XPOST - How to remove scratches from Plexiglas & how to cut to size

[mshaiku]

Hi all

My husband just found two 3 1/2' x 6 1/2' pieces of framed plexiglas in the back of the shed. He saw me drooling when he told me and said how scratched they were. I don't care, I want them for my art studio. lol Has anyone had success removing many, many scratches from plexiglas? I've done some online research and the top three recommendations were

1. 3 part Novus polishing system
2. sanding with 600 cw Silicon carbide waterproof abrasive paper coated paper followed by 1200 cw, then rubbing compound and finally metal polish
3. C-Klear 707 by Parasol

Also, since those are two very large pieces, he could cut many pieces for me for my tabletop, palettes, framing etc. Does anyone have recommendations on the best and easiest ways to cut plexiglas?


Thanks in advance for any help .


Stay inspired!
Michelle

[wsrea]

Hi, Michelle. I just finished doing a couple of sheets of Lexan (similar acrylic plastic) to make customized viewfinders in a "golden ratio."

Cutting: the easiest way is to use a "Plaskolite cutting knife" or similar tool. It's a plastic-handled razor knife that cuts when you draw it toward you, giving you more control. Looks like this:



You pull it along a straightedge on the plexiglas deepening the score mark with each pass. When you've cut through about half the thickness, you can snap the sheet on the score on the edge of a table. They vary in price but mine was about $4 at Lowes.

Scratches: Yes, you can polish the scratches out, but what I do is get automotive Turtle Wax, smear it on the acrylic sheet, wipe off, polish with a soft cloth, and repeat five or six times. The transparent polish gradually fills the scratches. Much easier than gradated abrasive paper.

By the way, Turtle wax works marvelously on scratched CD's and DVD's, too!

Hope this helps--I always love salvaging found "treasures."

[mshaiku]

Thanks so much Bill. I'll tell my husband he can play Karate Kid with the wax on, wax off. lol I'm dangerous with sharp tools so he'll be doing the cutting as well.

I did some interesting web reading regarding "golden ratio" as well. Thanks, I love learning new things. I was only familiar with this from a Criminal Minds episode, not as it pertained to photography. You may wish to contact Dave from this article as he seemed interested in a viewfinder of that kind .

Stay inspired!
Michelle

[DaveMak]

Good advice from Bill, Michelle. But if the scratches are more than just fine surface scratches you might find the amount of work to remove them is just not worth the trouble.

[libby2]

Originally Posted by wsrea

Scratches: Yes, you can polish the scratches out, but what I do is get automotive Turtle Wax, smear it on the acrylic sheet, wipe off, polish with a soft cloth, and repeat five or six times. The transparent polish gradually fills the scratches.

Cool. I'm doing this to my glasses, which I manage to fumble and drop face down all the time.

Thanks for the tip!
signed,
'ole scratchy

[mshaiku]

@Dave - I Agree. After reading how much elbow grease will be involved and they are such large pieces with many bad scratches, I can't see expecting my hubby to do all that. Definitely learned a lot though.

@Libby - If you're talking about eyeglasses, I don't believe any of these methods will work as the lens are usually coated and I wouldn't want you ruining them further.

Stay inspired!
Michelle