Plastic hatch window restoration

[Delawaredave]

1984 Hunter 27. Hard plastic hatch windows are oxidized. What kind of plastic are they ? polycarbonate or plexiglass ?

What's best way to restore ? I've read articles about using 1000 sandpaper and going up to 6000 with a palm sander. But I don't want to ruin windows and don't know if there's some protective coating that I would abrade off.

Appreciate any suggestions. Thanks !

 

[kloudie1]

Lots of discussion about restoring the lenses.. I did mine a couple of times before deciding to change the lenses out.. The restoration looks fine, but the lenses will quickly begin crazing .. I replaced my lenses with new acrylic and found the job was fairly quick.. this is one of the threads concerning the lenses..
https://forums.sailboatowners.com/index.php?threads/dow-795-alternate.178186/page-2#post-1289113

 

[leastman]

I refinished mine. Purchased a boat that had been sitting for at least 6 years. The ports and hatches were a mess. Sanding worked fine on mine. There was so much crusting that I actually had to start with 240 grit until I got back down to good material. From there I went to 500 then wet sanded with 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit. Then I used a cutting/polishing compound to get the surface luster back. Then I applied a couple of coats of a synthetic UV polish (hopefully this will help to protect them). They look great. You just must remember not to be too aggressive and overheat the material when sanding. My palm vibrating sander worked fine. As an alternative, you could buy a lens restoration kit for car headlights. I just found that I could buy the sandpaper cheaper in a pack of assorted grits from Amazon which was more than enough to do all my ports and hatches.

 

[Delawaredave]

Thanks for input ! Seems worth a try. Can't afford to replace all.

 

[Drew13440]

Don Casey recommends you start with a headlight polishing kit from an auto parts store.

https://www.sailmagazine.com/diy/replacing-fixed-portlights

 

[Hunter Ad Bot]

And now a word from the sponsor...

Hunter faucets and parts

Replacement fixtures, hoses, sprayers, washers, and more.
See the product

 

[Crazy Dave Condon]

Use to restore as a dealer using low grade buffer no faster than 1000 rpm going back and forth with a fine compound as I use to use Finese-it by 3 M. If using sand paper use wet and dry 400 or finer. Never use 220 as it is too course and use a lot of water

 

[Capt Robbie]

Thy tooth paste or baking soda and water with palm sander worked magic on mine.