Toothpaste!!

[Fazzy]

Got a tip off a hobby shop owner to use toothpaste to restore old scratched & faded clear plastic. Tried it and it works GREAT on radio boxes, etc. Use a damp cloth and plain (non-gel) regular white toothpaste. Rub in, rinse and repeat until plastic has recovered desired clarity. Also, put yellowed windshield/radio box plastic in direct sunlight. UV rays help to recover lost clarity somehow.

[GPZ1000RX]

You can also use it to run in metal gear sets, just make very sure you can wash out ALL of it before you try it!

Works beautifully if you can tho.

[raemin]

That's correct, and to make it more efficient just use a felt tip with a dremel to polish the clear part. You can also replace the tooth paste with dedicated polishing coumpound for composite material (do not know the precise name in english [V] )

[_4-0_]

Yeah, toothpaste is a mild abrasive cos it contains talc powder.

Now i can list all my cars as mint[8D]

**Mass tamiyaclub groan**

[SJoerD]

quote:Originally posted by _4-0_

Yeah, toothpaste is a mild abrasive cos it contains talc powder.

Now i can list all my cars as mint[8D]

**Mass tamiyaclub groan**

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I take 'mint' as in 'mint flavour'? []

[Scorchio]

Toothpaste sounds great! (also good for acne), but another great rubing compound is Fareckela (not sure of spelling), We use it on boats for buffing up epoxy gelcoat & dulled hatch glass (perspex) & stainless steel. It comes in different grades and is really expensive........so I'll try the toothpaste.

[Scorchio]

THANKS FAZZY!!!!! [^] I just tried the toothpaste thing on the most scrached up nasty scorcher windows I've ever seen! and it works better than anything I've tried (fareckela, chrome polish, T cut fine cuting compound and brasso) [8D]. Used a polishing wheel on a dremel at slowest speed and it looks FANTASTIC!

TOP TIP! many thanks. []

[Fazzy]

quote:Originally posted by Scorchio

THANKS FAZZY!!!!! [^] I just tried the toothpaste thing on the most scrached up nasty scorcher windows I've ever seen! and it works better than anything I've tried (fareckela, chrome polish, T cut fine cuting compound and brasso) [8D]. Used a polishing wheel on a dremel at slowest speed and it looks FANTASTIC!

TOP TIP! many thanks. []

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No problem, happy to oblige. Perhaps you could return the favor regarding my newest vintage discussion link on repairing a NIB SS body crack...

[Vroem-Vroem]

Wait... let me get this right, just do ordinairy tooth paste, like on ur toothbrush, on ur car, and rub it in? and the scratshes dissapear????

-mattijn

[Onetenth]

I wouldn't recommend toothpaste as many of them contain minute rubbing 'particles' that would easily damage or scratch the plastic. I have tried the tip on a rough rider radio box and it left so many scratch marks there that my heart nearly broke...[]

[Stevo309]

I have found that you can get the shine back into most plastics by using automotive polish. I have even sanded plastics to remove surface dis-colouration before polishing back up. The bottom line is that you need to remove the surface layer of the plastic to remove scratches and colour problems. I use T-cut because it is abrasive substance but other cutting compounds and yes toothpaste work well. This can leave the plastic looking very dull and scratched but these scratches are very fine and applying some car polish and rubbing quite hard, leaving to dry and then removing works wonders.

I personally use a brand called "Autoglym", the resin polish contains a lot of silicone i believe and it works very well making most plastics look shiny. I have achieved amazing success using these techniques on SRB mechanism boxes and Sand Scrocher glass as well as other stuff like black moulded chassis parts etc.

[Vroem-Vroem]

My father works as car-repair man or sumting, he had this stuff and u do it on ur car and rub it, and scratses dissapear..., i think thats whot u mean, it does stink though...

[jozza]

I just finished removing the paint and polishing up my Monster Beetle windscreen with toothpaste last night. I left it slightly "cloudy" though, as I'm putting in a load of electronics and I don't want it transparent.

I did experiment with some car polish though, and that makes it go completely clear.

I also got carried away with the Dremel, and melted a mark into the screen [], not a major deal as it's a tatty shell and screen anyway, but it's worth bearing in mind to lubricate with plenty of water if you use the Dremel to polish it up, otherwise the felt pad can get hot enough to melt a nasty looking groove and spoil your work.

