Cleaning / de-scratching windshields

Ysterday I put on the original windshield that came with the bike, There are quite a few small scratches in if, most like the kind of scratch that a gritty towel might have left if the windshield was hastily wiped. They only show when the sun reflects on them.

There are other scratches that are significantly deeper like one by the handlebar that looks like it ran into a small nail or thick thorn. A few are lines of colored material for all the world like a yellow pen made a straight line 4" long.

Overall it's pretty intact. I'm guessing the material is polycarbonate that it's made out of. What suggestions are there to either buff out the scratches or fill them? I have Mother's Aluminum polish but doubt that's the right stuff. I also have Nu-Cote (think that's the name, comes in orange containers) to supposedly restore old paint finish on cars but that's not the same thing either.

Idears?

Thanks!

 

Light scratches can be buffed out using a electric buffer and a fine polishing paste. Be sure to keep the polishing pad nice and damp, if it runs dry you will burn spots into the plastic. Keep the speed on the buffer nice and slow to reduce the chance of burning the plastic. Local auto parts stores carry polishing compounds , use the paste kind and not the stick(stick kind is for metal). I use Turtle wax white polishing compound on my plastics, tooth paste also works good for plastic.
For the deeper scratches use wet sandpaper progressing up in grit and finishing with 2000 or 3000 paper. Then polish with the electric buffer. The process is similar to polishing metal, just use finer abrasives.

 

Also, Maguiers Plastic Polish works very well and only requires a soft cloth and arm power. I've used it for years on my windscren and it's still scratch free.

 

My favorite--PlastX by Maguiers (If I remember correctly). My fairing looked like it had slid around in the back of a truck for awhile. Now, it's virtually scratch-free. I did so some sanding on it to even it out, but otherwise, just PlastX and a buffpad in a drill. Now it's just using regular detail polish to clean and occasionally a once-over with the plastX to remove dust scratches.

Dave Fox

 

I've always used Novus plastic polish #2. Windshields, helmet visors, plexiglass etc. Works great.

http://www.novuspolish.com/