming rare.

[@erwinvb70]

I usually use ScratchX, instead of PlastX. That works fine, just shake the bottle before use, put a few drops on a piece of cotton and use that to polish the surface in a circular motion. Take a fresh piece of cotton and wipe it clean. Never did I ever use as much product as you applied.

[@casualplayer7743]

does Dr Scratch work for plastic transparent headlight? for removing yellowing and scratches?

[@billcarson1966]

Interesting experiment! Very well done. A dual action polisher would definitely improve the results by a huge margin and I've used Meguiar's PlastX and I can recommend it highly. I suspect NuFinish did better because you can clearly see there was more damage in the Meguiar's section than the NF section. All things being equal, I'd bet either product will do.

[@paul-d-mann]

I renovated an old uk dial telephone in black and started with 2000 grit wet/dry sanding working up to 6000 grit. Then I used an auto cutting compound followed by a wax polish. The final wax polish made a huge difference to the overall finish

[@ThomasBurns]

Great video! Will definitely be trying the Scratch Doctor out on some upcoming projects!

[@tomleech9753]

So I polish a LOT of CDs nd DVDs. One most of them the scratches are small, and the plastic is durable, so 2 mins in the JFJ Easy pro with the white compound, solves the problem, which is the equivelant of the red bottle you used. On the very scratched ones, i have to actually use the "sanding" pad, which just feels like coarse paper, it's very fine, and that does exactly what the dremel compound did. It takes off and levels the plastic, which means the next polish (usually 2) will make it even more flawless. That product is working exactly as intended. That upper right corner looks much better in comparison to any other section.

[@budaroddy]

You can use thinest sandpaper with water to sand the scratchs and then pollish with car wax 3 to 5 times

[@fivejedis]

I have a question, do you think this polishing would work on a system that has had the glossy basically sanded off? For example, DKOldies uses magic erasers which are abrasive and they would just leave the consoles looking all cloudy. Would this undo that damage on a console like that?

[@hakim8688]

If the gloss finish was “sanded” off by a magic eraser , this wouldn’t be able to bring it back to life unfortunately. Maybe a very light coat of clear coat but even that alone won’t be 100% original finish sadly

[@youuuuuuuuuuutube]

The reason you like Scratch Doctor results the most is because that bottom right quadrant was already cleaner than the other 3. The top right quadrant had some of the worst scratches, but that's the one that saw the most improvement at the end, so I guess the Dremel product DID work.

[@hoodafukisalice]

Very well illustrated. The result was astonishing! Thank you for sharing.

[@davewebster1627]

To remove scratches the surrounding paintwork is removed and therefore thinning the paint so that next time it's scratched it could go through. It would make more sense to fill in the scratch with lacquer and polish until the excess is removed

[@MASSIVEPUFFSGHEE]

New lens headlight restoration kit and do it like a headlight sand sand buff

[@hamasakikenji4554]

Best product to use is meguiars ultimate compound you'll thank me, also less is more when it comes to doing this kinda work. For best and fast results will require sanding with 2000 to 3000 grit sandpapers then compound it and polish.

[@smilingskull7827]

As a person with a scratch phobia, I never touch my tech without a microfiber rag, that said, my 60gb fat launch PS3 looks as new as it did when I purchased it. Thanks for the vid.

[@mikekaye3874]

This was awesome. Just found your videos today. And came across this one when I went to your page and subscribed. Thanks. - Toronto, Canada.

[@carlrav5660]

It's awesome when people actually show you how they test the products!

[@eksine]

From somone learning car body repair and painting, the correct way to do it is sand the whole thing until you level out all the scratches and make sure you end up with the highest grit you can like 3,000 or 2,000 then you would use a random orbit polisher which you can get a good one at harbor freight and then you're going to polish with McGuirer's polish . You start out with something like 100 compound and then end up with a higher grit and that's how they polish cars so basically you would also need a random orbit electric sander to stand out all the scratches I would start with maybe 800 or 600 grit, do not go too course otherwise you will ruin the project

[@InMyHead]

Awesome video. It's always cool to be able to have a unit that you can test different products and techniques on for the rest of us to see.

[@bandwagon240]

From another car detailer's perspective, this seems like it needs an aggressive polish followed by several less aggressive polishes. What I mean by that is the grit level (or cut) of each product. What you're trying to do is make big scratches turn into small scratches that are invisible to the eye. Start coarse and go fine. I'm fairly certain with the right polishes (I use Menzerna polishes in 3 stages, use whatever works for you), I could make this a mirror just by hand.

[@jamesdavies686]

There is a 3M product (I forget the name) but it's beige and it's a deep cut (step 1) and a fine cut (step 2) then you use something like the plastX or Scratch Dr. stuff to finish it off. It's commonly used for headlight restoration.

[@Wierie_]

The ps3 shot with the natural lighting looks so good!

[@JMLRetroRoom]

Not perfect but I’d say it’s way better than it was. I say it was worth the effort. PlastX is what I use. Someone else said to use turtle wax as the final coat on top of that so I may try that as well. I wish these companies would stop using piano black. Fingerprint magnet and shows scratches too easily. Then it just looks gross to even touch it 😁. Good work!

[@anthonywatson3130]

If you ever get your hands on a PSP with a scratched faceplate, I'd love to see you try and get it cleaned up! Apparently the 3rd party replacement ones don't compare to the originals.

[@MKRN98]

In the past I was polishing a steering wheel trim, using like 4k grid sand paper, then 7k as well as some paste. It was a pretty much mirror like finish, looked astonishing. My PS3 fat doesn't look good too so you gave me an idea to try to do the same thing on it as I did on my steering wheel

[@dame-e-in1258]

So that’s the face behind the camera! Also, damn. The PS3 looks nice.

