19 replies to this topic

[Don Weaver]

What can I use to polish out slight scratches and buff a La Cucaracha body I have? Any help is appreciated.

Don Weaver

[TSR]

Don,
Simply put, you cannot. The more you will try polishing polypropylene, the worse it will get. The finest polishing cloth and product, the finest 2000+ polisshing paper will simply turn the body in a dull mess.
The only way to do it right is to cheat the system in a two-step method:

1/ If they are in good condition, gently get all the stripes and side self-adhesive decals off the body. I use a flat, slightly dull razor blade and gently go under the hardened decal. Then, carefully wash the entire body with a used toothbrush in mild, very liquid soapy water. Then rinse and dry.

2/ Get a bottle of Future floor polish and a samll piece of lint free cotton cloth material. Hold the body from underneath and run the impregnated cloth over the body, and let it dry.
It will regain its shine and you can reset the decals with contact cement.

This is also valid for the Chaparral 2E in its "tupperware" version. I did dozens of them and saved them from horrible to nearly perfect aspect. Unlike a clear coat that will never stick to the plastic, the Future floor polish is flexible and sticks to it.

[John Miller]

I have had good results with 3M Imperial hand glaze.

Although, I never tried it on a Cuc. body.

[TSR]

NOTHING can polish a Cox la Cucaracha body.

[John Miller]

Ahh, but have you tried 3M Imperial hand glaze?

[backintheslot]

You'd be suprised what a little lemon Pledge on a soft cloth will do to a dull surface.

[TSR]

Ahh, but have you tried 3M Imperial hand glaze?

You'd be suprised what a little lemon Pledge on a soft cloth will do to a dull surface.

Yes, and Future is superior to both, and you still CANNOT polish that kind of plastic, you can only cover it with some kind of a coating, and of all the ones I tried, Future is the only kind that does not contain waxy substances, that would void the possibility of replacing the decals. Also wax ages and yellows out, Future does not.

[Duffy]

I'm over here shakin' my head - Philippe keeps saying Polypropylene because that's actually at the root of the solutionless problem, and we're all still jumping past that to "but - have you tried MY solution?" There's a Monty Python sketch in here somewhere.

More practical-like: Future may no longer exist as a brand on the bottle - you now see "PLEDGE with Future Shine." (I wonder if John Albright's comment has a bit of truth to it!) I've looked. It's weird. But I'm told that Pledge With is just as good.

Duf

[John Miller]

Don,

Imperial hand glaze isn't a polish, it's a non-wax filling glaze for minor scratches and leaves a wet look after application.

We used it on polypropylene all the time for this exact purpose.

[TSR]

you now see "PLEDGE with Future Shine.

Future: no wax. Pledge: wax.
Great for furniture, not for your slot car body unless you decide that decals have no place on it.
Future is a liquid polyurethane. Pledge is glorified wax with fillers.
Take your pick: make it work of be disappointed.

I only have 50 years of experience, what do I know anyway.

[Duffy]

... Future may no longer exist as a brand on the bottle - you now see "PLEDGE with Future Shine."...

Future: no wax. Pledge: wax.
I only have 50 years of experience, what do I know anyway.

Philippe, I also have some experience in plastics, and manufacturing, and I do not question yours simply by presenting data not previously entered.
What I was addressing is the apparent loss of Future as a stand-alone product. I have looked for the product we both knew and used as Future, and have not found it on the racks nor in an Internet search this evening.
If Pledge, With, is not a satisfactory substitute - and I suspected as much, when I first saw it some years back - that is good information for us all. And it's nice that this thread has managed to make that clear over these past few posts.

[Duffy]

Further digging turned up THIS assurance, suspiciously from the manufacturer of Pledge. I'm not exactly jumping to believe all it says, and I'm not encouraged by my subsequent search for "Pledge Premium Finish With..." turning up nothing under that specific name.

[backintheslot]

Safe for plastics, No wax build up, Silicon based.

Two others to try are Finish Line "Showroom " bicycle polish and Honda Pro Spray cleaner and polish.


As with most procedures, its all in the application and a good soft and clean cloth is a definite must.

