ruined windshield?
Okay, I'm not proud of it, but I think I have pooched my stock windshield by getting a degreaser containing a solvent on it. The shield now has what looks like milky water marks all over it. Does not wash off, shield feels clean, so I'm assuming some kind of chemical reaction has happened just under the surface.
Any suggestions? Perhaps buffing with a cream of some kind? Thought about painting it black as a last resort but I would have to paint the outside of the screen cause paint on the inside only would likely just highlight the problem.
Any suggestions? Perhaps buffing with a cream of some kind? Thought about painting it black as a last resort but I would have to paint the outside of the screen cause paint on the inside only would likely just highlight the problem.
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Plus one on that. It might take some elbow grease to get it polished out, depending on if it etched into the surface or not.
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It depends on whether the windscreen is acrylic or polycarbonate. Acrylic can be cleaned and polished with the very mild abrasives formulated for the task. It is easily shattered though and is not normally used for windscreens.
Polycarbonates are much stronger but have to be coated to prevent clouding as a reaction to moisture in the air. If there is damage beneath the coating, it can't be fixed.
This case sounds like the solvent penetrated the bond between the coating and the polycarbonate. That would cause the underlying plastic to cloud up from chemically combining with moisture or from the solvent itself.
Polycarbonates are much stronger but have to be coated to prevent clouding as a reaction to moisture in the air. If there is damage beneath the coating, it can't be fixed.
This case sounds like the solvent penetrated the bond between the coating and the polycarbonate. That would cause the underlying plastic to cloud up from chemically combining with moisture or from the solvent itself.
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Thanks guys. It's the 2010 OEM shield. On the bottom left it says:
Panlite
DOT-280 M-211B
AS-6&7
Suzuki-27G0
>PC<
I assume the PC stands for polycarbonate. I'll try another polish or two, nothing to lose, but I think GreyWolf's assessment is probably what has happened. The degreaser was the Maxim degreaser aerosol used to clean oiled air filters, chains, etc. Worked great getting the crap off the skid plate and swing arm but then I absent-mindedly used the same sponge on the windshield with soap and water. Guess I'll be watching the Marketplace forum for any spare windshields. :embarassed:
Panlite
DOT-280 M-211B
AS-6&7
Suzuki-27G0
>PC<
I assume the PC stands for polycarbonate. I'll try another polish or two, nothing to lose, but I think GreyWolf's assessment is probably what has happened. The degreaser was the Maxim degreaser aerosol used to clean oiled air filters, chains, etc. Worked great getting the crap off the skid plate and swing arm but then I absent-mindedly used the same sponge on the windshield with soap and water. Guess I'll be watching the Marketplace forum for any spare windshields. :embarassed:
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And not to nitpick but cars have windshields, bikes have windscreens.
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I bet you spell bhang like bong (sic).
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Gotta love Wikipedia:
The word bong is an adaptation of the Thai word baung (Thai: บ้อง [bɔːŋ]), which refers to<sup class="noprint Inline-Template" title="" style="white-space:nowrap;">[need tone]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-3" class="reference">[4]</sup> a cylindrical wooden tube, pipe, or container cut from bamboo, and which also refers to the bong used for smoking.
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Once I put that spray tint for taillights and headlights on my OEM windscreen, and the entire screen cracked and clouded. As GW said, polycarbonate doesn't like chemicals or moisture. So now my screen is cut and painted. Bummer
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Thread revival!
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"you ride a motorcycle..."
Unless it's a sidecar rig. Then you're back to driving.
Unless the wind screen, how PC, is really tall spray it flat black and save the trouble.
I got some gas on my BMW 1100RT windshield once and it spotted like crazy but after a long time it kinda got better. Maybe sun bleaching?
Unless it's a sidecar rig. Then you're back to driving.
Unless the wind screen, how PC, is really tall spray it flat black and save the trouble.
I got some gas on my BMW 1100RT windshield once and it spotted like crazy but after a long time it kinda got better. Maybe sun bleaching?
Windscreen Materials
Here's a pretty thorough explanation of the materials used for windscreens and their properties. Motorcycle Fairings and Windshields
I believe polycarbonate is most often injection molded, allowing the maker to produce complex shapes with varying thickness (e.g. our stock screens). Acrylic requires some sort of modification to provide DOT approved impact resistance, but if so treated it's very tough (it's used for aircraft) and can be sanded and polished without concern for coatings. It's also optically very pleasing to the eye due to its clarity and lack of waviness. However, I presume it costs more than polycarbonate. Otherwise you can bet it would be used for the OEM screens!
Dave
Here's a pretty thorough explanation of the materials used for windscreens and their properties. Motorcycle Fairings and Windshields
I believe polycarbonate is most often injection molded, allowing the maker to produce complex shapes with varying thickness (e.g. our stock screens). Acrylic requires some sort of modification to provide DOT approved impact resistance, but if so treated it's very tough (it's used for aircraft) and can be sanded and polished without concern for coatings. It's also optically very pleasing to the eye due to its clarity and lack of waviness. However, I presume it costs more than polycarbonate. Otherwise you can bet it would be used for the OEM screens!
Dave
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Depends upon the country. We call the front and rear glass in a car a "windscreen". I think windshield might be an American term.
I'll dig this up because I just had to do something like this.
The headlights on my car (PC) were marred by the sloppy wrench who spilled brake fluid on them.
The headlights were already cracked and clouded from the brake fluid and age so I figured I'd try some things... And they worked.
I cleaned the lights using soap and water.
Then masked off where I didn't want to buff.
Using a buffer designed to rub out oxidized paint. I put some Wenol brand metal polish on the buff and started buffing the light.
Slowly but surely the milky plastic was removed revealing a clear plastic under it. The lights polished up to a clear level.
So I tried the same trick on my yellowed clear screen from the R100GS
Same deal, got it mostly clear, this screen has some serious sun damage that goes through the plastic so it didn't come out as clear as the headlights.
Here's the catch, doing this removes the anti-scratch coating that is often applied to PC plastics sometimes this coating has UV stabilizers sometimes it doesn't, but what you will find is that the screen will now be softer, more prone to scratching and yellowing, but easy to buff to clear.
I buff it then hit it was some of the headlight protection products that are on the market. after that I wax it just like I wax the paint.
However DON'T do this if you look through the screen, this will create micro swirls that will really show up if you are looking through the screen especially at night or into a low angle light source like the setting sun.
The headlights on my car (PC) were marred by the sloppy wrench who spilled brake fluid on them.
The headlights were already cracked and clouded from the brake fluid and age so I figured I'd try some things... And they worked.
I cleaned the lights using soap and water.
Then masked off where I didn't want to buff.
Using a buffer designed to rub out oxidized paint. I put some Wenol brand metal polish on the buff and started buffing the light.
Slowly but surely the milky plastic was removed revealing a clear plastic under it. The lights polished up to a clear level.
So I tried the same trick on my yellowed clear screen from the R100GS
Same deal, got it mostly clear, this screen has some serious sun damage that goes through the plastic so it didn't come out as clear as the headlights.
Here's the catch, doing this removes the anti-scratch coating that is often applied to PC plastics sometimes this coating has UV stabilizers sometimes it doesn't, but what you will find is that the screen will now be softer, more prone to scratching and yellowing, but easy to buff to clear.
I buff it then hit it was some of the headlight protection products that are on the market. after that I wax it just like I wax the paint.
However DON'T do this if you look through the screen, this will create micro swirls that will really show up if you are looking through the screen especially at night or into a low angle light source like the setting sun.
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