Getting scratches out of plastic...

Hi,

I just bought a used cellphone from eBay... what a rip! My 3 year-old Sprint TouchPoint (the original one before they even started adding a model number) looks brand new compared to this year old Sprint TouchPoint 2200 I just got...

It has a bunch of scratches on the lens.. Not too deep. I thought I remembered someone saying you could get out scratches from an empeg lens by using very find grit sand paper.... do you think this would work for a cell phone? Where would I buy something like this? An auto detail shop? A hardware store? A hobby shop?

TYIA

Brad

You'd have to do one hell of a lot of polishing after you used the abrasive paper. This might be the only way though. I'd try some local polishing with a metal polish and a cotton bud first before you try anything really drastic like using abrasive paper on it.

You might try the stuff that is sold to ``take scratches out'' of CDs. They make them that are optically clear fillers. Get one of those. There are others that contain plasicizers and fine grit. Those will just make it worse. I don't know how well it'll hold up, or even if it's optically clear enough for your eye, though.

Use smokers toothpaste on it.

Actually, you should be able to use any toothpaste that says "Whitening Agent". Basically, they put small amounts of silica (yes, sand) in the toothpaste to help get rid of stains.

Works great for small scratches on glass (like your watch face). Should work pretty good on the plastic too. Put a little on your finger and rub it around on the surface.

It always scares me to hear that whitening toothpaste can take layers off of hard substances like glass, paint, metal, plastic..... and you use that stuff on your teeth. And teeth doesn't grow back.... ahh, the things we do for vanity.

Calvin

Tooth enamel is hard stuff man. As long as you don't use it everyday, you don't hurt anything.

try a product called plexiglass it works pretty good on small scraches

It's not as hard as glass, though, according to Mohs.

You want Meguiar's Mirror Glaze Plastic Polish.

http://www.meguiars.com/product_showroom/showproducts_template.cfm?SrcLine=BI

You can find it at auto parts places, usually near the car wax. It's specifically made for cleaning and removing scratches from clear plastic, like instrument panels. I use it to remove the scratches from my motorcycle windscreens and helmet faceshields.

I think you'll find that 'Plexiglas' is a manufacturers name for Acrylic polymer. We call it Perspex (trademark of ICI) here in the UK. I expect what you're talking about is probably something called 'Plexiglas Polish'.

It's pretty hard stuff, unless you've taken antibiotics as a child for a period of time. This causes the enamel to grow differently and form layers like an onion that come right off given enough wear. :-D ouch!

Calvin