I am tired of buying stuff that just doesn't work. Anybody have a method to strip heavy oxidation or scratches off a flybridge windscreen. My project 32' sat out in the weather for years. So I got a new Ryobi buffer and two kinds of rubbing compound. It is all too lightweight. All I got now is shiny areas of plastic between oxidation spots. I probably need to sand the plastic first but I don't want to wreck the piece. Anybody have a sure fire specific receipe. There are kits advertised on-line. You send away 20+ bucks and they send you a few ounces of stuff ten days later that may or may not work. There is also a guy that runs an auto finish supply store that offered to work with it. But Jeez.. I would like to be able to do some of this stuff myself. I appears I can't paint and I can't polish. Maybe I should just go ahead and launch a really ugly boat.

This are the solid 1/4 inch plastic windows around the top of the flybridge. It is not the flexible enclosure plastic. I went by the auto paint supply store. They gave me some 1500 grit sand paper and sent me out for some 3M Perfect 3000 rubbing compound. The label says it is specifically for rubbing out scratches made by 1500 grit sandpaper. So it looks like it might work for me. It may actually work on plastic headlight lenses.

haven't tried them in awhile but search "micro-surface finishing products" they are located in Wilton, Iowa they produce a kit that the airlines use to remove the scratches from the cockpit windows of commercial airliners. the kits vary with the type of scratch you are dealing with. Whatever you choose, you will have to get aggressive to remove scratches and slowly move up the grit chain to 4 to 6000 micro to finish.

Well I got pretty good results on a piece of the 1/4" plastic windscreen on the flybridge. That stuff is hard. I can see how it could be used for the sliding windows. Is it less than or more than glass?

I never buffed anything out with compound before so it took me all night to find the right technique. I couldn't buy a clue until I broke down and read the directions on the 3M Perfect 3000. The directions on the compound said to put on enough to leave a thin wet coat after a couple of passes and lighten pressure as it dried. That means put in on and buff till dry. So I threw away the buffer applicator bonnet that I had been messing with and put on the fluffy bonnet. This is after a thorough sanding with 1500 grit. You spread the compound on the piece and start buffing. You keep it up until all the compound is dried and gone. Toward the end the buffer will start to glide accross the newly smooth surface because you buffed out all the wet and drag. Also the bonnet will dry out and go from wet and sticky back to fluffy.

That is still quite a bit of buffing. I think I will see If I can find some 2000 grit to follow the 1500. Might go faster when I take on the bigger pieces.

Karl,
What was frustrating was that I bought two other kinds of compound before I asked an autobody guy for advice. They were both too mild. This process also took the yellow tint out. I am a behind on the project 32'. I just painted the cockpit area so I will be putting in the new Rhinolind decks. I have to buy flybridge seats. I have cleaned up the flybridge wiring harness and put two new engine cables up the chimney. I need to find some wood to make a new cradle for the flybridge compass. The big job is to get the top deck painted to match the freshly painted flybridge. Another boater looked at the hull sides and said I could go another couple of years if I just sanded and compounded them. Now that I am a compounding Sun God that may be feasible. But that will wait until the fall. I failed trying to run new flexible air conditioner duct to the V-berth. I tried to used the old tube to pull the new tube through but I kept getting hung up. I hate that wine celler area where they put the thing. They ran the old tube behind the portside interior wall. They could have run it under the dinette floor. How is yours set up?