Restoring Scratched Clear Plastics

[@twocvbloke]

Nothing boring about restoring things, it's all part of the process, and helps with sharing tips and tricks on how to do things... :)

[@highpraise-highcritic]

I'm watching while I'm endlessly polishing. Thanks for the company

[@gothesouthway]

I noticed some deep grooves on all of my records, I bet I could polish them out too.

[@JanBeta]

Noooooooooooo! :D

[@UberAlphaSirus]

It would improve the noise floor. Flat response is better.

[@Colin_Ames]

😅

[@Wooden-plank3743]

OH DEAR GOD! Nah I get it is a joke

[@giuseppelavecchia775]

La TECHNICS e' una delle migliori marche di giradischi al mondo!. un buon lavoro

[@kaitlyn__L]

Gosh, those new hinges look wonderful. I love the wood file in my pocketknife for smoothing-off bits of sprew etc in plastics as well, makes sense it was a good option for cleaning up your cuts.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, the hinges are excellent. Glad I found them. They basically look like they should have been there in the first place (and are hopefully going to last way longer than the original plastic parts). The Victorinox file is often a great option for me, too, I've used that many many times for plastics. :D

[@RacerX-]

Nice! I have been using the same method on old floppy disk case lids. I use Meguiar's PlastX and the kit you buy for headlights has a decent polishing attachment. Thanks for sharing and keep up the good work.

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! Yes, the car headlight kits are very much the same as what I used. Works well! :)

[@El-Ritmo]

Thanks, Jan, this video is exactly what I needed - I need to restore the lid of my Technics SL-D202, which is horrendously scratched, including some large sections that look almost... melted? Can't imagine what caused that (it was an eBay buy, so not caused by me). A really useful video for me, most especially in helping to set my expectations - I had fanciful notions of magically polishing it back into a like-new state, but if I can get a result similar to you then I'll be content, as that seems a very realistic goal. Danke.

[@jeffredd9965]

now this is the content i need... i'm on this tomorrow with my scratched up 1210 covers.

[@JanBeta]

Hope all goes well! 🤞

[@TMS5100]

@2:16 large sanding block will make sanding go way faster and more consistent. @7:28 power tool with polishing pads are absolutely the only way to go.

[@JanBeta]

I found that you don't have to be very consistent while sanding. I mostly focused on the bad scratches, polishing brought the whole surface back afterwards. I definitely need to get a proper tool for next time I guess! :D

[@JeffreyLeeflang66]

Jan, even those deep scratches on your dustcover can be fixed. The deeper the scratch, the heavier grit you need. In your case I would use 500grit and work it up as you did. The polishing wheel: you need those round 80mm flat sponges. Take the stiff one and use headlight restore polish ( or any polish ). The trick is to sand the complete cover, not only the spots. Than you get a smooth surface with no defects in the end. I can get it crystal clear, but that takes a few days 😅 So, great video and keep up the good work! 👌

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! I definitely have to get a proper flat polishing tool, holding the drill for 20 minutes passes was not very comfortable to put it mildly. I might revisit the cover at some point, I didn't have much time to work on it. As you said, I'm pretty sure most of the remaining scratches would be fixable with a "little bit" more patience (which I ran out of). :D

[@damianbutterworth2434]

I`ve been using some T-Cut for headlights. I might try some on the tape deck covers.

[@Millay2006]

Those marks are caused from people preparing to smoke marijuana don't ask me how I know but it's fitting for an old technics turntable. Cracking job on getting them out

[@JanBeta]

Ha! That makes sense! It seems the previous owner also used a slip mat and tried some record scratching with the turntable. Which would probably speak for your theory! :D

[@kaitlyn__L]

That also tracks with the internal dirt - no "nicotine glaze", but a thin coating of brown sooty dust.

[@nexiagsi16v91]

Zwei Tipps, das Schleifpapier um einen Holzklotz legen, somit brauchst du weniger Kraft und die Fläche wird eben abgeschliffen. Zum Polieren brauchst du eine Polierscheibe, wenn du eine Fläche polieren willst. Mit deinem Aufsatz bearbeitest du nur eine kleine Fläche und zwar mit der Mitte des Aufsatzes. Ich würde aber keinen zu großen Aufsatz nehmen als Scheibe, weil du sonst Probleme bekommst, dass das Werkstück vom Tisch fliegt und man muss viel Kraft aufwenden um die Maschine zu halten. Denke ~80mm wäre hier eine Option.

[@andrewclegg9501]

Jan, how long did it take to clean the polishing compound off all the items on your desk? Should have done it in the shower or outside.

[@JanBeta]

It wasn't that bad! I still have some dried polishing compound on some of the trays on my desk though. I consider them battle scars of sorts. And a reminder to go outside next time... :D

[@UberAlphaSirus]

You should have sheeted it up like a german scat party.

[@Aeduo]

It's fun seeing on like guitar repair videos, where a decades old guitar is gotten in to for the first time and there's _still_ polishing compound inside. :p

[@AppliedCryogenics]

​@@UberAlphaSirus Wow, classy.