[@ibj3]

Best way i'd remove those scratches is by wet sanding it first to remove the deeper scratches then polishing it with compound. Little compound goes a long way.

[@TSSCATS]

Sanding is for nerds

[@ibj3]

@@TSSCATS if you say so.

[@jingojango9634]

I used turtle wax scratch remover with a five inch buffing disc I bought at harbor freight. Works great....on scratched discs too.

[@TheSwartz]

This is excellent! I'd love to see similar videos cleaning up non-glossy consoles, like Sega Genesis, or SNES, etc.

[@leom9286]

Actually....non-glossy items are much easier to restore.

[@nickwallette6201]

@@leom9286 Easy to remove scratches from, maybe, but you'll never get the texture back.

[@2Boomer4U]

Good test, wonder if this would work same on a Wii U which suffers from same glossy scratch issues.

[@1SHRAPNEL]

Acetone turns dry super glue into a jelly that can be wiped away. Hope this tip helps.

[@a-simpler-time]

Brasso is my favourite polish. It meant for metal but you can apply it by hand and its very good at removing scratches from plastic

[@supernovaplayz419]

I recently bought a Xbox 360 Phat from a thrift store. It had tons of scratches and they were pretty deep. For some reason, glass cleaner worked on most of them. I just sprayed glass cleaner, waited a few minutes, then wiped it off. It looks brand new now.

[@emirsunay]

the result looks fantastic. I will try the PlastX on a Samsung monitor bezels which have a few microscratches. The material is probably the same.

[@antoniocastillo2415]

Im not sure but I notice that the best way is to polish first with dremel compound followed by the scratch doctor

[@thenaruto14]

Interesting video, ps3 looks better than before

[@Johny40Se7en]

Scratch doctor did a heck of a job, and Meguiar's compound didn't do too bad either. Out of those two, I'd go with whatever's cheapest and has the least dodgy chemicals in. The orange polishing compound sucks giant arse crack, just makes the plastic look foggy. If all you want to do is make plastic look foggy, just give it a rub over with some grey scotch pad... Good test fella.

[@akaredcrossbow]

Wet sand with multiple fine grit sandpaper to remove all scratches. Use a real buffer with compound then polish. At the end use a hand glaze then a good wax. Basically do the same steps you would do for a car that has clear coat. You don’t want to much heat from the buffer so it melts the plastic. Take time out n between so it doesn’t heat up too much.

[@benthebossjackson4388]

Scratch doctor worked amazing there !!!

[@danielcooper6033]

great video, clear and concise. I need to get scratches out of my console display in Mitsubishi Outlander and this was a great comparison video for those products.

[@OcularPerceptions]

I been using Blue Magic metal polish for fixing scratches on cd, DVD, and BluRay discs as well plastic lenses for years.

[@themadmallard]

@6:46 thats actually the correct approach with the damage level you're dealing with. and i can't be sure, but that might be thermal damage? not glue? it looks sunken in, not built up

[@AchillesWrath1]

I bet Meguiars headlight restorer kit would work pretty good for this application

[@armandocardona6975]

Another tip with these products is to use a mini orbital sander with a pad as the constant abrasion in one direction will make it very difficult to remove the scratches

[@TheSterlingArcher16]

I restored a launch PS3 a few years back. Any scratch that isn't a gouge can be removed with enough time. The odd thing I experienced was after copious polishing it seemed as if I burned through an outer layer & developed a lighter colored splotch which could be seen in bright light. At 5:35 it looks like you have the same situation in the upper righthand quadrant. I ended up just polishing until the entire lid was uniform. I tried researching if coatings are used in gloss plastic but didn't find anything. If it's not a coating it'd mean the polishing itself started creating micro-abrasions but I'm not sure if that makes sense.

[@darktempest53]

I believe the PS3 Fat's top is slightly translucent, so maybe you thinned the top enough to make it more translucent

[@TheSterlingArcher16]

@@darktempest53 No, it had clear boundary. I think it was either a coating or surface treatment.

[@emotionz3]

For something that scratched up you need to consider Novus 3-part, and perhaps 1500 then 2000grit trizac paper before the 3 part Novus. An economical solution is to use headlight restore products for vehicles.

[@fairrodthecapacitor]

Good video, but is it not easier if you use a microfiber cloth with an antiscratch solution and do some circular movement?

[@RestoreTechnique]

Try Novus 123 Plastic Polish, it's expensive though

[@BorderlineOCD]

I watched your PS4 video a couple of days ago and was impressed with your results. This was my first attempt at working with these materials so my "technique" could use some work ;) There have been some great suggestions in the comments so I have a few things to try for next time.

[@RestoreTechnique]

@@BorderlineOCD Haha, cheers

[@bradl1982]

After using Novus polish a few years ago that’s all I use anymore for plastics. I’m sure it would work great on this project. As others have said I would have used a fine grit sand paper or a few more passes with the dremel polish on the super glue then polished it out.

[@York3]

This should be higher, people need to know about Novus! I’m a Star Wars cosplayer and it’s ALL we would ever use to buff scratches off Stormtrooper armor. NOVUS FTW!!!

[@Tony78432]

This is like the only video I can find on restoring gloss plastics on gaming consoles. I have a new 3DS XL with some scratches on the shell and am looking to figure out how to remove them. I’m hesitant to wet sand since I have no experience with such method. I tried buffing with toothpaste but it’s not aggressive enough, I’m waiting on some Polywatch Plastic next time to try

[@yorkshirelad3133]

the red stuff is called rouge, and you can get it in all different gradients, professional jewelers use this, I used to use it polishing fossils, that one you had looked pretty corse for plastics though

[@mkatakm]

Thanks for sharing this. Can we use this process to remove scratches from TV and monitor surfaces as well, or do you suggest something else for them?