Plastics going grey

[billy sugger]

Hi folks, the plastics at the front of the 600, that the screen fits to is going grey, so I want to restore it to the original black. Is there anything out there I can use, or will the stuff for car dashboards do the job? 

[MikeHorton]

If the sun has bleached it I don't think anything other than spraying with something will restore the colour even the bumper stuff for cars wears off and anything painted on would flake off eventually. I use a product called rhino shine it's silicone based great on anything for cars or bikes and tends to limit the look of anything worn. I use it on the bike in the summer months 

[Mr Fro]

I've got a bottle of turtlewax plastic trim spray which works well.

 

The problem is that once plastic starts going grey, you have to keep treating it to keep it looking good.

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

If you have an electric heat gun you can start with a low setting and work up to the point where the grey turn black again. An old trick used on car bumpers back in the day when cheaper models came with black bumpers.

 

Needless to say the consequences of over doing it aren't good.

[Mr Fro]

1 hour ago, Mississippi Bullfrog said:

If you have an electric heat gun you can start with a low setting and work up to the point where the grey turn black again. An old trick used on car bumpers back in the day when cheaper models came with black bumpers.

 

Needless to say the consequences of over doing it aren't good.

I tried that with a blow torch.

 

It didn't go well!

[husoi]

3 minutes ago, Mr Fro said:

I tried that with a blow torch.

 

It didn't go well!

Even with the heat gun you need to have it on low heat and there is a good chance that some part will go badly.

Patience is the name of the game. you don't want the surface to go above 50c max

Have you tried putting on the electric oven at the lowest temp?

Forgot to mention if trying the oven make sure the part is well supported, you don't want to change the shape. If temp is not hot enough try increasing in small increments.

Edited March 17, 2022 by husoi

[Tiggie]

I watched the guy from the youtube channel mymechanics do the blowtorch trick to restore a black plastic lever. Looked great when he did it. Didn't work out when I tried similar.

 

But then, he is a Swiss Machinist and I am a cack handed impatient monkey 

[husoi]

The trick with both the blow torch and heat gun is in the speed of the movement and how far it is from the surface.

Usually goes awry when either or both go lower than it's supposed.

Most times it is due to people trying to "go a bit faster" by applying more heat for longer.

[Mr Fro]

9 hours ago, husoi said:

The trick with both the blow torch and heat gun is in the speed of the movement and how far it is from the surface.

Usually goes awry when either or both go lower than it's supposed.

Most times it is due to people trying to "go a bit faster" by applying more heat for longer.

I did get some reasonable results but they weren't consistent. 

 

I think I got a bit bored of it and ended up with a few bubbles. There's definitely a fine line between bringing back the surface finish and setting light to it.