cleaning lexan - I have a deposit that wont shift

[krissteyn]

The PO did not bother cleaning them for a while , today i used a combination of toothpaste and brasso , got it pretty good.
But the inside of the cockpit has what appears to be a salt deposit that wont shift - using plenty of elbow grease , but still there.
Not sure if its a corrosion of the surface, or a built up deposit (eyesight not so good) , but it feels like a deposit.
tried vinegar, hot water, meths, all to no avail.... altho my finger nail appears to move minute portions.
Interestingly - its only on the inside of the hard dodger that I have the problem - the exposed outside has cleaned up well.

all comments greatfully received

Kris

 

[TradewindSailor]

The exterior side of Lexan has a UV coating, so any abrasive would remove this. You shouldn't have any problem with the interior surface though.

Using any solvent is strictly out. Lexan has a VERY LOW tolerance to solvents and will mico-craze .... looks like salt deposits. Since these are on the very surface one can use a non-solvent based abrasive, 1200 grit wet or dry, toothpaste, plastic polishing abrasives ... 3M make some good ones of varying grits.

By the way, the cloudiness on old Lexan is micro-crazing and can be removed with toothpaste and lots of elbow grease .... but then the UV coating will be useless by then anyway.

Don't expect any of the warranty to be valid afterwards though.

 

[VicS]

tried vinegar, hot water, meths, all to no avail.

You will soon be replacing them! Problem solved by nice new clean windows that you will only clean with warm ( not hot) soapy water

 

[lw395]

If it comes off with your fingernail, I would try gently scraping it off with a slightly blunt chisel.
Then polish out any scratches.
But what I do on my motorbike visor is to soak a j-cloth in warm water and a bit of fairly liquid, then lay it on the surface for 10 or 15 minutes. That softens a lot of stuck on things that don't immediately wash off.

 

[rivonia]

I remember many many years ago being taught to spread Tomato sauce on it and leave it overnight. Then simply wash it off. As an aside the tomato sauce will also clean gungy fry pans, use the same way as per above.