Try polishing your faceshield before you replace it

[David Morrow]

I found that my helmet faceshield was getting a little foggy looking after so many miles of road grime and getting cleaned several times each day. I use a good cleaner / wax and soft cloth but the miles had really taken their toll. A couple of weeks ago, before a long trip south, I decided to try polishing out the scratches. I have a Baldor bench polisher with both polishing and buffing wheels. Because the plastic is so soft, I skipped the buffing and went straight to the polishing wheel and some white compound (which has a very mild cutting action). I tested a corner first and it came out rather nicely. Two minutes later, the whole shield was crystal clear again except for a few deeper scratches.

You can buy a small polishing wheel, mandrel & white or rouge compound to use in a hand drill or drill press from places like Caswell or Lowes for under $20 or so. You only have to save the replacement cost of one faceshield to pay for the polishing stuff.
http://www.caswellplating.com/buffs/buffman.htm

[bomber]

David -- a good tip, for certain, and one I've used for years . . . .

I suggest, however, that someone that's never used this kind of gear before practice on an old, ready to deep-six shield first . . . this stuff can get away from ya in a hurry

[JoelCool]

Thanks for the linkage.  I was just about to get a new clear shield, but I think I'll read through this information first now.  More tools  

[David Morrow]

David -- a good tip, for certain, and one I've used for years . . . .

I suggest, however, that someone that's never used this kind of gear before practice on an old, ready to deep-six shield first . . . this stuff can get away from ya in a hurry

I find that if I use lots of compound and continue to reapply, keep the plastic moving and not too much force, everything works out perfectly. Takes about 2-3 minutes. If in doubt, try some rouge or green compound instead of the white as it is less abrasive. I don't think the polishing removes the minute scratches as much as it just polishes the surfaces of them but the result is the same.

[HipGnosis]

Any idea if this will work on smoked shields?  I'm thinking it might be very hard to keep the 'smoke' evenly tinted.

The on-line discount tool places like HarborFreight will have the stuff too.

[David Morrow]

Any idea if this will work on smoked shields?  I'm thinking it might be very hard to keep the 'smoke' evenly tinted.

The on-line discount tool places like HarborFreight will have the stuff too.

Assuming that the plastic is tinted throughout and not just a surface tint, it should work just fine.

[chimera]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/roadtest/blue-magic.php

this might work too though I've never tried it

[dj313]

Any idea if this will work on smoked shields?  I'm thinking it might be very hard to keep the 'smoke' evenly tinted.

The on-line discount tool places like HarborFreight will have the stuff too.

I think I remember my Arai dark smoke shield was not colored all the way through.  IIRC, polishing ruined it...

[David Morrow]

http://www.canadiandriver.com/roadtest/blue-magic.php

this might work too though I've never tried it

Part of the process is the heat that's generated by the machine and you wouldn't get much if any with hand polishing.

[Bodhi]

What about scratches? Is there anything that can remove them?

[David Morrow]

What about scratches? Is there anything that can remove them?

It's like any scratch, the deeper they are, the more surrounding material that you have to remove to level things out. I have a couple that didn't polish out but they don't bother my visibility any more because the gloss has been put back on that part of the plastic by the polishing. At some point I suppose the scratch may be deep enough, long enough, in just the wrong spot or just beyond your ability to tolerate it and beyond the possibility to polish it out. Time for a new shield.

If you were really anxious to save a badly,deeply scratched shield, I'd get about half a dozen grades of wet/dry sand paper and wet sand the affected area. Gradually work from coarse to fine. Keep the water flowing and alternate sanding directions 90 degrees between each grit. The last paper should be about 1200-1500 grit. Then a really good buffing and polishing - start with brown (tripoli compound) on a buffing wheel and end with white or red compound on the soft polishing wheel. The worst that can happen is you're no better and no worse off than when you started other than the cost of the polishing material. That of course may be the same as the cost of the new shield. But at least you'd have it for the next time.

[dgilmore]

I've never tried it on a face shield, but for plastic pinball ramps, I flame treat them.  Basically, you clean all the dirt off of the plastic (otherwise it will be permanently imbedded), then you take a propane torch set on a wide, soft flame, and pass it rather quickly over the scratch.  The heat from the flame will melt the top of the plastic, and it will all flow into a smooth surface.  It may take several quick passes, but better than overheating and distorting the shield.  Like I said, I've never tried it on a face shield, and the results may be disastrous, since you need to keep it as optically pure as possible, so try it on a junker first.  It takes a little skill, but on plastic pinball ramps, it makes them look like new.  Before you try the flame treating, you may want to try hand polishing with Novus #3, then some #2, then #1.  If the scratches aren't deep, that may work, and is a bunch safer.

Good luck, and let us know if the flame treating works on a face shield.

Dave