Polish to remove monitor scratches - mini tutorial

Testocules

Fio's Quartermaster
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I'm looking for a glass polish to get rid of some scratches on one of monitors. I have heard that T-cut is a great product, but it appears to be available in the UK. Any one have a recommendation for one available in the US and where to get it?


See post #6 for the tutorial.
 
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mmsadda

Just buy my shit. Seriously. You can call me Susan
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Whoa, I thought this was one of my threads from the title... I need to know about this, too, so I can make the glass on the Aero Table look presentable.
 

Supasaru

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I think I mentioned RainX in another thread.

If they are light scratches, RainX will clean them right up.

Heavier scratches... you can try multiple coats with a buffer, I suppose.
 

Testocules

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Sorry man, not ignoring your reply. What I am looking for is a fine polishing compound that can be used with a buffer to remove the scratches all together. Found some stuff out there, but it mainly looks like it is for professional use.
 

Testocules

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Novus 1,2,3 works great!

I decided to try a plastic polish on my monitor. I know it doesn't sound right, but I am not the first to try this. There is a thread over on arcadeotaku where a couple of guys tried removing scratches from monitors. Some used T-cut and others used Novus with almost identical results. Since T-cut does not seem to be available ion the US, and I needed some plastic polish to remove some scratches from my cab, I decided to try Novus.

Before - you can see the reflections of the scratches around the lights on the monitor. Every inch of the monitor looked this way actually - you just can't see it in the photo without the light.
dscf4636.jpg


After treatment
dscf4648.jpg


I decided to use it on the plastic bezel as well. Great results, both the monitor and the bezel look new again.

dscf4655.jpg


If you want to try it, Novus 1,2,3 can be purchased on egay - 8oz bottles for $28 shipped. They have 2oz bottles as well, but I have several cabs I wanted to use it on so I went with the bigger ones. Also pick up some of the micro fiber cloth packs.

dscf4651.jpg


Its kinda funny because you use it in the opposite order as 3,2,1 or 1,3,2,1 Novus 1 is a cleaner, Novus 2 is a fine scratch remover, and Novus 3 is a heavy scratch remover.

If you want to see how to go about using it there is a decent tutorial on youtube where a guy uses it to remove the haze off his headlights. However, in the thread I found on arcadeotaku, one of the guys used one of these. It really makes much shorter work of it.

dscf4652.jpg


As you can see, I just stuck a rag in where you would normally load sandpaper. Occasionally I would wipe the screen down and check for areas that needed additional work. The monitor took approximately 20-30 minutes. The Bezel took about half that long, maybe less.
 

Supasaru

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Interesting! And congrats. I know you've been searching for a good product for a while.
 

kernow

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Nice work,

I've always wanted to try that novus on my bezel plastics, but I have some digs which I'm not sure even the number '3' would get out. Hmm. Its not exactly the cheapest stuff to buy just to find out either, like £20 for the 3 over here. I might try t-cut I guess.
 
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Testocules

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Thanks Kern! You could try sanding with fine sandpaper to reduce the depth first. But I have to say that I am a bit scared of ruining pieces that are so difficult to replace. I probably wouldn't want to be the first to brave that territory.
 

kernow

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Yeah. indeed :(

bezel-scratches.jpg


It actually looks worse in photos with the flash on.

I'm all for trying stuff and ruining it so I might have a go with some t-cut I spose, I have some here.

ehh just tried it did nothing, I'd have to sand the whole thing and then repaint.

I hate cab ownership sometimes. :crying:
 
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Testocules

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If T-cut is more like Novus 2, it could lake a much longer time to get rid of those scratches. I would not even attempt doing it by hand....too much work. :(
 

aznxtc

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Wow...Great Job Testocules!! it came out Super nice....Gonna try this on one of my monitor that has a couple of deep scratches..hopfully it'll come out as nice as yours.

Just curious why did you used a sander instead of a car waxer?..
 

Testocules

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I think a rotary waxer/polisher would be the best tool for the job, I just don't own one. I used the sander because that was what I had available. I started on the control panel housing last night and have decided I need something more like what you are talking about to speed things up. While the sander I used may be better than doing this by hand, it still isn't close to being optimal.
 

sammybean

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I definitely read this as "Polish to remove scratches." Not polish, but Polish.. Anyhow, great information! :)
 

Testocules

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Maybe that's how it was done before someone invented polishing compound :scratch: I am sure you could use Polish people to remove scratches from your monitor but I am going with some sort of rotary tool like aznxtc suggested. :tickled:
 

sammybean

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Maybe that's how it was done before someone invented polishing compound :scratch: I am sure you could use Polish people to remove scratches from your monitor but I am going with some sort of rotary tool like aznxtc suggested. :tickled:

It'd probably be cheaper than importing some Polish workers anyhow. :)
 

not sonic

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if youre looking for some "more correct" tools than a rag on a sander (which really isnt all that bad of an idea so long as it doesnt come loose) check out harbor freight. theyve got some decent and cheap polishers and pads and all other kinds of stuff.

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-random-orbit-waxer-polisher-43424.html

kern you could definitely polish that area out so it would be down to just a few of the deeper scratches (which would be less deep and more gradual) and get rid of the scuffing around it.
 

Testocules

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Thanks, I'll check that out. There is a harbor freight no too far from where I work.
 

kernow

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if youre looking for some "more correct" tools than a rag on a sander (which really isnt all that bad of an idea so long as it doesnt come loose) check out harbor freight. theyve got some decent and cheap polishers and pads and all other kinds of stuff.

http://www.harborfreight.com/10-inch-random-orbit-waxer-polisher-43424.html

kern you could definitely polish that area out so it would be down to just a few of the deeper scratches (which would be less deep and more gradual) and get rid of the scuffing around it.

orly.. wanna come over and do it? how would I start? t-cut didn't do much, I think it'd need a sand and respray.
 

not sonic

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needs more elbow grease.

you need something more abrasive like the novus 3 or even a hard rubbing compound.

you could also gradually sand it out (heavy grit and work up to a fine grit) and then do the t-cut/novus to shine it back up rather than painting it.
 

kernow

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hmm, last thing I wanna do is cock it. shall leave it for now :(
 

TrAb

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If you dont want to order the stuff, the paint scratch repair kits at auto parts stores will do the same thing...
 

Adderall

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Do you think this will work on the darkened plexi (I think it's plexi) shield that is in front of my mini-cute monitor?

See these 3 scratches? They seem kind of deep.

picture.php
 
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