Sanding Plexiglas. How to polish plexiglass at home without help

The polymeric solid transparent material is called Plexiglas. Although there are quite a few other names - plexiglass, acryplast, carboglass and others. It is often used instead of ordinary glass in the automotive, aviation and other industries. But with all the advantages of the material, it happens that it becomes cloudy or damaged. And then the problem arises, how to polish plexiglass with your own hands.

General requirements for the performance of work

Polishing is carried out with low-abrasive compounds. And at the same time it is necessary to avoid the use of aggressive substances. It is worth considering that it is easiest to do the work when the plexiglass is removed from the structure. When this is not possible, adjacent areas of the surface should be protected with adhesive tape.

Usually, if the surface to be polished is small, the work is done by hand. But easier, at lower cost and faster, the desired result is obtained when using a grinder. For example, car headlights are best polished with it. Such work is carried out in several ways, and sometimes you have to think about how you can polish plexiglass.

Ways to do it

Using sandpaper and polishing paste

From the necessary equipment for polishing you will need:

• emery cloth 2000 and 800;
• soft cloth, felt or felt;
• polishing paste.

Initially, sandpaper No. 800 is used, the workpiece can be moistened with water. As a result, small scratches will be removed (leveled) and the surface will become matte. There's nothing wrong with that, that's the way it should be. The main thing is that it should be smooth and without visible signs of damage.

Then the surface is treated with sandpaper No. 2000, after which the glass becomes transparent and the scratches disappear. To improve the quality of grinding allows the use of polish. It is applied to a soft fabric (flannel, felt, felt, etc.), and then the entire surface is processed with uniform movements. This continues until the desired result is obtained.

A variation of the considered method can be considered the option when they are limited only to polishing with sandpaper (if the part is not responsible and its transparency does not play a special role). Or when only polish is applied without pre-sanding. You can learn more about this from the video:

Using GOI paste

In principle, this is almost the same as the method discussed earlier. Only in this case, GOI paste is used instead of polish. The polishing technology is actually the same - surface treatment is carried out first sandpaper, and then the final gloss is applied with GOI paste. Its characteristics and features of use can be found here:

More details about the technology of polishing in a similar way are described here:

Surface treatment of glass with auto polishes

To restore the quality of surfaces, you can use various means car cosmetics designed to eliminate minor scratches and damage. In principle, the work is carried out as follows - an auto polish is applied to the surface, and then it is rubbed with a soft cloth, or a grinder, or a special nozzle for a grinder.

But it is better to first read the instructions for using the product and conduct a trial check on a small area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe surface.

The polishing methods mentioned are far from the only ones, there are others, for example, using toothpaste, but these are already options for critical situations, and the considered methods for restoring the transparency of plexiglass are usually enough.

Sometimes it is not at all intentional that we damage the glasses of watches, phones or transparent surfaces. various devices. To eliminate the scratches that have appeared, it is quite enough to simply polish the surface of the plexiglass. And you can do it yourself, including at home.

Plexiglas is strong and reliable material. Despite this, during operation, small scratches or chips, abrasions may appear on the surface. This is obtained as a result of mechanical action. Do not despair if some product in your home made of plexiglass has lost its original appearance. You just need to polish the desired part, and it will again become beautiful and transparent.

The polishing procedure is generally simple, but at the same time it is very meticulous. To polish plexiglass at home, you will need to devote a lot of time to this work, patience and endurance will be required from you.

What you need

To grind acrylic without the involvement of professionals, you need to understand the features of this process. Polishing plexiglass at home is quite real. With manual polishing, you can achieve a better result than with special equipment, this is justified by the fact that the material heats up very quickly, therefore, it begins to melt.

So, you will need:

• Masking tape. It is paper, not clerical, that is needed;
• Paper;
• Special polishing paste;
• Sandpaper. The size will be required 800, and also for final processing - 2000;
• A piece of soft matter;
• Blade or knife.

Having prepared the listed materials, you can polish your favorite plexiglass model boat or other products made from this material.

