Global Scale Modeller

Hi all, does anyone have any recommendations for removing the hazy effect from clear plastic caused by turps? I accidentally put my thumb on the window for my Tamiya Supra which transferred turps onto it.

Does this leave a small layer of turps which can be removed, or does it completely damage the plastic?

In the event of it being ruined, does anyone know if it is possible to get replacement sprues from Tamiya? I suspect it may be more suitable to just buy the complete model

Cheers

Only way I know is to polish it out, start with 1000 ish grit and work up to polishing paste. Looks and feel wrong but it works with care you won't know the damage was even there afterwards, all that said it does depend to a great extent where the damage is and who easy it is to get at.

Kevthemodeller wrote: Fri Jan 24, 2020 8:39 am Only way I know is to polish it out, start with 1000 ish grit and work up to polishing paste. Looks and feel wrong but it works with care you won't know the damage was even there afterwards, all that said it does depend to a great extent where the damage is and who easy it is to get at.

Thanks Kev, have some polishes on the way in the post so will try them out

It's gonna take a huge amount of polishing. I tried once and it nearly drove me up the wall, but it can be done. Also dipping the whole clear part in gloss varnish can help once you've sanded and polished it down.

Let us know how you progress.
If you can get the damaged area out, you could remove remaining scratches and seal the clear plastic with a dip into clear acrylic, like Ak’s Gauzy or, well, the F stuff
That is what I would do

Well, time for an update, and it's much more positive than I was expecting when I initially damaged it.

Firstly, couldn't recommend this guy's guide enough, very useful

As you guys said, polishing it out gets results but it is painstaking. I'm amazed that I could sand back clear plastic to remove the damage, then clean up sanding cuts with polish. I would have thought you'd never remove those kinds of cuts.

Started with 600 paper and worked my way to 1500. The video suggests 2000 but that hasn't arrived in the mail yet, which may be why I still have some cleaning to go. Followed with multiple rounds of Novus 3 and 2 grade polish. Appears to get cleaner after every round of polish but I can't help wonder if it would have been more cost effect to just buy a new kit just for the window piece, both on my wallet and my mentality lol polish isn't cheap here in NZ and the many rounds of polishing can take its toll

In pictures linked, the windscreen is what I've been working on, which previuously looked like the right side window. Obviously still not perfect but much better than it previously looked.





Let me know if you've had any similar experiences and anything else to add