Help with c5 c6 corvette glass top

[Mike Phillips]

My Subaru rally car has lexan all round. The front gets horribly scratched due to the wipers.

I'm still going to take a guess that there are different varieties of plastics even inside the Lexan family.

It could also be the Lexan tops on Corvettes have some type of coating.


Any plastic engineers in the house?

[bigdriver4u]

Mike, Is Lexan the material that the glass tops of the Mercedes SL550's are made of? It's the one with the panaramic roof. I was approached by a customer to clean up water spots off and was alittle hesitant to put a pad on it.

[Mike Phillips]

Mike, Is Lexan the material that the glass tops of the Mercedes SL550's are made of? It's the one with the panaramic roof. I was approached by a customer to clean up water spots off and was alittle hesitant to put a pad on it.

I don't know off hand.

Glass tops are either Lexan or real glass. It can be hard to tell.

At one of my Detailing Boot Camp Classes we had a Corvette with a Lexan top and it had scratches and cracks in it. We didn't try to work on it because I was worried pushing on the Lexan could cause the cracks to grow larger.

[Setec Astronomy]

I do think there are a lot of different types of plastic though and Lexan is just one variety. We need a plastics engineer to help in this area.

Well, Lexan is just a brand name for polycarbonate, and there are doubtless different grades used for different things, including bullet-proof glass. If that F40 window was flat, I'm sure that was made out of sheet and likely a lot different than the molded sculpted headlights on a production car.

[Vegas Transplant]

If those are the Lexan tops I would let someone else have the blessing...


Lexan is popular because it's hard as diamonds, it's this same hardness factor that makes it difficult to polish with the end results looking clear and new.

I've worked on a lot of plastics in my life, old school, old technology plastics like Plexiglas are easy to work on because the plastic is soft.

I have yet to see liquid abrasive product that will restore a crystal clear, brand new appearance to Lexan.

I've seen and personally taken true Lexan from a HORRIBLE scratched up condition and made it less horrible. But if the standard and expectation is for an appearance that is defect free and as clear as when it was new I have not seen a plastic polish that will do this.



It's going to come down to the abrasive technology....


My guess is that it will also require a rotary buffer to do any correction work and polishing work.


Did you ask the customer how the tops got into the condition they're currently in?

I agree with Mike...with the exception of products and tools used in the metal finishing industry. Visit their forum.

However, the only paste that comes to mind is Peek, and automotive pads will leave micro scratches behind.

My two cents anyway.

EDIT: The 3401 won't get it IMHO.

[Billand]

Thanks for all the help guys. I decided not to take the job I looked at the car and the scratches are pretty deep and more then I thought I would be comfortable with.

[ScottB]

The lexan (polycarbonate) roofs on the C5 and C6 Corvettes actually have a coating on them for UV protection. This coating can be scratched and damaged and is NOT repairable. GM suggests that the top be replaced or the damage tollerated to avoid further harm from polishing.

If you look up several posts on "flying roof syndrome" you will find that these tops, as well as the painted tops, are often damaged when they are not latched completely.

[Mike Phillips]

The lexan (polycarbonate) roofs on the C5 and C6 Corvettes actually have a coating on them for UV protection. This coating can be scratched and damaged and is NOT repairable. GM suggests that the top be replaced or the damage tollerated to avoid further harm from polishing.

That's what I figured.



Thanks for chiming in Scot...

[Vegas Transplant]

If you look up several posts on "flying roof syndrome" you will find that these tops, as well as the painted tops, are often damaged when they are not latched completely.

Been there, done that. Still have the police report of the incidence from 1984.