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Acrylic window cleaning / polishing

I will be flying my Jetprop back to the UK next year. Whilst the aircraft is in the UK, I plan to get some maintenance work done in it.

One of the jobs is removing some scratches on the copilot acrylic windscreen.

Can anyone recommend a professional scratch removal company who could polish out some scratches?

The aircraft will be based at Bournemouth Airport.

Cheers.

E

eal
Lovin' it
VTCY VTCC VTBD

Be careful who you use. The last people that polished a screen for us cost us $30,000: We had to have a new one fitted as they introduced too much distortion with the polishing.

Darley Moor, Gamston (UK)

I have done it myself with good results. If the scratches are not too deep I would recommend to do it manual. It takes a few hours and is physically demanding but pays off.
Buy polish in a yacht shop, that is much cheaper than $30,000 or a new screen.

Berlin, Germany

In pressurised aircraft there are limits on how much thickness you can polish away, and also how much visual distortion is allowed as measured by a procedure in the maintenance manual.

I have polished light scratches out of a glider canopy myself, using a set of graded polishes called Micro Mesh bought from Aircraft Spruce

Darley Moor, Gamston (UK)

Thanks. Eventually the windscreen will need to be replaced, but due to the way both windscreens are retained by a common retainer, you end up in all probability damaging the pilot side (heated glass) in the process, so most shops will not replace only one side, and for both windscreens the total cost is quite eye watering.

The copilot windscreen has reasonable visibility currently, just scratches, some quite deep, which I realise will not come out entirely, but I was hoping for an improvement at least so I can defer the replacement for a few more years as I have other maintenance priorities coming up in terms of budget.

I did have a go myself a few months ago on one of the lighter scratches on the side, using some 3M products, and whilst I managed to remove the scratch, I did introduce some distortion due I think to poor technique and probably incorrect grade of abrasive. Hence why I would prefer to use someone who does it professionally.

Cheers – E

eal
Lovin' it
VTCY VTCC VTBD

Just received this Airworthiness Bulletin from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority: AWB 02-19 Issue 2 local copy

YPJT, United Arab Emirates

Does anyone use Autoglym Fastglass to clean their windscreen?

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)

LOL personally I would rather not. Its a glass cleaner, and your windshield is perspex. From the Autoglym range you can use, Rapid Detailer which is safe on all surfaces. Does a great job on perspex…..

Buying, Selling, Flying
EISG, Ireland

Whilst they say it’s OK for perspex, a quick look at the tech specs here spec

shows that it contains Isopropyl Alcohol which is a no-no for plexi

FAA A&P/IA
LFPN

What do others use on their windscreen?

EGBE (COVENTRY, UK)
32 Posts
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