Cleaning Deck Saloon Windows

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Sailfree

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After some 14yrs they are showing signs of wear. When not on boat they have the covers fitted.

Friend suggested using the compound that's sold to refurbish plastic car headlamp.

Any better ideas please?
 
Yes plastic polish is the thing to try. I must say however that my little boat has had both perspex windows replaced some years back and one replaced again since then the other needing it. They don't last for ever in UV. ol'will
 
Sailfree said:
After some 14yrs they are showing signs of wear. When not on boat they have the covers fitted.

Friend suggested using the compound that's sold to refurbish plastic car headlamp.

Any better ideas please?
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I have renovated car headlamps that had gone a bit milky-yellow with T-cut. Takes a lot of rubbing but worked well. Bear in mind that car headlamps are mostly polycarbonate and most non-glass boat windows are acrylic.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk
 
William_H said:
They don't last for ever in UV. ol'will
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How fortunate we're not so much affected by UV in the cloudy, grey UK! :ambivalence:

My acrylic windows are in poor shape (though probably 40 years old), but as I need to replace the seals anyway, I'm going to replace them at the same time.

Beware that acrylic is adversely affected by many types of solvent - petrol, acetone, etc. These, and even some types of common polish will cause visible 'cracking' in acrylic. (Some dolt, possibly the garage's valet, did this to my car dashboard before my ownership, so I've got cracks across the speedo. :rolleyes:) It can even be affected by plastic coverings that might be laid on it to protect it from the UV!

Here's a link to someone explaining in some detail how he fairly successfully polished out acrylic window crazing: http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/how-to-fix-crazed-acrylic
 
LittleSister said:
How fortunate we're not so much affected by UV in the cloudy, grey UK! :ambivalence:

My acrylic windows are in poor shape (though probably 40 years old), but as I need to replace the seals anyway, I'm going to replace them at the same time.

Beware that acrylic is adversely affected by many types of solvent - petrol, acetone, etc. These, and even some types of common polish will cause visible 'cracking' in acrylic. (Some dolt, possibly the garage's valet, did this to my car dashboard before my ownership, so I've got cracks across the speedo. :rolleyes:) It can even be affected by plastic coverings that might be laid on it to protect it from the UV!

Here's a link to someone explaining in some detail how he fairly successfully polished out acrylic window crazing: http://www.mysailing.com.au/news/how-to-fix-crazed-acrylic
Click to expand...

Thanks for that. The stage I think I will start from needs micro gloss liquid abrasive mentioned in the article.

Where can I buy this?
 
In my experience, whilst it can be possible to polish out dull Acrylic, whether it be headlamps, hatches or portlights, it doesn't last long. Don't waste too much time polishing, if you can replace, do so.
 
PaulRainbow said:
In my experience, whilst it can be possible to polish out dull Acrylic, whether it be headlamps, hatches or portlights, it doesn't last long. Don't waste too much time polishing, if you can replace, do so.
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Thanks but big job on a Jeanneau 43 deck saloon and some windows are curved so I assume a Jeanneau only supplied part.

Windows are not glazed from UV light as i always keep the covers on when boat is not in use. Windows are just getting a bit dirty in appearance after 14yrs of use. A few scratches.

Hence thought a good clean and polish would be good.
 
Sailfree said:
Thanks but big job on a Jeanneau 43 deck saloon and some windows are curved so I assume a Jeanneau only supplied part.

Windows are not glazed from UV light as i always keep the covers on when boat is not in use. Windows are just getting a bit dirty in appearance after 14yrs of use. A few scratches.

Hence thought a good clean and polish would be good.
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In that case, 3M Finesse It will do the trick. Wash well then go over it with Finesse It on a damp cloth, then a soft dry one to finish.

Example ; https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/3M-09639...338136&hash=item2136442515:g:ALYAAOSwfD5dWpqi
 
Sailfree said:
Thanks but big job on a Jeanneau 43 deck saloon and some windows are curved so I assume a Jeanneau only supplied part.

Windows are not glazed from UV light as i always keep the covers on when boat is not in use. Windows are just getting a bit dirty in appearance after 14yrs of use. A few scratches.

Hence thought a good clean and polish would be good.
Click to expand...

The clean and polish would be my first attempt. If I decided the windows needed replacing, I'd talk to my friendly local boat window refurbisher. You might be pleasantly surprised what they can do.
 
Stemar said:
The clean and polish would be my first attempt. If I decided the windows needed replacing, I'd talk to my friendly local boat window refurbisher. You might be pleasantly surprised what they can do.
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Remember I'm in Portugal and local services are not as plentiful as the solent.
 
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