[@Phenomz75]

very satisfying! I was one of the naggers / Nervensägen demanding the restoration / polishing of the hood, thanks ... it looks very nice now. Grüsse von der Schweizer Grenze nach Kiel, mach weiter so!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks for nagging! I think this actually may be of interest for others, too. With some more patience (which I lacked), I'm pretty sure the remaining scratches would be fixable, too. But I'm already quite pleased with the result (and it took several hours to get to this point already). :D

[@datassetteuser356]

Looks pretty good now, interesting video! Thank you!

[@TRONMAGNUM2099]

Nice work! It looks way better!

[@Colin_Ames]

Definitely worth the effort.

[@martinr2297]

Nice relaxing video! :D I noticed the HifiBerry Raspi next to your receiver setup and wonder what you are using it for. Maybe worth making a Video about? I have 3 of those using Squeezelite for multi room music playback. A bit fiddly to set up but once it works its really nice. Greetings from Switzerland!

[@JanBeta]

Oh, I mostly use it to convert the old Marantz receiver to a 21st century amp. For streaming music over Wifi and for playing stuff from my network hard disk. It's currently running Volumio (which is very usable for the purpose).

[@IDPhotoMan]

Looks great!

[@_.OX._]

T-cut works on acrylic as well as paint, used it to remove scratches from car a headlight years ago.

[@one_b]

It looks a lot better! Would it help to put something flat under the cover to support it while you sand and polish to keep the top from flexing? Also, somebody once told me to rotate the object being sanded (if you can) to keep from sanding the same movements from your hands into the surface. It helps to keep the surface more uniform.

[@JanBeta]

Not really necessary propping this up, it has very little give. I found that it doesn't matter much in which direction you polish as long as you manage to polish the whole surface equally as much. I guess some people are making more of a science out of it than it really is. ;)

[@one_b]

@@JanBeta I guess the reflections made the flexing of the surface look more dramatic to me.

[@raoullangner-macmillan7655]

Very cool. Thanks 🙂

[@BerndFelsche]

As the top surface will flex under pressure, it would help to control the pressure of sanding and polishing, if the surface was supported directly under the polishing area by e.g. a wooden block and some felt (or similar). P.S. Cracks in acrylic (and other plastics) can be fixed if a suitable solvent can be wicked into the crack. The repair is not necessarily 100% invisible., especially in a transparent material. P.P.S. Back in þe olden days, I used toothpaste as polishing medium. It worked well enough for small areas. And it gives the part a fresh, minty fragrance. 🙂

[@JanBeta]

It's not very critical to prop up the surface I think. It flexed a tiny bit but overall it's very stable. Makes sense for more delicate things, I guess! I have yet to try the crack repairing stuff. I presume it's super difficult to get it to look good on clear plastics.

[@andrew1977au]

Nice amp you have there 👌

[@JanBeta]

It is! Treated myself to it (it was broken, otherwise I would never have been able to afford it). There's a restoration video on this channel somewhere. ;)

[@dougjohnson4266]

Not sure I would have done that on my work bench around all my tools, but this good info.

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, in hindsight it wasn’t the smartest move. I had to do some cleaning after the fact… :D

[@squidjam]

It looks awesome!

[@JanBeta]

Thanks! I guess with some more patience (which I lacked), it would probably be possible to polish the remaining scratches out, too. But I'm very happy with the result at this point already!

[@Ni5ei]

You should have an oversized piece of sandpaper, secure it face up to the bench and sand the whole top equally to avoid getting an uneven surface.

[@Bewefau]

Does that have UV protection in it ? After couple months that stuff will be all hazy again if you don't have a UV protection.

[@JanBeta]

I have a 1978 turntable with a similar cover that is absolutely crystal clear. I guess the material they used is pretty well protected against UV. It also doesn't feel brittle at all.

[@computer_toucher]

Nice, I have to do this with the lid of my old Fisher Studio Standard :)

[@JanBeta]

Hope it works for you! One recommendation I can make now is to get a proper polishing tool (holding the drill for a long time was quite exhausting). :D

[@meh3247]

This is so much more interesting than some vacuous influencer trying to sell me stuff I don't need or want old fella... Nice job!

[@UberAlphaSirus]

Yes. Vacuous is enough.

[@rager1969]

Really good paint jobs include a lot of wet sanding and polishing, so same idea here.

[@JanBeta]

Yup, basically the same procedure!

[@gttarus1]

Bandersentv also has videos demonstrating removing scratches from vintage tv safety covers using wet sanding techniques followed by Novus 2 polish

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that's basically the same procedure!

[@edtuckerartist]

Those spots were probably where someone has splashed it with something corrosive maybe salsa/sauce/vinegar like substance.

[@JanBeta]

Some commenters pointed out that they are very likely cigarette burns (which makes the most sense to me so far)!