Update: Using T-Cut Scratch Remover works extremely well, it costs a bit (£5 a tube) but this completely removed the dull finish on the screen. Using that followed by car wax makes it completely clear again. OneTenth, you might want to give that a try on your Rough Rider radio box; it will make it clear again...

[Scorchio]

quote:Originally posted by Onetenth

I have tried the tip on a rough rider radio box and it left so many scratch marks there that my heart nearly broke...[]

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id="quote">id="quote">OUCH! Sorry to hear that, but was it toothpaste with baking soda in it? as I've heard that can be too much even for teeth. The stuff I used was ordinary colgate flouride.

[Onetenth]

quote:Originally posted by Scorchio

OUCH! Sorry to hear that, but was it toothpaste with baking soda in it? as I've heard that can be too much even for teeth. The stuff I used was ordinary colgate flouride.

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It is one of the common brands here named "Darlie"... I just won't recommend that for any of your RC plastics. Others I am not sure...

Oh, you just remind me of my poor radio box [][]

[tamartin]

If someone fears to use the wrong toothpaste or someting else, take Tamiya compound.

Comes in 3 stages, abrasive, fine and finish.

So for every stage of scratches the right polish.

Works also great on paints, which are not really shiny anymore.

A liitle rubbing and voila, almost mirror like.

[Razer]

quote:Originally posted by tamartin

If someone fears to use the wrong toothpaste or someting else, take Tamiya compound.

Comes in 3 stages, abrasive, fine and finish.

So for every stage of scratches the right polish.

Works also great on paints, which are not really shiny anymore.

A liitle rubbing and voila, almost mirror like.

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id="quote">id="quote">an you brush your teeth with it too? [8D]

[Live Steam Mad]

quote:Originally posted by jozza

I just finished removing the paint and polishing up my Monster Beetle windscreen with toothpaste last night. I left it slightly "cloudy" though, as I'm putting in a load of electronics and I don't want it transparent.

I did experiment with some car polish though, and that makes it go completely clear.

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Which exact brand and model/number of car polish is this ?

quote:

Update: using T-Cut Scratch Remover works extremely well, it costs a bit (£5 a tube) but this completely removed the dull finish on the screen. using that followed by car wax makes it completely clear again.

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Which exact brand and model/number of car wax is this ?

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[T.C~Tamiya]

The best type of T-cut I've found for clear plastic is the T-cut made for metallic paint, because it's specifically made to polish the clear coat that automotive metallics have, it won't cloud the clear plastic like regular T-cut sometimes can. You can find it in Halfords if you're in the uK.

I wouldn't go near clear plastic parts with a Dremel as was suggested earlier, unless you want to melt holes in them, total overkill, hand polishing is all that's needed.

[jozza]

Hi Live Steam Mad, the T-Cut is called Carplan T-Cut Scratch Remover, comes in a 150g tube rather than the normal bottle. The liquid wax was Auto Care Deep Shine Car Wax, cost about £3.50 from Tesco.

[HunterZero]

quote:Originally posted by Onetenth

It is one of the common brands here named "Darlie"... I just won't recommend that for any of your RC plastics. Others I am not sure...

Oh, you just remind me of my poor radio box [][]

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Heh, that toothpaste used to be called 'Darkie' if I remember correctly! Wonder why they changed it... [] Does it have a picture of a guy in a top hat on it?

I use Novus plastic polish. Comes in two different abrasion levels (#2 and #3), and a #1 cleaner for getting rid of excess polish: http://www.novus123.com

- James

[theshopkeeper]

And on the subject of restoration, if you want to restore shine to your printed cardboard, try Mr Muscle Window Cleaner - you've got to use the GREEN one (not the yellow one) but it removes ground in dirt and leaves the card looking like new. Just use it lightly. Have restored many tired looking boxes in the shop with this - amazing stuff it is!

[Live Steam Mad]

Yes, I am uK based, so I will check out those products from Halfords.

Thanks very much guys, that will come in handy for cleaning my Ford Ranger SRB radio box.

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[loaded]

I like this, household products for restoring old cars! Here is another one, biological washing powder (in careful doses, too much will leave a deposit) will get off ANYTHING organic, which means almost all oils, greases etc and all mud. It works on metal and plastic, but can discolour the plastic a little, so leave it for invisible parts (I mean ones you can't see, not the new tamiya invisible sprue!) gears etc. Works a charm :-)

Works because biological washing powder contains enzymes, which literally eat the organic dirt!

Have a great weekend, Paul.