Preparing for polishing

Asking the question - how to polish plexiglass with your own hands, you must first prepare everything necessary materials and only then proceed directly to the process. Carefully polishing the plexiglass part will not work if you do not remove it from general product. When you get the necessary element, glue its edges with adhesive tape. This is necessary to prevent the possibility of chipping, other damage. If the element cannot be removed, it will be necessary to work very carefully, also pasting the edges with tape first.

polishing process

After you prepare the part for processing, namely, remove it from the general product and glue its edges with adhesive tape, you can start the polishing process. To get started, take a sandpaper with a size of 800 and start processing the Plexiglas plane with it, add a little water.

The whole process must be smooth and even. Do not overdo it in some places. You need to remove approximately the same thickness of material from the entire surface. When the sanding is done, wipe the surface, see what you have learned.

You should see a cloudy Plexiglas surface. This is quite normal, this is exactly the effect you were trying to achieve. It is only important that the glass is frosted evenly, otherwise repeat your steps. There should not be any flaws on the surface.

When the surface has become uniformly matte, you can proceed to the next step. Polishing of plexiglass parts continues with sandpaper with a size of 2000. As a result of your actions, the acrylic will gradually become transparent again. At the end of the work, there should be no scratches or scuffs on the entire surface. When you achieve the desired result, wipe the surface.

Now it's time to use the polishing paste. It will take quite a bit. Apply the paste to the prepared cloth and continue the sanding process. With careful and measured movements, turn a damaged plexiglass part into a perfect surface. Very soon you will see a shine on the surface, the polished element will become like new.

At this stage, carefully consider whether you have processed the acrylic well, there should not be any flaws on it. If you find them, repeat the described process again. If you have achieved the desired result, you can remove the tape, use the blade. The edges of the part may need to be sanded. Use the described method.

Now you know how to properly polish plexiglass products using sandpaper and polishing paste.

Polishing with GOI paste

We will describe the process of polishing an acrylic product with GOI paste and felt. If you didn’t find felt, it can be replaced by a piece of felt boots, it can also be an ordinary woolen insole or even cotton wool available in every home.

Polishing is as follows: it is necessary to apply GOI paste on the surface of the material being processed, and using one of the listed materials, it is necessary to process the surface in circular motions until the desired result is achieved.

If the surface is very badly scratched, most likely you will also have to use the sandpaper, as in the previous method. Field of work with sandpaper, polish the surface with GOI paste to a flawless shine.

Plexiglas is a material that has consolidated its position both in everyday life and in production. His specifications(strength, transparency, thermoplasticity) are not inferior to the properties of ordinary glass. The operation of organic glass may lead to the need for its polishing. Is it possible to polish the material at home and how? What is included in the preparation and processing process? Everything is not as difficult as it might seem at first glance.

Features of the material and scope of application

Organic glass is obtained from acrylic acid through the implementation of various chemical reactions. This material is similar in various parameters to ordinary glass, but its nature is organic (hence the name of the material). There are several synonymous words - plexiglass, acryplast, carboglass, etc.

Among the main characteristics of plexiglass can be highlighted:

• ease;
• softness;
• the ability to easily transform;
• malleability during processing;
• high throughput;
• When exposed to certain chemicals, plexiglass decomposes.

The impact resistance of many types of plexiglass is 5 times greater than that of ordinary

Polymeric transparent material is used in various areas of human life, so the operation of organic glass can lead to a change in its appearance - deterioration of transparency, decrease in gloss, scratches, roughness and other unfavorable moments. Carboglass with large damage from glass turns into ordinary plastic. In this regard, the question often arises of the need for polishing plexiglass at home.

Ways to polish plexiglass at home

It is possible to give plaxiglass products their original appearance without resorting to complex tools or expensive materials.

There are several effective methods combating the "non-commodity" type of plexiglass:

• Felt + GOI paste.
• The use of dichloroethane.
• The use of polishes.
• Home recipes (wine vinegar, toothpaste, etc.)

