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Vintage Telephony and Telecomms Vintage Telephones, Telephony and Telecomms Equipment |
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6th Jun 2020, 1:37 pm | #1 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
As good as Novus is, I haven't much left and the price of it now is putting me off buying more. Are any of the T-cut or Autoglym products suitable for plastic ? I would mainly be using whatever I buy for removing hazing, minor discolouration and fine scratches from ABS.
Thankyou. |
6th Jun 2020, 1:57 pm | #2 |
Octode
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Sheffield, South Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 1,453
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
I use Greygates No 5, Brasso, Poundland's answer to T-cut or anything else I can get my hands on. Rubbing with a 50/50 mixture of meths and acetone is also good for getting rid of small scratches, though experiment inside a case before doing it in anger.
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6th Jun 2020, 2:04 pm | #3 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,937
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
T-Cut is fine on most plastics. Try a bit on an inconspicuous area if you're in any doubt.
Poundland sell a similar product called something like 'Car Scratch Remover'. Seems OK. |
6th Jun 2020, 2:21 pm | #4 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Thankyou. Any particular variety of T cut or the Poundland equivalent? There's a few different ones.
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6th Jun 2020, 2:42 pm | #5 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,867
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
If you go into a serious motor factors that deals in paints etc you'll find abrasive polishes, sometimes known as cutting compound or rubbing compound in grades 3 to 10. Lower numbers are coarser.
Comes in toothpaste tubes up to litre squeezy bottles. Farecla is one of the main makers. Number 10 is a good final polish for really sparlly plastic headlamp lenses. David
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6th Jun 2020, 2:43 pm | #6 |
Moderator
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Oxford, UK
Posts: 27,937
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
T-Cut is really the consumer version of the professional cutting compounds used by bodyshops.
I think there's only one Poundland one. There are two basic T-Cut types, the standard one and one supposedly for metallic finishes which has a finer cutting action. I've found little difference apart from the metallic one being harder work. I suppose you could start off with standard and finish with metallic. |
6th Jun 2020, 3:20 pm | #7 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Jolly good. Thankyou all.
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6th Jun 2020, 5:22 pm | #8 |
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Toothpaste is also slightly abrasive and works for the finer finish, refreshing smell too.
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6th Jun 2020, 6:00 pm | #9 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
Posts: 22,867
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
T-Cut is a consumer abrasive, and for their comfort and convenience has a waxy polish mixed in with it.
The professional compounds avoid that like the plague because the surfaces they are used on may also need paint touch-up afterwards and waxes or silicones would be disastrous. They require wax polishing to be done as a further operation. David
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Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done |
6th Jun 2020, 7:14 pm | #10 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Plenty of time to decide. I thought I'd used the last of the Novus today on a green 706 but there's still enough left for another phone (I think).
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6th Jun 2020, 10:05 pm | #11 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: St.Ippolyts, Hitchin, Hertfordshire QRA IO91UW
Posts: 3,517
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
3M make a cutting compound that comes in a 1L bottle - its not cheap, but one bottle will last a lifetime.
It is superb, and requires very little effort to use on even the dullest Bakelite - well worth trying to get hold of
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6th Jun 2020, 11:09 pm | #12 |
Moderator
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Fife, Scotland, UK.
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Yes, their brand of the stuff I mentioned. Several grades. Trade prices are around £30 for a 1 litre bottle. Some other makers do equivalents and have smaller packages available.
David
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Can't afford the volcanic island yet, but the plans for my monorail and the goons' uniforms are done |
7th Jun 2020, 1:21 pm | #13 |
Dekatron
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Oxfordshire, UK.
Posts: 4,934
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Among car enthusiasts, T-Cut is usually regarded as too abrasive to use on a good car. It is the compound used by back-street garages to make cars in poor condition look good... for a few weeks, and then the paint will loose its temporary sparkle. I have used it on plastics, where the outcome didn't matter too much, or where I was going to start with T-cut and follow up with finer grades of other compounds.
There are some interesting products on the market for restoring the clear, rear window panels of vintage sports cars with fold-down roofs. It's always nice to polish up plastic front panels on meters, which sometimes show appreciable wear and tear on vintage equipment. B
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28th Jun 2020, 9:44 pm | #14 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
I've finally decided to bite the bullet and buy another bottle of Novus 2. It'll last me for years so no great shakes financially. I've used Brasso a few times very recently - it leaves a terrific shine but it smells terrible and isn't as good as Novus 2 for eliminating scratches. Does a grand job on brass, mind. PO420 and 620 plugs come up great guns.
I still find Novus 3 is a useful heavy duty product for grubbier, tattier plastics. Smells like Cif/Jif - perhaps it isn't substantially different. |
9th Jul 2020, 2:31 pm | #15 |
Triode
Join Date: Dec 2016
Location: Nottingham, Notts, UK.
Posts: 36
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Polywatch is good for plastic scratch removal.
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9th Jul 2020, 3:16 pm | #16 |
Heptode
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: Leeds, West Yorkshire, UK.
Posts: 597
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Re: Please recommend an alternative to Novus No.2 plastic polish
Thankyou Umpa.
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