AZpolisher15
08-21-2016, 06:14 PM
Cleaning up swirls on guage clusters is tough. I've tried my hand with PlastX and both M10&17. Great products, but as we all know, instrument panels are tough with limited space for arm/hand movement, etc. While these products will clean up some mild damage, 100% correction is tough unless you remove the actual plastic from the vehicle.
Well, today I stumbled upon a trick. I've been using lens cloths for this intricate polishing work, but yesterday ran into a problem of the 10/17 separating (see alternate post). Basically, the liquid rapidly wicked into the towel and it left solids in one spot (kinda like a drip coffee pot). And with PlastX, unless I used a lot of product, it dried and smudged/smeared, requiring a heavier hand for removal (risking further swirls).
So today, in order to combat this, I completely saturated the lens cloth in water before dripping on the PlastX and M 10/17. It worked. It also prevented the polishes from drying prematurely and gave as much work time as I needed. I didn't get as much smudging/smearing, and what little there was more easily wiped off with a separate dry lens cloth. In the end, I got MUCH better results than I've ever gotten using just the products and cloth alone. With some more time and finessing, I think I could have gotten it even better. This method also prevents excess product from running or getting caught in the edges of the cluster holes.
My my method for the lens cloth polishing is this-- cut one cloth in quarters. Wad 1/4 of one cloth up and place on the center of another (soaked in water and wrung out). Bundle the edges and you have a little marble shaped "head". Put just ONE small drop of PlastX or 10/17 on the tip. And then polish. Due to the addition of the water, you can polish for awhile. You don't want excess water, so wring out the cloth after initially soaking it.
Well, today I stumbled upon a trick. I've been using lens cloths for this intricate polishing work, but yesterday ran into a problem of the 10/17 separating (see alternate post). Basically, the liquid rapidly wicked into the towel and it left solids in one spot (kinda like a drip coffee pot). And with PlastX, unless I used a lot of product, it dried and smudged/smeared, requiring a heavier hand for removal (risking further swirls).
So today, in order to combat this, I completely saturated the lens cloth in water before dripping on the PlastX and M 10/17. It worked. It also prevented the polishes from drying prematurely and gave as much work time as I needed. I didn't get as much smudging/smearing, and what little there was more easily wiped off with a separate dry lens cloth. In the end, I got MUCH better results than I've ever gotten using just the products and cloth alone. With some more time and finessing, I think I could have gotten it even better. This method also prevents excess product from running or getting caught in the edges of the cluster holes.
My my method for the lens cloth polishing is this-- cut one cloth in quarters. Wad 1/4 of one cloth up and place on the center of another (soaked in water and wrung out). Bundle the edges and you have a little marble shaped "head". Put just ONE small drop of PlastX or 10/17 on the tip. And then polish. Due to the addition of the water, you can polish for awhile. You don't want excess water, so wring out the cloth after initially soaking it.