How to polish plexiglass?

Organic composition, or as it is usually called, acrylplast, which replaces ordinary glass, is quite common in everyday life. It is widely used in many industries due to its lightness and ability to give any shape. Very often there is a need to polish or clean it, as large and small scratches appear on the surface of the glass itself, any irregularities or banal dullness from mechanical stress. In this article, we will take a closer look at how to polish plexiglass.

Many people are interested in how to mask scratches from the end of their favorite photo frame or update the walls of their favorite cabinet to transparency. The main nuances of the plexiglass restoration itself will be quite simple - cleaning the surface, affecting scratches and, in most cases, polishing - fixing the effect. You can grind acrylic in several ways, polishing can also differ in the composition of the products used.

To remove damage from plexiglass and rub it to a transparent appearance, use the following tools:

• GOI pastes;
• polish;
• dichloroethane;
• handy tools for home use, such as toothpaste.

To fix the damage and bring your favorite trinket back to life, you should try a little. All methods are suitable, it remains only to choose the option according to the materials available, and only then determine whether it will be grinding or will have to be polished with special store-bought compounds.

The most commonly used materials are:

• paper sheet;
• masking tape;
• gruel for polishing;
• coarse and fine sandpaper;
• pure natural fabric;
• knife.

One of the most common methods is polishing using GOI paste and ordinary felt. Finding them at the hardware store is easy.

To remove minor scratches, the process consists of applying a paste to the treated glass surface and polishing itself. Felt movements on the glass surface should be intense. The more active the movement, the faster the scratches will disappear.

It is possible to restore acrylplast using dichloroethane compounds. This composition is able to dissolve the top layer of glass, eliminating scratches. You need to spray it from a spray bottle, and wait until it dries completely. This method of processing is suitable for small areas of plexiglass, and it also requires a lot of experience and dexterity.

"Home methods" are in wide demand for leveling the surface of carboglass at home.

• Using toothpaste good results can be achieved. Ordinary chalk is also suitable for this purpose. To grind glass with their own hands at home, craftsmen apply substances to the surface, polish with a soft cloth or felt. When the result is achieved, the glass is rinsed with water.

• Automotive polishes also able to renew an old plexiglass item. Choose colorless formulations.

With a successful result, the vehicle is applied to a wider surface of the plexiglass, rubbed with a soft cloth when a positive result is achieved.

• Burning with a burner is also used as a possible type of processing. But it already requires a lot of experience in this field of activity, since it usually leads to damage to the product for beginners (from burning the surface to a fire).

• 1: 1 mixture of wine vinegar and hot water also able to assist in obtaining the smoothness of the glass. Moreover, such treatment will help protect against all kinds of fungal formations and mold stains.

• Coarse abrasive powder perfectly replaces grainy paper. Pumice, chalk, crocus, chromium and aluminum oxide are added for abrasive dry grinding. They add wax (beeswax), paraffin, machine oil or liquid paraffin.

• There is a recipe for making pasta yourself. In the household. the store purchases pasta "Slava", "Universalna", "NEDE" or "Pemoxol". The composition is washed well with running warm water, the liquid is settled, the resulting precipitate is dried. During the polishing work, the paste becomes soft. At the end of the process, the glass is washed well with water and soap.

• Application of machine tools with diamond cutters and cloth wheel guarantee excellent results. But not everyone has such adaptations at home.

• Steam polishing used on rare occasions because the vapor is generated from the solvent. The solvent renews the surface, but this method of exposure can hardly be called simple and safe, and the effect of partial matte is always obtained. Most often, this method is suitable for polishing the inner surfaces of the product.

The following recommendations should be adhered to:

• any work with plexiglass should be done with minimal pressure, so as not to break the product;
• before starting work, the glass should be washed with water and dried without using heating devices; it will be ideal to be able to detach organic glass from other surfaces, but if this is not possible, then seal them with tape;
• when processing with sandpaper, the glass surface is recommended to be periodically moistened with plain water;
• when there is no felt, it can be replaced with a regular felt insole;
• a polishing wheel will greatly facilitate polishing work, and grinding machines are also an excellent choice; but when using the technique, it should be remembered that the speed of rotation should not be at the maximum - this will help to avoid damage to the glass surface;
• after using car cosmetics, the glass can be wiped with vegetable oil;
• do not forget about the protection of the master - use safety glasses when polishing and grinding;
• when using chemicals, it will be necessary to ventilate the room well; if even a slight dizziness occurs, you should immediately stop work and go out into the fresh air;
• the use of fire must be very careful;
• a respirator will help protect the respiratory system from dust, but if it is not available, you can try to replace it with a medical mask or scarf;
• gloves will help protect the skin of the hands from dust and other fine powders that can get on the skin and cause allergies;
• grinding glass with deep scratches should be started with coarse-grained paper, and as the top layer is erased, replaced with a finer one; after that, the surface will become dull, but if the difference is visible, then the less transparent areas of the glass should be additionally sanded until the same result is obtained;
• the grinding process should periodically be replaced by the cleaning process from the resulting dust;
• the composition of the GOI paste should not contain ammonia, since it can make the glass dull;
• when polishing using technology, you need to know that thermoplastics require up to 1.5 thousand revolutions per minute, and thermosetting compounds - up to 2 thousand; thermoplastic glass compositions should be treated with softer polishing components in comparison with thermosetting;
• corrugated organic glass is best treated with chemical steam, since grinding and further polishing will not bring results;
• steam polishing is not suitable for transparent glass, unless the purpose is to make it matte;
• the use of GOI paste with aluminum in the composition will give color to transparent glass, and chromium oxide will penetrate into the damaged surface and most likely remain there, it will be very difficult to remove it;
• chemical matting or sanding with fine grained paper will work for a matte finish.

There is always an opportunity to polish the glass in a car service, for some it will even be much easier to simply replace it. But this method will require more extensive cash costs. In the case of your favorite things, speech about replacement will be inappropriate, so choose a method that is more convenient for you and restore your dear things yourself. The suggested methods of influence will help you achieve good results.

You can get acquainted with the technology of polishing glass in the following video.