Tried this on my motorcycle windshield (Iupilon) and it worked quite well. Suggestion for others is to work very very slowly, and never stop moving. Feather the heat gun back and forth over the scratches to make sure the stream of heat is as diffused as possible. Ideally, use a diffuser nozzle if your heatgun has one. Start on the lighter swirl marks instead of the deeper scratches, so you have a better grasp of how quickly the surface liquefies. Your goal is to heat the surface enough to melt, but not enough for the heat to penetrate past the surface and soften the material. I went as far as to google the spec sheet for the material itself and find the glass transition temperature & melting point, so I could adjust my heat settings accordingly. I would have ideally used an IR thermometer to check the surface temperature in real time, but I was not bothered enough to buy one. Use low heat, be observant and just take your time.
Nice, but the scratches and indentions are still there. You can see them at 2:17 and again at 2:24. The heat makes the rough sections lay down a bit so that the white areas are less visible.
Nice information. Just trying to figure out the best way to repair (build up) a PC part and not having much ĺuck with what I have to work with unfortunately the manufacturer no longer makes this piece so it's either make one or buy the who radio again and I refuse to spend another $500😢
Hello I tried this on my Fiber Metal eye protection mask I use when cutting metal. I thought it would work great,then I used Maguires PLASTX which I'm really disappointed in. So I tried a white polishing compound from Turtle Wax. Everything was a waste of time and money!! Next step I guess is use a super fine wet sanding paper? 1000 grit? Can anyone suggest anything else other than buying a new shield.👍
I tried the heat method on a panel that one of my clients has. that they are using as a storm shield. It is 1/4 in thick and in a wooden frame. I was able to remove the mildew with swirl remover and Mother's polish, but not the spiderwebbing cracks from the Sun damage. So I tried the heat method. It made the damage worse. I am going to see if it will be removed with the polishing method, the 3 step Nuvo series. But in reality, these deep scratches are not necessarily removed. You can still see them in the video above, and any other video that is on here where they use heat. The white part of the scratch is melted and it smooths out edges of the scratch. But look at the video at 2:17 and 2:24 and you'll still see the waves in the panel. Yes, it looks a lot better than it did before, but there is still some deformity in the sheet.
I dunno about a targa top, but Lexan = Polycarbonate (much tougher/less brittle, more chemical resistant, more heat resistant) Plexiglass = Acrylic (more scratch resistance, less resistant to heat but also heat formable, slightly more rigid but also much more brittle (eg prone chip and shatter when drilling), naturally uv resistant) ***note: surface treatments or extra layers can be added to either to get more properties such as chem resistance, uv, scratch, etc so you can't really go off of that to figure out which you have. Example: if you use heat on plexi/acrylic with a heat gun you turn it rubbery and formable (but be careful if you didn't heat evenly, because if your edges are cold then they don't turn rubber so they take all the stress and crack/shatter!) You are probably best to look up what targa says they are.
@@frankyalvarez7160 Bayer began commercial production under the trade name Makrolon in 1958. GE began production under the name Lexan in 1960. Both are name-brand, high quality polycarbonate and while there are different types of polycarbonate sold under these brands, if you compare the same type across any of the major brands they are indistinguishable. Lexan scratches too. All polycarbonate does, which is why glass-clad polycarbonate (GCP) is a major product for exterior windows. GCP is clear polycarbonate with layers of glass on the outside to maintain the optical clarity and scratch resistance of glass with the impact/forced-entry resistance of polycarbonate. Those big glass exterior windows on commercial buildings are often all GCP on the lower floors so people can't just break the glass and walk in. But unless you look closely at the insides of the frames, you would think they are regular laminated glass.
I have "Crazing" sun damage on the Clear Instrument Cluster Display Lense of my 2015 Sea Doo GTX PWC, would this technique work on removing the "Crazing"? Randy AKA randog311
The instrument cluster of your jet ski is made out of polycarbonate, same stuff headlights are made of. Headlights restoration will work the same as to your cluster. If your just doing this one restoration I recommend the 3m headlight restoration kit or Sylvania headlight restoration kit on your cluster.
I would guess that it is somewhere just over 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There's not much of a window of opportunity before you completely cook the piece. If you can, start on a scrap piece at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit and slowly start working your way up.
I found this video after I did the exact same thing. I found 700 F worked great. Starting at 300 and worked my way up. 300 took too long, and caused bubbles. At 700, minor surface scratches quickly remelt before softening the material underneath. I would think crazing falls into micro-crack territory and may not work.
