plastic restoring tips??

hey all...i have a few sets of shrouds and fenders that are in good shape physically but have finishes that are degrading and delaminating..specifically right now im working on 87-88 rad shrouds...any tips and tricks would be great!

"Youtube" has several videos on how to restore and re-shine up old degraded plastics. Check it out. Your local bike shop should carry plastic restore kits as well. I've never used one of these kits myself and can't vouge for its effectiveness. Some of the YouTube ideas are pretty cool and seem to work with common items you may already have in your household.

I've seen some videos on YouTube and other places about restoring old plastic. I haven't tried any of the techniques though.
I'd be curious if you find something that works. I have old plastic too, and a couple of 87-88 bikes that could use some freshening.

its weird...almost anything i have black is still great...alot of white stuff gets that top layer thats kinda like a scab...poreous almost...undernreath that kinda looks ok. would like to try something that wont involve painting..i have some homemade stripes ready to go

i believe its uv rays that break down the poly, i think black is more resistant i know they have to add uv stabilizers to colours for logevity in sunny climates.

I have used a razor blade to scrape away the oxidized plastic to get down to the good plastic.
Best to scrape in one direction and try to minimize lines and gouges.
Then wet sand with 600 , 1000 and then 1500 grit sand paper. When you have it all sanded smooth, use Mothers aluminum wheels polish to make them shine. It takes a lot of elbow grease and lots of time.

BTW, I didn't have any luck trying to use polishing wheels, they generate heat to quickly and actually melt the plastic.

Also, the plastic renew kit I tried was nothing more than floor polish. Wipe it on smoothly and it leaves a nice shine like your kitchen floor, but washes off pretty easy. May be good for a garage queen.

Has any one tried the restorative polish you can buy for UPVC windows?

#4 steel wool....check.....what are you guys using to sand? just by hand?

I use Meguiars plastic polish to finish all cleaning operations, works well for the luster part
by the way there was a post I read, can't find it but it involved laundry soap and a bunch of different methods after that, will try to find it and post it, might have been on the Husky Owners site just can't remember right now

Yup, what Ron said, I used a dam pocket knife ... I figured it could'nt get any worse. So yes scrape one way then start to sand , think I did something like 220 wet, 400 wet, then 1000 wet then used maguirs car polish (cleaner wax stuff) and rub like a mother...It went from crusty dry stuff you could dig your finger nail in and write your name in it to a nice shiny 10 footer... you still will have some minor scratches in it tho , not bad at all . Night and day difference.

That's pretty much been my approach, but I used progressively finer steel wool with mineral spirits as a lubricator (plus, it tends to pull out those deep oil stains and whatever from years of exposure). Last step was hitting it with some BleachWhite (for white wall tires), scrub her down with the fine steel wool, rinse and wash and dry well, then hit it with a good high quality automotive plastic/vinyl protectant. Did this on the fenders and tank of my bro's '85 CR500. Lots and lots of elbow grease is necessary....it's about a 4 beer job anyway.

4 beer per item !!! 2 fenders and 2 shrouds thats 16 , O hell just get an 18 pack. lol

I have had fairly good results by sanding progressively finer W&D paper then using a heat gun to heat the plastic until it is barely fluid on the surface before moving on. The surface does get smooth and fresh, but practice (on old parts) is advised. There is Utube out there on this procedure.

when you say a heat gun, you mean a real one not a hair tool right?
what distance and what wattage? you have my curiosity

husqvarna plastics white
1 steel decap

2 decap water



3 paper water 600 !
4 acetone !

great ideas guys...thanks for the inspiration...its a shame that i have all this plastic thats serviceable except the finish

I think around 3-4" to get things going then back off and kind of chase the "slick" around. You will get the hang of it if you practice on some old plastic. If you don't have any old stuff around to practice with just take it slow..
I think most heat guns are 1500 watts.

thanks I have some pretty rough pieces to practice on

A couple days ago I did a 5 minute "restoration" on a preston petty canam front fender with a turbotorch after trying a heat gun with no success. The fender was severely oxidized, I should have used steel wool to remove the oxidation first but just jumped in with the torch. finished results,, went from looking terrible to "not bad at 5 paces", looks shiny but definetely not perfect. This may not work on all plastic though.