Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

As good as Novus is, I haven't much left and the price of it now is putting me off buying more. Are any of the T-cut or Autoglym products suitable for plastic ? I would mainly be using whatever I buy for removing hazing, minor discolouration and fine scratches from ABS.

Thankyou.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

I use Greygates No 5, Brasso, Poundland's answer to T-cut or anything else I can get my hands on. Rubbing with a 50/50 mixture of meths and acetone is also good for getting rid of small scratches, though experiment inside a case before doing it in anger.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

T-Cut is fine on most plastics. Try a bit on an inconspicuous area if you're in any doubt.

Poundland sell a similar product called something like 'Car Scratch Remover'. Seems OK.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Thankyou. Any particular variety of T cut or the Poundland equivalent? There's a few different ones.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

If you go into a serious motor factors that deals in paints etc you'll find abrasive polishes, sometimes known as cutting compound or rubbing compound in grades 3 to 10. Lower numbers are coarser.

Comes in toothpaste tubes up to litre squeezy bottles.

Farecla is one of the main makers.

Number 10 is a good final polish for really sparlly plastic headlamp lenses.

David

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

T-Cut is really the consumer version of the professional cutting compounds used by bodyshops.

I think there's only one Poundland one.

There are two basic T-Cut types, the standard one and one supposedly for metallic finishes which has a finer cutting action. I've found little difference apart from the metallic one being harder work. I suppose you could start off with standard and finish with metallic.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Jolly good. Thankyou all.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Toothpaste is also slightly abrasive and works for the finer finish, refreshing smell too.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

T-Cut is a consumer abrasive, and for their comfort and convenience has a waxy polish mixed in with it.

The professional compounds avoid that like the plague because the surfaces they are used on may also need paint touch-up afterwards and waxes or silicones would be disastrous. They require wax polishing to be done as a further operation.

David

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Plenty of time to decide. I thought I'd used the last of the Novus today on a green 706 but there's still enough left for another phone (I think).

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

3M make a cutting compound that comes in a 1L bottle - its not cheap, but one bottle will last a lifetime.

It is superb, and requires very little effort to use on even the dullest Bakelite - well worth trying to get hold of

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Yes, their brand of the stuff I mentioned. Several grades. Trade prices are around £30 for a 1 litre bottle. Some other makers do equivalents and have smaller packages available.

David

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Among car enthusiasts, T-Cut is usually regarded as too abrasive to use on a good car. It is the compound used by back-street garages to make cars in poor condition look good... for a few weeks, and then the paint will loose its temporary sparkle. I have used it on plastics, where the outcome didn't matter too much, or where I was going to start with T-cut and follow up with finer grades of other compounds.

There are some interesting products on the market for restoring the clear, rear window panels of vintage sports cars with fold-down roofs.

It's always nice to polish up plastic front panels on meters, which sometimes show appreciable wear and tear on vintage equipment.
B

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

I've finally decided to bite the bullet and buy another bottle of Novus 2. It'll last me for years so no great shakes financially. I've used Brasso a few times very recently - it leaves a terrific shine but it smells terrible and isn't as good as Novus 2 for eliminating scratches. Does a grand job on brass, mind. PO420 and 620 plugs come up great guns.

I still find Novus 3 is a useful heavy duty product for grubbier, tattier plastics. Smells like Cif/Jif - perhaps it isn't substantially different.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Polywatch is good for plastic scratch removal.

Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
 

Thankyou Umpa.