Title says polycarbonate but you keep saying acrylic? Will this work on polycarbonate and what thickness were you using? Will the thickness be a factor in terms of how long it will take to warp?
@@narekdiesel headlight polycarbonate aren't as thick as the one in the video. Thermal inertia will cook the PC and turn it milky just after your scratches vanished. NO MATTER how careful you are you have 80% chances to mess things up. Tried it myself, with à 3 power mode heater, the material cooked inside even with the low mode and moving in circle. Not thick enough to resist the thermal inertia when it's temperature is enough to fade a scratch. I repeat : don't do it. Sand 600, 800 then 1000 and clear coat. I made like 4 or 5 tries on an old PC headlight, none were concluding and most were complete fails, turned milky inside to form a bubble in the next minutes. Too far with the heater and you'll end up messing with the whole shape by heating too long the entire piece, without removing anything. The thing is you need to be close enough and "quick" to get these scratches, but when you start to get them and back the heater off, it's already too late (thermal inertia cooking). Hope it helped.
Tried this on my motorcycle windshield (Iupilon) and it worked quite well. Suggestion for others is to work very very slowly, and never stop moving. Feather the heat gun back and forth over the scratches to make sure the stream of heat is as diffused as possible. Ideally, use a diffuser nozzle if your heatgun has one.
Start on the lighter swirl marks instead of the deeper scratches, so you have a better grasp of how quickly the surface liquefies.
Your goal is to heat the surface enough to melt, but not enough for the heat to penetrate past the surface and soften the material.
I went as far as to google the spec sheet for the material itself and find the glass transition temperature & melting point, so I could adjust my heat settings accordingly. I would have ideally used an IR thermometer to check the surface temperature in real time, but I was not bothered enough to buy one.
Use low heat, be observant and just take your time.
Nice, but the scratches and indentions are still there. You can see them at 2:17 and again at 2:24. The heat makes the rough sections lay down a bit so that the white areas are less visible.
Indentations...it's indentations.
Excellent! Thanks.
Amazing tip! Thank You so much!
Novus plastic polish works really well at getting scratches out.
Great tip. Forgot about Novus
@@bowersja it is almost magic!
Excellent, very nice to see this done 👍🏻
I'm doing this with my chocolate polycarbonate mold, thank you 😊
should not happen : chocolate moulds should not be cleaned
Anyone tried this on motorcycle helmet visors? What heat setting did you use and how long? And result?
Is this technique is work for the arcylic sheet?
Awesome thanks for information
What does that do to the strength of acrylic for an aquarium, for example?
Nice information.
Just trying to figure out the best way to repair (build up) a PC part and not having much ĺuck with what I have to work with unfortunately the manufacturer no longer makes this piece so it's either make one or buy the who radio again and I refuse to spend another $500😢
have a thin piece of polycarbonate used for a two wheeler windshield and using the heat gun it starts to cloud up before the scratches are removed.
same here
Yeah had the same problem on my polycarbonate
@@usewhatyouhave6975 polycarbonate obsorbs water, you have to bake it at 180 for awhile
Hello I tried this on my Fiber Metal eye protection mask I use when cutting metal. I thought it would work great,then I used Maguires PLASTX which I'm really disappointed in. So I tried a white polishing compound from Turtle Wax. Everything was a waste of time and money!! Next step I guess is use a super fine wet sanding paper? 1000 grit? Can anyone suggest anything else other than buying a new shield.👍
Would this work for UV damage (micro surface cracks) too? Or would sanding/polishing be better? I have a resin panoramic roof on my car.
I tried the heat method on a panel that one of my clients has. that they are using as a storm shield. It is 1/4 in thick and in a wooden frame. I was able to remove the mildew with swirl remover and Mother's polish, but not the spiderwebbing cracks from the Sun damage. So I tried the heat method. It made the damage worse. I am going to see if it will be removed with the polishing method, the 3 step Nuvo series.
But in reality, these deep scratches are not necessarily removed. You can still see them in the video above, and any other video that is on here where they use heat. The white part of the scratch is melted and it smooths out edges of the scratch. But look at the video at 2:17 and 2:24 and you'll still see the waves in the panel. Yes, it looks a lot better than it did before, but there is still some deformity in the sheet.
Is this material the same thing as a Lexan plastic? I have a targa top.
Lexan is a higher quality material and normally scratch resistant.
@@frankyalvarez7160 scratch resistant maybe, but when it's an RC car body, it takes a beating.