Using GOI paste, sandpaper and felt (with detailed video)

You should know that there are coarse, medium and fine types of GOI paste

Algorithm:

1. Isolation of plaxiglass from other structures and elements. If possible, separate the plexiglass from other structures (glue the adjacent areas with adhesive tape, detach the plexiglass parts, etc.)
2. Using 2000 grit sandpaper, sand the organic glass, periodically wetting the surface with water (under running water or using a spray gun). Uniformity and slowness are the main characteristics in the performance of this work. A matt, uniform surface should be the result of this time-consuming step.
3. The part wiped dry is polished using felt with GOI paste applied to it. This should be done slowly, achieving the highest quality result.

This method of repairing plexiglass is suitable for plexiglass with large scratches on it.

Following step by step instructions video material, you can easily cope with the task of eliminating defects in plexiglass.

Home helpers (toothpaste, chalk and others) + video

As a polishing agent, some craftsmen use chalk or toothpaste, applying these substances to a felt or other soft cloth. How to polish - manually or with the help of technology - each specialist decides independently. The main thing is to get the result in the form of a smooth and shiny surface.

You can use regular towels natural materials. Apply a little dentifrice paste on them and rub it in a circle into the surface to be treated. After that, rinse the plexiglass with plain water.

Below is a video demonstrating how to polish car headlights with toothpaste.

Is it possible to polish with your own hands using dichloroethane

The use of this substance is appropriate when processing small areas of plexiglass. Dichloroethane dissolves upper layer plexiglass, thereby improving its appearance, leveling the surface and eliminating scratches. The chemical is applied with a spray gun to the acryplast and wait for complete drying.

But the use of this method requires a good skill in work, because when removing scratches, you can add bumps to the glass, and chemicals are not useful for a craftsman who changes the appearance of plexiglass.

Other scratch remedies

To give a smooth and shiny look, the product can be treated with any automotive polishing products.

1. It is advisable to test the action of auto polishes by trying to process a small area first, so as not to spoil the entire product.
2. If the result is satisfactory, then feel free to get to work. To do this, apply auto cosmetics to a soft cloth and wipe the product in a circular motion many times.

You can speed up the process with the help of power tools - a polishing wheel, grinders. When using such devices, do not forget that the rotation speed should not be too high so as not to “burn” the surface.

The Japanese Compound paste received good reviews in terms of polishing carboglass.

Also included is a special polishing pad.

The choice of glass cleaning chemicals is very important process, because some chemicals, instead of being useful, can cause severe damage to the surface, simply destroying it. Therefore, be very careful when using these tools.

Any action to improve the appearance of acrylic glass will be in vain if it is harmful to your health. Therefore, when working, it is necessary to remember the safety precautions:

1. When working with a sandpaper or a grinder, wear protective goggles so that possible dust particles do not get into your eyes.
2. Do not neglect the use of gloves, they are mandatory for safe work(when sanding the surface, when using chemicals). Match them to the size of your hand to avoid getting excess cloth into the polishing wheel.
3. Using chemicals don't forget to enter fresh air in the room where the work is being done.
4. When working with special devices, be sure to check their serviceability and reliability. electrical wiring and sockets.
5. When spraying dichloroethane, use a respirator or medical personal mask.

The process of polishing plexiglass at home is time-consuming and time-consuming, especially if you work manually. But the result will surely reward you for your efforts. The surface of the plexiglass will become smooth, even, without nicks and scratches and will please you for a long time.

Plexiglas is widely used in various industries. Partitions are made from this material, viewing windows, showcases, telescopes, accessories for Vehicle, microscopes, lamps, as well as construction and medical equipment. Plexiglas has many advantages. However, the material must be well looked after. Only in this case the product will last long enough. So, how to polish plexiglass at home?

What is it for?

Plexiglas is considered a strong and reliable material. However, over time, small scratches, chips and cuts appear on it. This happens due to the mechanical impact on the product during its use. To restore the attractive appearance of plexiglass, it is necessary to polish it.

It should be noted that the procedure itself is simple. But at the same time, this is a meticulous and lengthy task that requires patience and endurance. In addition, strong, aggressive substances cannot be used to process plexiglass. As reviews show, after using such products, the material may become dull and cloudy.

