Can you buff out a shield?

[beemerFROG]

So here is the thing... as many of you may experience, I have a bunch of small scratches in the face shield of my helmet, along with some slight "fogging". Can this be buffed out? Has anyone ever tried this? My helmet is a Jarrow (Caberg) Justissimo which means to get a new shield I have to order one from England at 1/3 the price of a new helmet. I love this helmet and would love to be able to help it along. Any thoughts/ advice/ experience would be greatly appreciated.

[Big_Gray]

With the scratches, I have had very good luck with a product called Meguiars Mirror Glaze. It is marketed as a product for removing scratches from airplane canopies. As to the fogging, I suppose that would depend on whether it is a surface thing or some kind of breakdown in the faceshield material. I am sure there are other good products out there and even good old Plexus, a microfibre rag and lots of good old fashioned elbow grease will reduce fine scratching. Good Luck!

[Tony_K]

As a caberg fan myself (I wear their standard full face) I feel your pain about availability or lack there of.

 

The shield is anti fog so if there are any defects on the inside of the shield anything you do in there will compromise the coating. As for the outside with polishing or buffing, it can be hit or miss. It's very possible to create a even worse effect resulting in star patterns and optical clarity issues.

 

If you have any old helmet shields try on those first with various plastic polishes.

If you want to go absolutely balls out try this process vapor polishing serious business.

 

[Quinn]

Try these people for parts. Prices were reasonable.

http://bmwsporttouring.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=279815&Searchpage=1&Main=26278&Words=Caberg&Search=true#Post279815

 

 

[Linz]

I second the Meguiars Mirror Glaze. I've used it on various bike screen and visors (outside only) and it's worked wonders.

 

If the inside get messy and the anti-fog coating is no longer any good, I've removed it and used "Cat Crap" as a defogger and that's been brilliant. Also use Cat Crap on the inside of my riding glasses to prevent fogging.

 

Linz

[Woodie]

I have buffed out some scratches in the exterior of my C2 face-shield. There are instructions somewhere on the web.

 

sand it

sand it finer (wet/dry)

sand it really fine (wet/dry)

buff it w/ rouge (I bought a buffing wheel for my bench grinder)

 

It came out ok. It's been about a year, and I'm still using it. I should have sanded more, till it was really smooth. It's still not great at night, but it's much better than it was. I will probably spring for a new shield for the spring.

 

[Smoky]

My son bought an older car with badly scratched headlights. He got a kit from NAPA, that had a couple of pastes and a final polish/glaze.

 

The results were remarkable, I don't see why something like this wouldn't work.

[ka5ysy]

I use this stuff exclusively... CalSci uses it to polish their screens too !

 

http://www.bestplasticcleaner.com/

[Albert]

I've used Novus in the past with good results on Lexan windshields. Their product contains polishing abrasives in three different grades.

 

http://www.novuspolish.com/

[hopz]

I would say face shield yes, windshield... no.

 

My Lexan shields usually have a clear coating that will only get more nasty and "torn" with any attempt to improve it.

[swilson]

Never tried it on a face shield. I had great luck doing this on my CeeBailey's windshield though. It was only a week old when I apexed a curve and didn't notice a thin branch overhanging the roadway in time. Managed to get my helmet out of the way, but not the windshield. I bought a plastic polishing kit from TAP Plastics. With lots of elbow grease I had the big scratch rubbed out within an hour.

 

 

[Haynes]

Never use a an electric buff on plastic shields. If too much heat is generated by buffing, it will result in internal stress cracks.

Hand buff only.

[Woodie]

Never use a an electric buff on plastic shields. If too much heat is generated by buffing, it will result in internal stress cracks.

Hand buff only.

 

Now you tell me! I went slow on the buffing wheel (hand sanded), and it came out ok anyway. Lucky!

 

[Lmar]

Meguiars mirror glaze works well. I read somewhere that using toothpaste works on headlights. I tried it on my wife's car resulting in a slight improvement.

[beemerFROG]

Meguiars mirror glaze works well. I read somewhere that using toothpaste works on headlights. I tried it on my wife's car resulting in a slight improvement.

 

Plus, the lights were much whiter!

[jjg3]

Ran a google on Meguiars Mirror Glaze based on the posts, and I could be wrong here but it got a zillion hits and appears to be a product line, not a specific product. On google shopping the first hit is Meguiars Mirror Glaze Hi-tech Yellow Wax. Is it the Mirror Glaze Clear Plastic Polish?

[Lmar]

I use Mirror Glaze <17> Clear Plastic Cleaner & Mirror Glaze <10> Clear Plastic Polish.

[Trinity]

Never use a an electric buff on plastic shields. If too much heat is generated by buffing, it will result in internal stress cracks.

Hand buff only.

 

I think it depends on the type of buffer you're using. I have a small Porter Cable random orbital sander, with a polishing pad and variable speed control. Using it at the lowest speed in conjunction with Novus #2, I've had no issues polishing out scratches in two different windshields.

 

YMMV

[doc47]

The Novus site has a section on Polishing Tips. Power buffing is OK at 1000 rpm (slow). Use a clean bonnet with each paste.

 

I had years of experience with Meguiars. The No 17 disappears fine scratches and the No 10 polishes. It is not waterproof, however, and needs to be reapplied pretty frequently. It does make a big difference with windshields and faceshields.

[Troy]

I tried buffing out some (major) scratches in a Scorpion face shield. No luck, the put some kind of hard coating on the outside surface. The area I buffed out is clear but not the same as the surrounding area. Oh well, it needed to be replaced anyway.