Anybody know of a good product to restore Lexan? I replaced the windshield in my experimental but the doors are a bit clouded. I did some google searching and saw everything from toothpaste to some really expensive chemicals. Any good tricks to bring some clarity back out of Lexan and get rid of some scratches?

Replace with new is the best way to go. Things like the "micro-mesh" kit is for repairing small localized scratches. It takes forever to try and clean up large areas. Lexan is strong but scratches easy, Plexiglass is breakable (hard to do) but is much harder to scratch and you can buy it at Home Depot or Lowes

Jason

I'd opt for new Plexiglass from Home Depot or Lowes. In the
event of an accident, you'd be hard-pressed to hack your
way through a piece of Lexan (especially if you're injured),
and quick egress is the name of the game!

If you go new and stay with Lexan, there is a "scratch resistant" type. It is a lot more expensive, so you would have to keep that in consideration.

Brian.

Thanks for the replies. I plan to replace it eventually I was just trying to squeeze a little more life out of it. I'm going to try a product that mothers makes that I can get at my local auto parts store and see how it does.

I will second the toothpaste if all you trying to do is a general clean up. I have used it and it works well and is cheap!

Personally, I prefer the minty-fresh type.

Avid,

I bought this kit Scratch Off from Chief and use it 3 times a year. I'm a window Nazi.....I have to see clearly. You put the foam pad on a drill and add some paste ( 4 levels of polish ) and your windows will shine again. I think its the best $35 bucks you can spend to restore your windows. It will put a smile on your face!!

http://www.chiefaircraft.com/airsec/Air ... moval.html

cloudy windows may or may not restore but if your dealing with the normal haze of scratches, you will love it.

Pledge furniture polish! its the only thing I ever use on my windows it takes bugs off great and removes scratches and yellowing. use it every time and your windows will get better not worse with age.

The mothers plastic polish I bought yesterday did wonders for the Lexan but it didn't do anything for scratches. This airplane has a huge plexi turtle deck on the back of it too that's gotten scratched up over the years from being moved around as you have to take it off to fold the wings. I ordered that kit from Chiefs. Spruce sells a similiar system but they want $85 for it. I can replace the doors with a $60 piece of Lexan and about 30 rivets

Okay, I'm reading posts about two different materials!

Lexan is a trade name for polyester (PET). Plexiglas is a trade name for acrylic plastic. They both pretty much look the same, though Plexiglas has somewhat better optical properties than Lexan.

Lexan is mechanically stronger than Plexiglas, and can even be cold formed even bent using a metal brake without cracking. If you tried that with Plexiglas it would snap in a heartbeat. Both are thermoplastics and can be heated and shaped of course. Lexan is much more impact resistant than Plexiglas and is even used for bullet proof (resistant) barriers when thicker or laminated. There is some concern about using Lexan in aircraft side windows if it is firmly fixed in place and that window is expected to function as an emergency exit.

Lexan is softer than Plexiglas. If Lexan gets scratched, I don't know of a way to use Micromesh or polish to remove the scratch. Scratches in Plexiglas, and even crazing and cloudiness if it's not too deep, can be successfully polised out. If doing so with a machine, it's important to keep termpertures low.

As another poster mentioned, Lexan is available with a scratch resistant coating. It's also available with a UV light resistant coating, as uncoated Lexan doesn't do UV as well as Plexi.

Disclaimer - this is info from my noggin that is at least several years old. Things may have changed since the data was acquired as I do not have automatic software updates enabled.

bumper

There is a pretty good article in AOPA Pilot Feb 2009 pg 99 about cleaning and caring for plastic windows.

Bumper I believe you covered all the bases. At least from what my know-it-all friends have told me over the years.

Can't speak specifically about lexan but for the rest of us with factory "glass", Plexus is an amazing product, will actually improve the quality with continued use. Pledge also does a wonderful job. McGuires makes several restorative products that I've used on occasion with varying degrees of sucess. 3M is there too but I don't have a lot of first hand experience with much of the product line.

If it's just a matter of removing a layer of haze then try a plastic polish and some elbow grease. You should be able to buff out the layer of oxidized plexi. I have an extra bottle of Maguiar's clear-coat car polish that I use on my windscreen. It's a very mild abrasive with no waxes or petroleum. Start in an out-of-the-way corner and see how it does.

Dave

McGuires Scratch X works. You'll have to re-apply about once a month.

Thanks for all the good info. The mothers plastic polish and some pledge made a night and day difference. I'm still going to try the Chief kit to get rid of some scratches in my turtle deck.

I spent several hours using the Chief kit and it's pretty amazing. My stuff is like brand new again! Definitely worth the $35!

AvidFlyer wrote:I spent several hours using the Chief kit and it's pretty amazing. My stuff is like brand new again! Definitely worth the $35!

Avid

Glad you liked it, I sure do. I have only used the last 2 polish steps/creams because my scratches aren't that big but it is amazing. My windscreens are 4 years old and look brand new.

bumper wrote:Lexan is a trade name for polyester (PET). Plexiglas is a trade name for acrylic plastic. They both pretty much look the same, though Plexiglas has somewhat better optical properties than Lexan.


bumper

Sorry Bumper, you got that wrong. Lexan is a brand for Polycarbonate and PET is not polyester. Pet is what soft drink bottles are made out of and stands for Polyethylene Terephthalate. To sum up, Lexan (polycarbonate) is tougher than Perspex (acrylic) but it has some downsides, it is less scratch resistant and it dosen't lihe hydrocarbons (avgas) which can cause damage and discoloration. Perspex (acrylic) has better scratch resistance and chemical resistance. I'd go the acrylic any day.

Hope this helps
Brian
(over 40 years in the plastics industry)