How to remove scratches from plastic body

[chacham]

I'm working on my scooter and learning things each step of the way. When it comes to looks, i don't actually care that it looks good (though it might be nice) but i do care that it does not look bad. The front is all scratched up, and i would like to remove those, if possible. The back is fine, just a little dirty maybe. How do i go about cleaning the front?

[Happypancake!]

Try this:

www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G17216-Ultimate-Compound-oz/dp/B001O7PNNM/ref=sr_1_42?ie=UTF8&qid=1529454765&sr=8-42&keywords=meguires

[chacham]

Nice, thank you. Is there a more free alternative, even if it isn't perfect?

[AtariGuy]

A few pieces of sanding paper, 1200, 1500, 3000 grit. You would eventually have to use some kind of rubbing compound or basic body polish to get the shine back though, but it's worth it.

Just dont dig away at the scratches, brush the whole area (or the whole panel evenly) until the paint looks flat. Dont need to force it, just let the sanding papers do the work

[Happypancake!]

Is only. ~ $10 at an auto parts store

[chacham]

From the way it looks (and i am no expert) i would think any polishing would simply take the paint away. I thought i saw an area with no paint on it (upper-left in second picture). Is the polish really the only way?

[AtariGuy]

Doing a sand and polish isnt as scary as most people think. When i'm doing paint prep at work, i use 220 grit to sand primer down, 400 to 1000 on color coat, and 1200-3000 then polish on the top clearcoat. Now, reworking up rough panels like yours, you're using what you have already, so you can work it back up. Its all about evening out what you do have first. Sand it to a flat color with 1200 - and you shouldnt need much sanding with it. 1200 is suuuuperfine finish anyway so it wont take much of anything out anyway, but it'll get it clean and flat. You can then colormatch and fill any minor scratches. Or if you have primer showing, sand it out smooth, recoat that area with a colormatch paint and sand them together. Most basic big box store carry rough match colors that work as a topcoat or solocoat that can be sanded down quite well. So for the cost of a couple rattle cans and some detail sanding work, you could change the color completely. Might cost a grand total of 25 bucks for a smallframe scooter (usa prices that is)

[scooterpimp]

Painted plastic is tricky , but solid color plastics like on atvs etc. Kinda like a good heat gun (carefully) will work well.