paint and sticky residue marks on rear plastic window?

[revhead]

I installed a replacement soft top as mine looked a bit tired, and it didn’t help I am a perfectionist and didn’t want any patch work on the vinyl. I ended up finding a complete second hand soft top frame with the top and rain rail all attached and in excellent condition so fitting was pretty easy.

Anyway, now I’m left with the rear plastic window being a little cloudy and it has some sticky residue and paint marks from the previous owner’s roll bar rubbing against it. I scanned the forums and went out an purchased some Maguire Plastx product and rubbed down both sides of the plastic window with it and didn’t see much results..

Is there another method of removing these particular marks from the plastic? I’m tempted to try some paint thinner or similar product in an attempt to remove the smudges that I’m suspecting were left from a painted roll bar.. But I’m unsure if there will be negative effects?

It’s frustrating because the window on my old top was in perfect clear condition, and this one could be better, it’s a trade off I guess.

Any help would be great! Thanks.

[aka_juffa]

I believe people have used Brasso to clean their plastic rear window.

The other option is to swap over the rear window from the soft top you removed. It is a matter of unzipping it, removing the zip stops, and then separating the part of the soft top that contains the windown from the rain rail.....and reverse the procedure.

J.

[revhead]

The two tops are slightly different from each other so I don’t want to go pulling them apart to find they don’t match up. And upon looking at my old top there is evidence it had its window replaced by having an upholsterer re glue a new window in. if I can’t get it cleaned with this brasso product I might go down that route.

Any other tips as to how to apply the product to the window without removing it from the car?

[Mr Morlock]

paint thinner- I do not think so- acrylic lacquer may well attack the product ( PVC?) .And as said before do not use things like Brasso which is not intended for plastic.A product like bicarb soda might be good for paint but experimenting on an old window might be wise. There are plenty of products for cleaning upholstery including plastic windows but not all are effective depending on the deterioration - that's why they moved to glass windows. Go to one of the local auto shops for a product- it might help and it will not damage the material.Google will find out some useful info

[taminga16]

Try some WD-40.
Greg.

[ralt]

Hi.
Brasso will work on plastic its the best product to clean clear plastic headlight covers with. Its the product used by most formula one teams when cockpit fairings were made from perspex all those years ago along with a multitude of uses.

[Mr Morlock]

Brasso is for brass. WD40 is essentially for squeaks and rattles though they claim many uses- surely though it's a lubricant not a cleaner. In the days of old we used all sorts of remedies and fixes because there were not many specialist products.Tooth paste was a so called product for plastic windows- I will give that a bypass. Not many folks use bi carb anymore but it very effective and gentle- eg washing out coffee and tea stains in cups. The statement that brasso is best for plastic headlamps is not correct -there are kits available which will not react and or damage the plastic and its coating..As a rework lamp makers sometimes used a very light polish and a buffing wheel to touch up scratches in acrylic lenses . USA has been making specialist cleaners for decades and whilst they might not be miracle products they are fit for purpose.

[hks_kansei]

Brasso if I recall is a mild abrasive, as is toothpaste, bicarb, and chalk (I think toothpaste is mainly bicarb and chalk)


I tend to use Vuplex for clear plastics, it's an aerosol spray that cleans and protects. But it's cleaning properties are pretty weak, if PlastX didn;t work Vuplex certainly wont.



There's a possibility that nothing will work, perhaps the adhesive isn't just marks but it's etched into the plastic?

[revhead]

i may have to give the plastx another go and be a bit more aggressive with it. as i said, i did some research and concluded that plastx was a good product used amongst the mx5 community so if that doesn’t work then maybe the paint marks and scratches are pretty well stuck for good which sucks.

[hks_kansei]

I would still give the Brasso a go though, just test it on a small patch first to make sure it's not going to do anything funny.

I've found that Meguiars polishes etc (I haven't used the pro range) are often quite fine and can't remove anything but the most minor mark. I wouldn't be surprised if PlastX is the same.



Other option is AkaJuffas suggestions of salvaging the good window from the old top.

[JRBasia]

Hi mate, I used plastx quite often due to the rubbing of my rollbar. It requires more time and elbow grease to get it totally off. Keep having a go at it with plastx before you move on to harsher abrasives. Try to use a proper foam applicator as well. Microfiber clothes tend to absorb and not push the abrasives against the material as much. Good luck

JB

[revhead]

Gave it another go with the micro fibre and didn't get anywhere with it. Might have to use my applicator pad that i use to wax the car and give that a try. Anyone know a safe way of cleaning those hand applicator foam pads without ruining them?

[hks_kansei]

I just buy new ones.

Aren't they $5 for a pack of two Meguiars ones?




If you want to clean them though I find that dishwashing liquid in warm water does the job on my machine polishing pads.
Just use a low concentration (not as much as for a load of dishes) and don't use a rough scrubbing brush on the foam (it rips up the foam)

The easiest though is to just replace them (I only clean the polishing pads because they're about $20 each)