I dunno about a targa top, but
Lexan = Polycarbonate (much tougher/less brittle, more chemical resistant, more heat resistant)
Plexiglass = Acrylic (more scratch resistance, less resistant to heat but also heat formable, slightly more rigid but also much more brittle (eg prone chip and shatter when drilling), naturally uv resistant)
***note: surface treatments or extra layers can be added to either to get more properties such as chem resistance, uv, scratch, etc so you can't really go off of that to figure out which you have.
Example: if you use heat on plexi/acrylic with a heat gun you turn it rubbery and formable (but be careful if you didn't heat evenly, because if your edges are cold then they don't turn rubber so they take all the stress and crack/shatter!)
You are probably best to look up what targa says they are.
@@frankyalvarez7160 Bayer began commercial production under the trade name Makrolon in 1958. GE began production under the name Lexan in 1960. Both are name-brand, high quality polycarbonate and while there are different types of polycarbonate sold under these brands, if you compare the same type across any of the major brands they are indistinguishable. Lexan scratches too. All polycarbonate does, which is why glass-clad polycarbonate (GCP) is a major product for exterior windows. GCP is clear polycarbonate with layers of glass on the outside to maintain the optical clarity and scratch resistance of glass with the impact/forced-entry resistance of polycarbonate. Those big glass exterior windows on commercial buildings are often all GCP on the lower floors so people can't just break the glass and walk in. But unless you look closely at the insides of the frames, you would think they are regular laminated glass.
I have "Crazing" sun damage on the Clear Instrument Cluster Display Lense of my 2015 Sea Doo GTX PWC, would this technique work on removing the "Crazing"? Randy AKA randog311
The instrument cluster of your jet ski is made out of polycarbonate, same stuff headlights are made of. Headlights restoration will work the same as to your cluster. If your just doing this one restoration I recommend the 3m headlight restoration kit or Sylvania headlight restoration kit on your cluster.
The wall is pretty hot also.😂
thx!
That's what I need for my polycarbonate lenses from my Steam Punk sunglasses.
Kiitos.
can you use the heat gun for for a motorcycle scratch?
The question is how deep. Likely it will only soften the edges with the deeper remaining to much heat, and you'll burn it, making it brittle
Any idea what temp that was? Mine has digital temp settings. ALSO have you ever tried this on crazing?
I would guess that it is somewhere just over 350 degrees Fahrenheit. There's not much of a window of opportunity before you completely cook the piece. If you can, start on a scrap piece at about 325 degrees Fahrenheit and slowly start working your way up.
I found this video after I did the exact same thing. I found 700 F worked great. Starting at 300 and worked my way up. 300 took too long, and caused bubbles. At 700, minor surface scratches quickly remelt before softening the material underneath. I would think crazing falls into micro-crack territory and may not work.
What the fuck are those bells in the back ground .couldn't u do it without them
Title says polycarbonate but you keep saying acrylic? Will this work on polycarbonate and what thickness were you using? Will the thickness be a factor in terms of how long it will take to warp?
same questiong here acrylic is not approved by the DOT because of it's shatter quality
Polycarbonate is the polymer name; macralon is a trade name, like lexan
Tried it, didnt work for me
can I do that to my mouse? ))
Is there any coating which can be done on PC components to make it resistant to scratch ?
Don't do this. You will warp the material
don't do that on your headlights. it'll destroy it.
Isnt it the same material? Why does it destroy it? I was about to until i saw this comment…
@@narekdiesel headlight polycarbonate aren't as thick as the one in the video. Thermal inertia will cook the PC and turn it milky just after your scratches vanished. NO MATTER how careful you are you have 80% chances to mess things up. Tried it myself, with à 3 power mode heater, the material cooked inside even with the low mode and moving in circle. Not thick enough to resist the thermal inertia when it's temperature is enough to fade a scratch. I repeat : don't do it. Sand 600, 800 then 1000 and clear coat. I made like 4 or 5 tries on an old PC headlight, none were concluding and most were complete fails, turned milky inside to form a bubble in the next minutes. Too far with the heater and you'll end up messing with the whole shape by heating too long the entire piece, without removing anything. The thing is you need to be close enough and "quick" to get these scratches, but when you start to get them and back the heater off, it's already too late (thermal inertia cooking). Hope it helped.
I'll try on sunglasses 😅
Did it work?
@@mihu202 no
wow hahaha, just like magic
Your intro music is so LOUD, tone it down.