Novus plastic polish vs Tamiya polish vs?

[Citadelgrad]

I am looking at removing the domed instrument faces on a clear part that inserts through the instrument panel to form the dial faces. 
 

I just want to flatten faces and i have micromesh pads up to 12k or so, so the heavy cutting part is easy.  But then i need them to be shiny and clear again. 
 

Can anyone recommend the novus or tamiya polish systems from first hand use on clear parts?

 

thanks

 

Bill

[Stokey Pete]

I’ve used both, and definitely prefer the Novus polish. 

[Woody V]

When you get it sanded down to the point where you would polish, just skip the polish and just brush on some clear acrylic or airbrush some gloss clear lacquer.

[Greif8]

I use the Novus products as well and I'm very satisfied with them.  However, Woody's advice is also very good and well work quite well.

 

Ernest 

[themongoose]

On 12/13/2022 at 1:34 PM, Greif8 said:

I use the Novus products as well and I'm very satisfied with them.  However, Woody's advice is also very good and well work quite well.

 

Ernest 

+1

[D.B. Andrus]

+2

[Thunnus]

Hey Bill... you've got some great advice and I concur with using clear or even Future since it would be hard to physically polish the individual faces without the bezels interfering.

 

How would you go about flattening the domed surfaces?  I thought about that on Tamiya Corsair build but didn't know of a good way of uniformly flattening the domes within each instrument.

[Citadelgrad]

8 hours ago, Thunnus said:

Hey Bill... you've got some great advice and I con with using clear or even Future since it would be hard to physically polish the individual faces without the bezels interfering.

 

How would you go about flattening the domed surfaces?  I thought about that on Tamiya Corsair build but didn't know of a good way of uniformly flattening the domes within each instrument.

Hi John.  I am going to have a closer look at it, it is indeed the Tamiya Corsair, -1A flavor.  I assumed that I could just hit them all at once with a piece of sandpaper on glass, but I am now guessing that they may be different heights?

 

I'll take a closer look and reevaluate my scheme. 

[Thunnus]

1 hour ago, Citadelgrad said:

Hi John.  I am going to have a closer look at it, it is indeed the Tamiya Corsair, -1A flavor.  I assumed that I could just hit them all at once with a piece of sandpaper on glass, but I am now guessing that they may be different heights?

 

I'll take a closer look and reevaluate my scheme. 

My bad Bill. You should be good to just file down the clear part to flatten the faces. I don’t know what I was thinking and obviously did not even remember my own build. I also filed the faces flat but opted to apply the decal to the flattened side and add clear acetate instrument glass. 

[Citadelgrad]

2 hours ago, Thunnus said:

My bad Bill. You should be good to just file down the clear part to flatten the faces. I don’t know what I was thinking and obviously did not even remember my own build. I also filed the faces flat but opted to apply the decal to the flattened side and add clear acetate instrument glass. 

Your build is what inspired me.  I wanted to see if removing the dome effect and polishing them would eliminate the need to precisely punch out and place the individual dials in a one shot, flop sweat laden exercise in patience.  If i can thin them and use it as a rear decal, i will. 

[PlamoSnep]

No matter what polish you want to use, these are a godsend to polish up clear plastic and you can use polish with them at the same time. https://www.amazon.com/GodHand-Thickness-Types-10000-GH-KS3-KB/dp/B07YGBDFDF

 

I still like to always follow up with a clear acrylic or lacquer after polishing.

[ringleheim]

I have never used the Tamiya stuff, but am not super happy with Novus, not for clear parts per se, but for polishing paintwork on automotive subject matter.

 

What I find is that the stuff "fogs" and smudges very quickly and can be difficult to totally remove.

 

I honestly think has something to do with being to close to a hot light source on my work bench.  Now when I have to break out the polish, I do it on the floor (believe it or not) far away from any heat/light source.  And that helps a lot.

 

I have been meaning to try a different brand for rubbing compound for a while now because of this, but still have the Novus stuff left over.  It lasts a long time!

 

My next purchase will be a different brand; not sure it will help.

 

 

[PlamoSnep]

I use Tamiya Finish polish, the GodHand sanding Kamiyasu set that goes up to #10000 (they have several in various sizes and thicknesses), and just standard polishing cloths.  The final Novus polish (#1) has silicone in it so you can't apply anything over it afterwards.

Edited January 9, 2023 by PlamoSnep