[Duffy]

And now we've gone all the way to NO mention of Future whatsoever. I think we're losing the point here. "We're not giving you the thing you really need and we won't tell you just what we will give you, but buy it anyway and rest assured it'll be okay." Sorry, I just went through a campaign season like that, and I'm jaded.
Philippe has rightly cautioned me in my "I've been told" statement about Pledge With, and I haven't seen anything more presented that pulls this thread substantially above that anecdotal level. If anybody in this discussion has restored a Cuc body with anything but what Philippe said, let's present the result to Don Weaver and let him judge. Otherwise, we got no business telling him what to risk his stuff on.

[TSR]

Johnson has apparently acquired the Future brand. If the formula is the same, then Pledge Future should be OK. But the "Lemon Clean" designed to clean and shine furniture is not. I don't care what they claim, it will yellow out, and will not offer adequate support for either waterslide or self-adhesive decals, or even for the Cucaracha driver that must be glued to the body.

This body was PAINTED in an ugly silver and black when I got it. It went though my process of stripping the paint (that was peeling in places when it was given to me, since paint will NOT stick to polypropylene plastic, it is a temporary illusion), then cleaned from all the muck accumulated from racing over glued tracks underneath it. The body was "hairy" in places, and the ONLY way to "polish" that on polypropylene plastic is to... shave it with a very shark razor blade. Once I was done with that, the Future floor coating was applied with a small piece of cotton cloth and let to dry. After that, replica decals printed on correct paper and carefully trimmed were applied with contact cement.

I had this example signed by both Jim hall and my late friend Phil Hill.



The body is nice and shiny as a mint original would be, and the process is equally valid for the La Cucaracha of which the body is made of the same material.
You can practice your art on any Tupperware container... use some Lemon Pledge over it and try to stick decals to it, and report...

[John Miller]

Just for Duffy. . .

My knowledge comes from two areas.

My friends use it on their vintage aircraft when the polyethylene windshields begin to craze and become opaque. It works wonders and passes safety inspection for optical clarity.

The second is from an acquaintance with Ken Charboneau the inventor of Rainx. He is very close with a friend of mine in the mass finishing industry. We specifically discussed how to remove scratches in polyethylene windshields or anything made out of polyethylene. Being an avid slot car and R/C enthusiast I applied the knowledge to toys.

Do you feel better now?

(corrected to polyethylene)

[Rick]

Whew, I feel better now John..................

[TSR]

Polycarbonate material is easy to polish, you can do it with many different media, from rough sanding to fine polishing compounds. Rain-X will work great as water and debris repellant on polycarbonates. I polish old slot car bodies made of polycarbonate (GE trade name "Lexan") with polishing compounds. The older 1960s bodies made of polystyrene-derivate, "butyrate" can also very easily be polished, even easier than for Lexan.
Applying Lemon Pledge or any such products to such bodies will cause the same issues as on polypropylene bodies: the decals will no longer stick, just as on a plastic model of which the body parts have not been washed from their mold release compound.

The "polishing" scheme absolutely does not apply to polypropelene, that will go from bad to worse when attempts to polish the material by either ultra-fine sanding or using a fine polishing compound will turn these bodies into a nice little disaster.
You are all welcome to do so, I will stick to what works.

[backintheslot]

Well, we may just have to add "your results may very" as I have not experienced any adverse effects on a variety of plastic surfaces over the years. Just a very light misting of a soft clean rag has always worked for me being careful to not leave any large amounts of residue behind.

Of coarse one cannot expect proper adhesion of a decal or vinyl application over any waxed or oiled surface which is why it is wise to use a product such as 5 Star Wax and Grease remover ( found at most well stocked automotive paint stores) on any non porous surface to be decaled, painted, pin striped, or vinyl wrapped prior to application. Thus polish would be applied over or even around the decorations after application.

Did I ever claim this application would in fact remove all fine scratches?, No, but, I will stand by my claim that it will greatly improve the appearance.

And just for the record, I have also used Future in the past with successful results!!

But then hey, What the hell do I know? I am out on this one gentlemen......................Have a nice day!

[Patrick Vaughn]

• I hesitate to resurrect this thread and I believe that it is conclusive. I am however grasping at straws here. Here I have a Butyrate Cobra body that looks like I ruined. I was using a product called “Mean Green” in the cleaning process (“I’m now using “Simple Green”). I mistakenly forgot the body half submerged in the Mean Green for several hours.

What you see is lite chemical etching that I would love to remove.

 

Based on the thread, it would appear that that is not possible. I’m more concerned with the rear window as I know that I will be using steel wool inside the body and polish the exterior the best I can.

 

Is there any hope?

 

Patrick