What is needed?

So, how to polish plexiglass and what is required for this? Many people ask a similar question. Material handling is a simple process. The result after manual polishing is much better than after using special equipment that can heat the material and melt its surface. Before starting processing, prepare all the necessary materials and tools. This will require:

Preparing plexiglass for polishing

Since it is impossible to polish plexiglass without removing it from the product, it is worth carefully removing it. After that, you need to glue the edges with tape. This will protect them from chips and other damage.

You need to stick the adhesive tape with an overlap: from 1 to 2 millimeters. If the plexiglass cannot be removed from the product, then you will have to work with extreme caution. In this case, all the parts located next to the surface to be treated must be sealed with adhesive tape.

polishing process

How to polish plexiglass so that it is like new? To begin with, the surface must be processed sandpaper marked 800. In this case, it is worth adding a little water. Treat plexiglass evenly. In conclusion, the material must be wiped, and the result can be evaluated. The result should be frosted plexiglass. It `s naturally. If the surface is unevenly matte, then it is worth continuing processing. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that potholes do not form.

When the surface becomes completely matte, you can proceed to the next step. Since it is necessary to polish plexiglass until it is completely transparent, it is necessary to use sandpaper marked 2000. The material should be processed over the entire area. Plexiglas should become more transparent. At the same time, there should be no scratches on its surface. If a defect is found, then it is worth sanding it with sandpaper marked 800.

The final stage of polishing

How to polish plexiglass at home? In such cases, it is better to use a special paste. It is necessary to apply a small amount of polishing composition to a piece of soft cloth, and then process the plexiglass, making measured, neat movements. After a while, the material will begin to acquire a shine.

In conclusion, it is worth carefully considering the treated surface. If a scratch is found on it, then the product should be sanded and polished again. If the result completely satisfies you, then you can carefully remove the adhesive tape. After that, it is worth carefully polishing the edges of the part. As the reviews show, such processing allows you to return an attractive appearance to plexiglass products. The material becomes transparent and scratch-free.

Polishing with GOI paste

How to polish plexiglass with your own hands using GOI paste? Felt is required for work. If such material is not available, then it can be replaced with a woolen insole, a piece of felt boots or cotton pads.

The polishing process is quite simple. It is necessary to apply a little GOI paste on a piece of material and carefully treat the surface. You need to polish the plexiglass until you get the desired result.

If the material is very old, then it should be polished before processing with GOI paste. You can use sandpaper for this. In this case, the skin should be very fine. The surface of Plexiglas before grinding should be moistened with a spray bottle. It is necessary to ensure that the material does not dry out during processing. Otherwise, scratches will form on the surface. Only after grinding, you can start polishing the plexiglass with GOI paste.

In conclusion

Now you know how to polish plexiglass from scratches, chips and other mechanical damage. As the reviews show, you should work with the material carefully. After all, any awkward movement can leave a mark on its surface.

For polishing plexiglass, you can use a polish designed for the treatment of vehicles. It is enough to apply the product on the surface of the material, and then grind it with a piece of felt. However, before the procedure, experts recommend testing the polish on a small area. Finally, rub the surface with liquid oil.

In the process of processing Plexiglas, for example, sometimes rough, rough edges remain after cutting, or after some time of use, cracks and defects appear. Often, a product made of polymer glass may completely lose its original appearance, for example, become dull or distort the image. Therefore, the problem of returning Plexiglas to its original form will sooner or later affect many. For example, it is often necessary to clean and polish plexiglass in showers and other accessories in bathrooms.

How to polish plexiglass?*

One of the main features of plexiglass is its transparency, due to which synthetic glass is successfully used instead of real glass. Therefore, as soon as plexiglass loses its transparency properties, it turns into ordinary plastic. Of course, in some cases, for example, when the scratches are deep, and the surface has become too matte, original state you can’t return plastic glass, but it’s not necessary to polish it to a perfect shine. It will be possible to simply remove clearly strongly visible defects, and then update your surface with a color film. Properly glued film will change your product, and at the same time strengthen the glass.

