Daily use of plastic items inevitably leads to the appearance of defects on their surface. To eliminate scratches, chips, scuffs, other damage to the material, it is worth figuring out how to polish the plastic. Using simple and affordable methods, it is quite possible to cope with the problem on your own, without resorting to specialists for help.
The choice of solutions for polishing plastic
To choose a suitable tool to eliminate 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 perform work in the following ways:
- mechanical;
- thermal;
- chemical.
If the plastic is covered with small scratches, delicate hand polishing using chemical abrasives will help. Special substances for polishing coarse and fine grains are useful here. When you have to deal with sufficiently deep damage, the thermal effect on the material, as well as rough mechanical grinding, will allow to eliminate the problem.
Polishing plastic with a grinding wheel
Polishing technology in this way involves the presence of a drill. A special grinding nozzle is used here, which is not difficult to purchase in any hardware store. With its help, cleaning of any surfaces, not only plastic, as well as
polishing the headlights with toothpaste and other things, can be performed.
If you need to save a little, then a piece of felt can serve as an alternative to a special grinding nozzle. A piece of material must be rolled into a roller and inserted into the drill chuck. Felt processing is quite effective. The only thing required to achieve the expected result is a reliable fixation of the material. Otherwise, the felt will jump off the drill, delivering a whole lot of trouble in the process.
The use of toothpaste
To polish plastic, it is not necessary to spend money on the purchase of specialized chemical compounds or resort to surface treatment with an electric tool. Eliminate material fading and remove minor scratches from its surface allows the use of regular toothpaste as an abrasive. The use of such an affordable household product makes it possible to return plastic products to their former shine. As practice shows,
polishing the headlights with toothpaste is especially effective
.The polishing process involves the following:
- Surfaces are cleaned of dust and dirt. It uses any household detergent that has a neutral chemical composition.
- The 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.
- The remaining toothpaste is removed with a damp sponge. The plastic product is wiped dry.
Heat treatment
How to polish a plastic whose surface contains sufficiently deep defects? To do this, it is necessary to heat it with a hairdryer, which will greatly simplify the subsequent grouting of damage.
For uniform stripping of plastic products, large areas are processed by hot air flow. As the material melts, the scratches begin to gradually tighten. A hairdryer should be used carefully so as not to overdo it, because with excessive heating the plastic can become deformed.
When resorting to this method, one should not expect a complete, rapid disappearance of defects. It is enough to perform heating until the edges of the scratches on the plastic begin to melt slightly. Then you must immediately proceed to grout them using a grinding wheel or manually using abrasives.
Plastic polishing paste
To eliminate scuffs, chips and scratches on the surface of the plastic , GOI paste is ideal . There are several types of funds indicated. Each of them has a different grain size. Therefore, the main thing here is to choose the right substance number, 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 capacity of 100 grams, will allow you to remove major damage to the material. In this case, you have to resort to machining surfaces mechanically using a grinding wheel.
To fix average damage, a tool with an index of 3 is suitable. The presented GOI paste, the price of which is up to 180 rubles, is an ideal solution if it is necessary to grout enough textured scratches.
As for finishing polishing, it is worth using a paste with an index of 1 or 2. These products are the least abrasive and are ideal for finishing grouting surfaces.
Polishing
How to polish plastic to perfect condition? To do this, use a special polish designed to work with the presented material. It is recommended to apply the substance on the surface with a thin, uniform layer. To make the surfaces smooth and shiny, rub the polish well with a piece of flannel fabric or a soft grinding nozzle. This seemingly insignificant nuance will allow us to consolidate the result, regardless of the method that was used to eliminate defects from the surface of the plastic.
It is worth noting that polishes do not have protection against moisture and water. Over time, they are simply washed away. 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 preserve the gloss of the product for a long time.
Finally
So we found out how to polish the plastic with our own hands at home. As you can see, for this you just need to use the usual improvised tools, as well as available means that you can easily find on sale. Thanks to the combination of polishing methods and a competent approach to the task, you can bring to life any plastic item that has noticeable defects on its surface.
Self-polishing products makes it possible to save a decent amount. Having a little practice, relying on the above methods, you can learn to qualitatively restore plastic items not only for yourself, but also for friends and relatives.