What the heck happened to my Lexan windows? And can it be fixed?

[TXProud]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Bird poop? That stuff can be very acidic.

Likely this. Check warranty and if not covered, rubbing compound on a random orbital polisher.

[Bloodhound]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Bird poop? That stuff can be very acidic.

Actually, it's pretty alkaline. But it "shouldn't" affect Lexan. If it's bird guano the windows should still have guano on them. That crap's hard to wash off with hose, let alone with rain.

[dukey]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Yeah, it'll do the same to acrylic too. We've got crazed spots on our dodger windows courtesy of the local wildlife. Fruit eaters, including bats, seem to be the worst.

Bloody vegans again !!!! Can’t watch em

[catalac08]

Originally Posted by Ken Pole

FWIW,Lexan is a polycarbonate, guaranteed against UV damage for only five years.

My UV stabalized windows only lasted 3 years before fogging over - and yes I did put it in the right way around! The replacements in Cast Acrylic are doinf fine after 3 years.

[Visarend]

This product worked well on my lexan windows:
https://www.amazon.com/Novus-PC-208-...4070260&sr=8-3

[thlamers]

Lexan has little UV resistance so is usually coated for outdoor use. Once the coating is damaged it crazes easily and yellows . My solution on things like headlight covers and instrument lenses is to sand to clear material with 400-800 grit and then clearcoat with a good automotive acrylic-urethane clearcoat. Leaves a nice shine and fully protects the Lexan. Probably not sufficiently a flat surface to give good visability on a large window but would a least save the surface.

[Sofa King Fishy]

IMAR Strataglass Polish, Microfiber towels & some elbow grease. Also works on scratches.

[Westcliffe01]

https://youtu.be/GPihLU9ZC-U

[fibreman]

I use a product called Novus 1,2, and 3, It can be used on any of the acrylic products including headlight shields etc. I have even used 1000 grit wet or dry sandpaper and followed that with the 3 stages, coming up with a like new surface. You can even use a wool pad on a power buffer to aid in the polishing. Cheers. A company called Sabic Polymereshapes sells it.

[Shaneesprit]

Don’t wet and dry it before trying Glass Polish
Cerium Oxide
It’s a pink powder that and a soft pad on a battery drill or sander will do the job.

[kmgiunta]

Originally Posted by GreenWave

Try toothpaste

This may work. William F. Buckley mentioned this fix in one of his Atlantic crossing books (I can't remember which one). It seems that the micro-fine abrasive particles that polish our pearly whites are gentle but effective on soft plastic windows.

[Shaneesprit]

I should say that the Cerium Oxide does not deplete so use it scrape it into a pile and use it again - needs mixing with water

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Lexan is very tough, hard to break. That’s because it’s so soft. It’s also very easily scratched. It’s not used for aircraft windshields for that reason.
it’s so soft I’d be surprised if you could polish it out, I would try extremely fine plastic polish, anything courser will likely scratch it badly.

Good luck.

In an airplane I once owned the windshield was getting a bit old and had numerous scratches. While buying fuel at an airport I don't remember the lineman suggested I use Lemon Pledge furniture polish to make the scratches disappear. He even offered to show me and as my next leg was into the setting sun I took him up on it. Much to my surprise it worked better than anything I had ever tried. The windshield looked brand new. The scratches were still there, but the wax or whatever they use in the stuff has a refractive index very near or the same as the plastic windshield so when the scratches are filled by the stuff they effectively disappear. It does wear off and requires reapplication every few weeks to maintain the same level of clarity, but it was my go to windshield polish for the 15 or so years after that that I owned the plane. I never saw any damage tothe plastic at all. I also once recommended this to a coworker that I overheard talking to another coworker about replacing a plexiglass cover to an old clock that was scratched. She was absolutely amazed by how well it worked.

[SaltyMetals]

I came across an excellent product a few weeks ago. Developed in NZ for aircraft windows but now also being marketed for boats, caravans etc.

VuPlex

So far i have used it on the windows of my sprayhood and it was so good i have ordered some more to do my saloon windows (Yes, i have some of the same vertical streaking on mine but boat is now 16 yrs old so needs a bit of TLC)
Highly recommended. In the UK it is £13-15 for the kit which is enough for 8-10 windows. Also sold on Amazon.
Andrew

[Kintala]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Bird poop? That stuff can be very acidic.

That was my first thought too. We polished ours aggressively with wet sand paper and a palm sander. Started with 1500 grit and worked up to 4000 then used jeweler’s rouge And a buffer . They looked like new.