I am working on a searchlight. I masked off the clear plastic lens part when I painted the searchlight body. But when I went to remove the masking, it didn't come off easily (I may have let it sit for a while...) and by the time I got the masking off, I had some scratches on the lens.

What's the best way to get these scratches gone, since the lens needs to look as shiny clear as possible?

Depends on how deep they are. Toothpaste is quite good for very light marks. Deeper ones are virtually impossible to fix withoug replackng the lens.

Gary

They aren't superficial.... they aren't crazy insane deep, but not light either.

The other challenge is that I already have it mounted (and non-removable) and painted around it.

I've been thinking about trying to sand it, then polish it with ScratchX or Tamiya polishing compound... then maybe a drop of Future after that...

Thoughts?

If it was removable that might work good.
Is it a small part?
They make kits for polishing pens,acrylic ones.
I make them sometimes, they have a set of like 15,000 grit in real small pads.
Also 3M makes an acrylic polish, plus there is the Novus line of products.
On plastic you have to make it dull then re shine it.
Best bet might be to remove and replace it with clear plastic.
Good luck whatever you choose.

Jeff

not to be a smart@ss, but if it's vehicle mounted, could you scratch a canvas cover?

If it were a vehicle on the move, it might have been covered for protection?

You could try brushing on some Future and seeing if that is enough to fill and hide the scratches. That is what us guys who build planes do to clarify canopies and such if they aren't too numerous or deep.

That just might be enough, and you can always remove it with Windex if it doesn't do the trick.

Here's a thread on this subject from earlier this year:

https://armorama.kitmaker.net/forums/256116#2173895

acrylic heavy gloss gel medium is what you're looking for (in any arts store, use it too for perfect water effects)
brush it all over, smooth it while wet with a soft brush with water, let it dry ... easy and clear as water

Jake,
Invest in one of these...they are fantastic on polishing scratches!

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/like/322221478444?chn=ps&dispItem=1

After you have polished off the plastic, coat with FUTURE.

Cheers,
Joe

Joe - does this work even for deep scratches? How do you use it most effectively? Is this to polish or "sand" out deeper scratches?

I would go with what Shell said above. It could turn into a 5 minute fix!

Jake,
I have used it to sand and polish reasonable sized scratches.
The more you work at the scratch the smoother it gets.

Obviously, if you have a gouge, you may need sandpaper first
and finish off with this pen.

I have used it to restore badly marred canopies with great
success.

It is also great for removing decals that have been varnished
without damaging the underlying paint.

If the scratches are deep you should sand them them out the best you can then using finer and finer grit sanding medium before the final polish. Otherwise you are trying to fill a scratch and it may not work well. The smoother the damaged area the better the final results.

Best way to polish out scratches on clear plastic is to use the Micro-Mesh sanding system which uses successive grades of canvas-backed sandpaper from 2000 to 12,000 grit to polish out the flaw. By the time you get to the 12,000 grit, you'll have a nice smooth polished surface you can coat with Future floor polish (Pledge with Future now) for a crystal clear look. However, for a completely flat lense, I'd think you could use any thin clear material. I save sections of pastry containers that are clear just for this purpose. I also save sections of larger pastry containers to cut up as replacement plastic for my Vac-Form machine, which saves a lot of money.
VR, Russ