[@Toasty_Gaming]

I tried using a headlight restore drill kit on a cover for my atari console, it worked well however I gouged the plastic very deep with the edge of the bit. If you were to try this make sure to avoid that

[@JanBeta]

Yeah, I totally see how that could happen. I would definitely recommend using a proper disc polishing tool to avoid that. The drill was super exhausting to hold for me, too. But in theory, it works, as you said! :D

[@perinoid]

Good job.

[@jeffreyphipps1507]

Those look like cigarette ash burns. Someone drops an ash and the person blew it off before a melting crater. Just enough to mar the surface down slightly. It's possible that clear epoxy (or one tinted to that color) might help. It's also possible (but risky) that heating the top might cause it to settle the plastic smoothly - VERY RISKY.

[@JanBeta]

Yes, that would make sense! The spots seemed a bit like burns, some even had a texture that might be a cigarette lighter wheel or something similar. Heating a surface like that would be extremely risky, I think. Especially since you usually end up with discoloration because of density differences which would be very visible on a clear surface like that (the cover I worked on had one spot like that where it looked slightly cloudy, probably from heat).

[@Aeduo]

Those spots i wonder if they're some kind of chemical thing like something dripped on it at some point or from something hot, where some depth of the surface got foggy.

[@JanBeta]

Some commenters suggested cigarette (or joint) burns, which makes sense!

[@darwiniandude]

Thanks for the video :)

[@SergeantMajorH]

Add tinting... and rgb lighting

[@RetroDorotea]

This is the way.

[@CraZY.pRIME.]

I don't like to use drills for this when I do headlights, it can burn the/melt the plastic. If you are good with a spray can get some UV resistant plastic clear coat, it give protection and more of wet look.

[@JanBeta]

Good point! My drill is pretty slow so it didn't heat the plastic too much. I see how a corded, faster drill might be an issue though! The clear coat is a good idea, didn't think of that, thanks!

[@CraZY.pRIME.]

@@JanBeta Need to wet sand it again with a high grit and all in one direction so the clear coat can adhere better. I mean it looks great as it is now and I would practice a lot before doing it if you did decide too.

[@azariayehezkel9064]

Jan Almost 50k❤ Keep going 🎉

[@JanBeta]

I am surprised I got this far! :D

[@Tabula__Rasa]

Tiefe Kratzer kann man mit uv aushärtendem Sekundenkleber füllen und aushärten. Das schleifen bleibt einem aber nicht erspart. Wer dick aufträgt , muss viel abschleifen😅. Aber da er durch das beleuchten erst hart wird, kann man entspannt arbeiten und mit wenig Überschuss auftragen.

[@JanBeta]

Danke für den Tipp! Werde ich bei Gelegenheit mal probieren. :D

[@Mclaneinc]

Nice video Jan, only comment, 1541 MK II on top of a loud speaker!!!!!!! Are you trying to kill the media :)

[@JanBeta]

I never use both at the same time (although it would probably work fine, both the speakers and the drive have quite a bit of shielding). I only put the drive there because placing it next to the CRT caused too much interference... :D

[@Mclaneinc]

@@JanBeta Was just a small joke Jan, I know you know your stuff. Love the record deck, they were the g to turntables back in the day and still carry a high price.

[@faridmaulaui3644]

amazingggg

[@8bitparty-pl]

👍🏻

[@imranahmad2733]

A dual action orbital sander (DA sander) will do a better job with a polishing pad, you can also sand with it too.

[@PJBonoVox]

Yeah, this. It doesn't look like it's moving much but it's amazing how quickly you can polish with it.

[@JanBeta]

Yup, definitely have to get one eventually. The drill got the job done but it was pretty exhausting. :D

[@imranahmad2733]

Plus there's less chances of circular friction swirls.

[@TheGreatAtario]

I really have to wonder how those blobs of damage happened. Some sort of chemical mishap?

[@JanBeta]

Yes, I think they must be cigarette burns or something similar! Didn't realize that until I read some of the comments.

[@pema22]

if you start off with sandpaper 40 or 60, all the finer scratches will no longer be visible on first pass - no polishing needed 😜

[@JanBeta]

A matter of taste! 😅

[@rastislavzima]

I would guess those spots are caused by cigarettes...

[@JanBeta]

Yes! That makes sense!

[@laupert9021]

I have yet to watch a boring Jan Beta video :)

[@JanBeta]

You are too kind! (Maybe I should try to publish the full length version of this at some point for a laugh...) :D

[@laupert9021]

@@JanBeta You could always start a second channel for the extra nerdy stuff :) I have done a lot of restorations myself and your videos have always been a source of inspiration for me. As I'm currently working abroad and my own lab is indefinitely stored in boxes in a basement, I'm more or less living my hobby through watching videos like these.

[@UberAlphaSirus]

just look at car detailing or fixing car headlights. This looks like a kid making fairy cakes with an electric whisk when unattended.

[@JanBeta]

You don't like my moves? :D