If over time cracks, scratches form on your product, and the transparency property is no longer observed, then use the tips on the video and do your own polishing at home. Without a doubt, such work will require some patience from you and will take more than one hour of time, but all this will be replenished with an updated look of the plexiglass surface.

If there is not enough experience, then it is better to carry out the polishing procedures manually so as not to completely spoil the plexiglass.

In order to correctly complete all the steps, you need to prepare everything necessary tool, and remove the glass from the product. When the glass surface is outside the product, the process will be greatly simplified in time and will become much more convenient. The working surface is glued with adhesive tape, which must be of high quality so as not to leave traces with glue.

1. First, the surface must be sanded. To do this, you need a skin and water. You can choose the skin yourself, for example, 800 is suitable.
2. The grinding process begins with cleaning the surface with sandpaper. You need to work carefully, and most importantly evenly. The surface is sanded until the plexiglass becomes dull. In the process, you need to pay attention to the manifestation of various defects, for example, potholes.
3. After the glass has become completely opaque, change the number of the skin, now you need the number 2000. Already in the process of working, you will see how the glass becomes transparent.
4. Sand the surface until the plexiglass is as clear as possible. If at the end of the work you notice more defects, then switch back to the skin number 800 and repeat the operation.
5. Then the surface is wiped.

For the final stage, additional funds will be required, for example, plexiglass polishing paste, it can be purchased at a hardware store after consulting with the seller.

The polish is applied to a fabric with a soft base, with the help of which the surface is polished with uniform movements. The process is considered complete when the glass becomes shiny. We remove the adhesive tape and insert our plastic glass into the product.

The success of the entire enterprise depends largely on right choice polishing paste. The paste must match the brand of plexiglass, and reviews on the use of polish for surface treatment vary widely. Therefore, we recommend using proven products, in particular, GOI paste. GOI paste got its name in honor of the State Optical Institute, where it was developed in the 30s of the last century for polishing optical glasses, known for their highest requirements. Of course, GOI also has a number of disadvantages, for example, it contains chromium oxide, which should also not be forgotten when working.

For our needs, GOI of medium grain size is suitable, which can be recognized by its green color.

In fact, many modern facilities can cope with rubbing the surface, you just need to carefully read the instructions. So the polishing paste for plexiglass should not contain ammonia, which gives the surface a porosity that is incompatible with transparency. Excessive graininess also harms the surface.

To polish polymer glass, you can even use tooth powder, which is applied with a cloth.

Polishing methods

If you have sufficient skill, you can use a grinder, both special and improvised, for which you can adapt an electric drill by equipping it with a special nozzle. In this case, it is not necessary to use high speeds, in order to avoid overheating of the surface. Overheating can result in surface microcracks that adversely affect transparency.

And what to do in the case when all the above attempts did not bring the desired result? In this case, experts advise painting the surface or using a colored film.

Polishing can be divided into two ways:

• Polishing plexiglass at home, i.e. what is at hand at home, without special equipment.
• With the use of special pastes, fixtures, tools.

I created a short video showing the grinding and polishing process, and below is a description with a photo:

How to polish plexiglass at home

It is necessary to polish according to the same principles as polishing wood or iron. Those. first grinding - large irregularities on the surface of the material are removed, then smaller ones, and so on until a mirror shine.

Polishing flat plexiglass

Suppose you have a piece of flat or more complex plexiglass, scratched during operation, which must be brought into a divine form, i.e. polish. For example, I take this scratched piece:

How do we polish plexiglass? Since we work from home, I use what is at hand.

• a set of sandpaper of different grits
• toothpaste
• pasta GOI
• a rag, but rather a piece of felt

When choosing sandpaper, the grains should not be larger than the deepest scratches on the Plexiglas surface. to start polishing and finish with the finest sandpaper with No. 2000, which can even be rubbed together before working with glass. It is not advisable to take completely wiped paper, because. you will rub, but the glass will not be removed.

