Appearance & Detailing Interior & Exterior Appearance Modifications

clear vinyl cleaning

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Old Feb 17, 2009 | 07:13 PM
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Default clear vinyl cleaning

i have a snap on hatch cover with a clear vinyl insert that youre supposed to see through. i supposed its the same deal as a non-glass convertable top. it must be many, many years old as i bought it third hand. the inside is clear and smooth, but the outside is absolutely filthy and grimy. you cant see through it at all, its like pure dirt. is there some way to clean it? i remember seeing things on tv like the flitz or powerball or something like that, that will more polish the plastic rather then clean in. is there anything like that around, or has anyone done something like this before?
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Old Feb 17, 2009 | 08:40 PM
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Hit it with some rubbing compound and elbow grease. I did my brothers fiance's Tracker windows (about the same thing w/ the same problem) and they came out fantastic. I started with heavy cut, then medium cut, then fine cut and it cleared them right up. It takes some time and your arm will be tired as hell, but it's worth it.
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Old Feb 18, 2009 | 07:31 AM
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would a porter cable or some sort of ball polisher, like the mothers powerball make it any easier, you think?
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Old Feb 18, 2009 | 03:55 PM
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yeah probably. We used some sort of cheap orbital buffer at first, but found that we got better results when doing it by hand. This was simply because we could apply more pressure than the buffer could. Buffers are built for paint so they're designed to have a soft touch so you don't burn the paint. Since you're on plastic you can be a little more aggressive. It also helps to have someone on the other side of the window to push against your hand so you're not stressing out any seams or anything.
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Old Feb 18, 2009 | 05:55 PM
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it snaps off, so its already off the car. laid flat on the ground. ill try messing with it tomorrow. worse comes to worse ill just cut it out and sew in either new plastic or even a screen. its for a racecar, dont care how it looks.
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