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Restoring Plexi Crystals


foxindebox

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Hi Everyone,

I just thought I would post a quick guide as to how I restore my scratched Plexi Crystals, I use 4 different materials to do this and they are: -

Wet and Dry Sandpaper (Four different grades ranging from Medium Coarse to Fine which I pre cut into squares and staple together for ease of use).

Water (Lots and lots)

Cotton Wool

And most importantly, a great product called Polywatch (Available online, eBay, and Amazon etc).

So here is an old Smiths watch I am going to restore. As you can see, the Crystal looks pretty bad with scratches and some deep gouges.

E40B7589-2329-46D6-9D56-5709C6F8EBAC_zps

Firstly I use the coarsest grade paper and PLENTY of water and rub the crystal down until it is smooth and there are no deep gouges left. It will look scratched and cloudy, but DONT panic!

72D7D5F1-BF9C-4C28-B62A-B1C32D9490FB_zps

92F0727F-2244-4298-8B78-3FAAD8565F4C_zps

So onto the next grade down. The crystal will feel a lot smoother after this pass and the clouding will look less "scratchy".

A58BF0D4-42FE-49AB-9D6B-95B856E921CA_zps

OK, so now onto the next grade down. Again, the clouding will remain but look a bit less "scratchy".

0730B972-DBBA-451B-AF8D-EE1CE1A04DB6_zps

Now onto the final grade paper. This is just to smooth things out further.

E3B8E4D0-7F22-41A5-B2EC-7FDEA4BF51A6_zps

Looks even worse than when we started eh? Not to worry, now we grab our Cotton Wool and Polywatch.

62BF054D-A0CD-45AC-B03C-BC11105F3DB8_zps

All we need to do now is put a small drop onto the Crystal and work it round and round for a minute using a little pressure as we go.

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We can do this a couple of times until finally, the Crystal looks clear and shiny.

F478A6D1-9A94-4347-BC0B-D57F34256A07_zps

I hope you find this helpful and spend a lot less on new Plexi's ;)

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I use the same way, but I start with wet sandpaper grade 800/1000 then 1500 and final with 2000 (or even a 2500 spounge disc).

Finally I use a profesisonal car polish (fine grain).

 

Very important (that you haven't mentioned) is to protect with tape the rest of the case, especially if it is plated.

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I use the same way, but I start with wet sandpaper grade 800/1000 then 1500 and final with 2000 (or even a 2500 spounge disc).

Finally I use a profesisonal car polish (fine grain).

 

Very important (that you haven't mentioned) is to protect with tape the rest of the case, especially if it is plated.

Very true, taping up is a must :)

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