Simple Plastic restoration products testing

[Philbert]

In shop class we wet sanded plastics then buffed them, using fine, abrasive, rouge, to polish and shine.

Philbert

 

[Duane(Pa)]

Super clean is nasty sh1t.... It will pretty much destroy enamel too. Active ingredient similar to lye.

 

[SteveSS]

I had some time during lunch today and stopped by Menards to grab some paint thinner and boiled linseed oil to test the results from the video I posted earlier in the thread. My Menards only had tree hugger paint thinner, so maybe another type may work better:

The product:


The mixture: (eyeballed and guessed at 60/40 thinner/oil)


The victim: A well oxidized MS260 filter cover


The result: Shown next to a pretty decent MS260 filter cover. The test subject is on the left.


Results:

Not too shabby, really. I wonder if a different paint thinner would give better results? Looks pretty ok though for a guy who may just want to spiff up a saw before placing it on Craiglist to try and grab another $20.00 from it. It definitely brings back quite a bit of the color. Not sure there's much to do about the scratches and gouges though.

 

[Definitive Dave]

Product number 2 - bike brite plexi brite - 7.99
well its cheap and easy to use just spray it on and wipe it off, but it stinks like oven cleaner and doesn't really do much, in fact used according to the directions it isn't any better than soap and water and didn't seem to add much "shine" even on a cover that was not heavily oxidized, I wouldn't buy it again myself

 

[Definitive Dave]

Product number 3 - Honda spray cleaner $5.39
this seemed to clean better than the bike brite and smelled like a pina collada instead of oven cleaner, it also restored a little bit of the shine and says to use it in multiple coats after the part is clean to give it more shine.
easy and cheap but not great as a cleaner, I wouldn't buy it again

 

[huskihl]

Dang psp's. Who in their right mind would polish the plastic on a chainsaw?












So I was out in the garage today and figured I'd try some of these methods lol.
Semi faded 026 and MS361 plastics. Started out wet sanding with 320 grit and wd40. Ended up at 1500 grit. I then used a plastic polish stick on a cotton buffing wheel in my drill press. It brought out some shine, but not satisfactory. I then used the 60/40 mix of paint thinner / boiled linseed oil. Still not as good as I wanted, but the 60/40 mix will add a respectable shine to mildly faded plastics.
My take? Of the products I used, if I wanted a factory shine, extra time (lots) needs to be spent sanding through the UV affected rough pitted areas and nicks/gouges.
Also, the paint thinner I used contained mostly mineral spirits. Possibly I should have used something stronger, ie lacquer thinner, xylene, or the like.
I'd probably skip the plastic polish portion next time and sand the hell outta everything twice as much as you'd think, and add few coats of 60/40 mix, and they'd turn out just fine.

 

[P.M.P.]

Floride toothpaste and a green back worked great on my headlights.

 

[jake wells]

a local detailing shop said for dull faded plastics used steel wool and mineral oil it will polish them up nicely.

 

[jake wells]

gojo with out the pumice is great cleaner also it will remove grease from clothing and wont harm paint.

 

[junkman]

A heat gun or propanr torch wil sometimes bring color back ,but if not careful can leave a burn spot

 

[Chris Zautner]

I will try that out tonight for you guys. I don't have any faded chiansaw plastics. But I have some plastic lawn chairs that are faded and they should do the same thing.

 

[SteveSS]

The heat gun is pretty popular with the Jeep crowd for the black plastic fenders that always seem to gray out over time.

 

[Chris Zautner]

It's works good to remove the sun bleach but it doesn't give you the real shine you guys are looking for.

 

[TJ the Chainsaw Mechanic]

Man, if my stihls stihl didn't look brand new I'd have an excuse to work on'em! lol! My homelite doesn't have plastic so........good stuff to know though! There's been way to may saws that have come through the shop that could use that treatment! lol

 

[Lone Wolf]

exactly and it's not like I can go to the store and buy nice new plastics for a vintage restoration either, even if a guy is willing to pay silly crazy money for NOS parts they aren't always out there to be bought at any price
I like to build the 044 and 046 and they sell great used around here but the 046 plastics are oem only and pricey, if I drop $100+ on a pair of covers there is no margin for profit when it's time to sell.
Dave

What price does the 044 go for out there?

 

[Definitive Dave]

044 in running complete condition brings at least $400 and as much as $550 in nice looking condition, once you hit "minty" condition its open season

MS440 starts about $50 higher in each case
Dave

 

[Lone Wolf]

044 in running complete condition brings at least $400 and as much as $550 in nice looking condition, once you hit "minty" condition its open season

MS440 starts about $50 higher in each case
Dave

I have an MS 440 sitting on a shelf here.

 

[skidooguy]

I use a spray on product called plexus. I have had great luck with it and used it for many years on dirt bikes and atvs. It is pretty spendy but a small can of it would go a long ways on small parts like chainsaws.

 

[Danders]

I have tried the plastic restore kits ,they look good till you spray cleaners on the saw then the restore coating comes off

The last couple i had with faded plastics i soaked with red bar oil ,several applications ,it remoisturized the plastic and brought color back ,here is a 441 cleaned up with simple bar oil that had a white chalk look to it .View attachment 18782 View attachment 18783 View attachment 18785 View attachment 18786

The 60/40 mineral spirits/blo combination had me wondering which was doing the work and which was helping with the work. Your bar oil bath points to the oil doing the work. It sort of makes logical sense to want to sand the oxidized part off to get down to the "good" plastic, but your 441 cover looks pretty good and it doesn't end up thinner after you're done.

I've been applying some mineral spirit/blo to a couple of tops and I notice the tops do appear dry in spots after an hour or so of sitting. I refinished a rifle stock last year using blo and after applying the oil and rubbing it in I'd wipe it off and let the stock dry inside for a week before repeating the process. I would have bet money that plastic couldn't absorb oil but that sure looks like what is happening; I don't think oil can dry that fast.

 

[huskihl]

The 60/40 mineral spirits/blo combination had me wondering which was doing the work and which was helping with the work. Your bar oil bath points to the oil doing the work. It sort of makes logical sense to want to sand the oxidized part off to get down to the "good" plastic, but your 441 cover looks pretty good and it doesn't end up thinner after you're done.

I've been applying some mineral spirit/blo to a couple of tops and I notice the tops do appear dry in spots after an hour or so of sitting. I refinished a rifle stock last year using blo and after applying the oil and rubbing it in I'd wipe it off and let the stock dry inside for a week before repeating the process. I would have bet money that plastic couldn't absorb oil but that sure looks like what is happening; I don't think oil can dry that fast.

I wish I knew what purpose the paint thinner served. I mean, a corner of a paper towel dunked in the stuff is enough to do both covers. I'm trying blo alone next. And then blo mixed with atf