When restoring glass, you will have to go through a crisis, as often happens in the treatment of an illness. We clean the scratched surface with the roughest sandpaper and it all becomes matte. This is clearly visible in the video. Don't be scared. We make the surface smooth, evenly matte over the entire plane, so that scratches do not stand out.

Then we take an ever smaller skin and three, three, three. Until the glass after the “nulling” treatment acquires an almost transparent appearance.

After that, we begin to polish the plexiglass with toothpaste. The paste should contain at least some abrasive substances, so it is better not to take the gel. I used this one (obviously not the best for polishing), but you can use another one, but better tooth powder:

Three again. In this case, the surface acquires a shiny appearance, even if there are traces of scratches.

And before and after that, the glass can be washed with soap and water to wash off the dirt formed during processing, when one remaining pebble from the sandpaper will make a bunch of new scratches.

After that, if any, you can polish with GOI paste.

See that there are no deep scratches and no paste gets there. It is dark in color and it will be difficult to wash it out of them.

At the end, wash the glass with soap and water and look at the result:

The picture shows that the middle is more transparent than the edges. But in the beginning it was the other way around.

Therefore, in order not to rub once again what was already transparent, before processing, you can seal the places with a good surface with masking tape and clean only scratches.

• Long-term and labor-intensive process, especially for large areas
• Difficult to get perfect smooth surface as it was before processing. There are always micro-roughnesses, although they become transparent
• In this way it is difficult to remove a single scratch on the surface without damaging the surface around it.

When polishing plexiglass with your own hands, you can not be afraid to melt and deform the material from strong friction, which can happen when polishing with a felt wheel on an electric motor.

With such a surface treatment of plexiglass, internal stresses do not arise, which can prevent its further gluing with other parts, which otherwise can lead to cracking of the material from the glue that has got into these places.

This is the easiest way to restore the transparency of the Plexiglas surface.

– synthetic polymer material, which has all external characteristics inorganic, but in many ways superior to it in physical and chemical properties. Unlike ordinary glass, plexiglass is characterized by increased strength, resistance to moisture, high transparency and light transmission, as well as much less weight.

However, over time, small chips and scratches appear on its surface, and transparency is significantly reduced. Polishing plexiglass will help restore its original appearance and eliminate defects. You can perform this procedure at home.

How to properly polish plexiglass

It is impossible to polish plexiglass with special tools - this will lead to injury to the surface. For the same reasons, you should not use aggressive chemical solutions, such as acetone. The best way to return it to its former brilliance - manual polishing with sandpaper, however, there are rules here as well.

The first step is to prepare the material for polishing. To do this, it is best to remove the plexiglass from the overall structure. If this is not possible, the nearest surfaces in contact with Plexiglas must be sealed with adhesive tape to avoid damage.

1. We clean the material from dust and dirt with a soft felt cloth or just a cotton pad.
2. For the initial polishing, you will need a large sandpaper with a grit of 800, which will remove large flaws and make the surface evenly matte. An important condition: sanding must necessarily take place with the addition of a small amount of water (“dry” polishing will lead to mechanical damage!).
3. The next step is grouting more fine sandpaper with a 2000 grit that will eliminate deep scratches and pits.
4. After the main stage of polishing plexiglass, wipe it dry and apply polishing paste - special agent to bring back the shine. After uniform rubbing of the paste, the surface gradually acquires its former transparency.

How else can you polish plexiglass?

The polishing method described above is the main one, the most commonly used and the most affordable. But there are other options for updating plexiglass: for example, using a polishing paste jewelry GOI. In this case, the paste with the addition of water is applied to the product and rubbed in a circular motion with a soft cloth. The next step is polishing with fine emery cloth (1500 - 2000). At the end, the surface is again treated with paste and wiped dry.

Another affordable way renovation of plexiglass at home - processing with auto polish. The agent is applied to the prepared surface and rubbed with uniform efforts. Finishing with machine oil will help to save the result.

As you can see, it is not so difficult to return the attractive appearance of plexiglass manually - you just need to decide on the method of polishing. At proper care and timely polishing, plexiglass will retain its transparency and original brilliance for a long time.