VZ front plastic scratch repair

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Hey Guys,

Much like many people who have aspired to dream of a Sharp VZ2000....I too looked for a perfect, working VZ but wasn't ever able to find one.

As we search for these beast's we shy away from the ones missing control switches, but now you can get those made from Bredgeo, so there is no need to pray for a unit with all of those....

We search and hope for one that has a working turn table, but so many members have shown that not only can you still get the main drive belts, you can fix them yourself.

One of the other things we avoid like the plague is LARGE scratches on the front turn table plastic.....WELL NOT ANY MORE! :no:

I bought two VZ2000's in Japan and brought them home. One was in very good condition and the other so so :-/

The biggest problem with the one below was it had some GNARLY scratches in the turn table door plastic :thumbsdown:

The thing is, if you carry this radio with the front facing your leg, it's going to get scratched, there is just no way around it. This means the vast majority of these radio's is going to have scratches in them.

It's hard to tell from this picture, but there are some nasty scratches in the front....
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So, I have a kit that is used for cleaning and brightening yellowed headlights on your car made by 3M.

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Here is the plastic I started with.... :thumbsdown:

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These kits are easy to use, you start out with an abrasive and work your way across the surface.

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Each pad uses finer and finer sand paper....

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The first sanding removes the big scratches....

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The next one smooths it more....you can see it's still hazy, but no scratches.

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Then after the final polishing with the pad and cream....It looks really good. I even did the inside with just the polishing cream. It really made it clear. :thumbsup:

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Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
Today I have done the second front plastic from the other VZ. Since I have done this once before, I have gotten a little better at it and this one is a clear piece of glass now!

It started out much like the other one....HAMMERED...

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Sadly, I have avoided VZ's in the past that had scratches just like this on them because I didn't think I could fix it or find a new front piece.

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Once again, going through the process.
All in all...it probably took me 40 minutes to do this....which isn't that made. If you consider it this way, if you spend $1,000 for a pristine VZ2000 to avoid bad paint and scratched plastic or pick up a slightly less "Ascetically Pleasing" one and do these types of repairs...you save your self BIG money.

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You can see here it's coming along. It still has some hazing from the sanding....So...a few more minutes with the polishing pad and polishing compound.

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Now you can see that is pure glass :thumbsup:

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So, here is what I have learned....

When you buy a headlight lens cleaning kit follow all the directions....OH and practice first on the car!

The kit I have could easily do 3-4 cars worth of headlights, so I still have plenty of sanding paper and polish left over.

MOST IMPORTANT!
DO NOT USE A HIGH SPEED DRILL. This will burn / melt the plastic and then your :'-(
I used a cordless, low speed drill and very light pressure. I was very patient and took my time.

I did have to go back a few times to work out scratches that I could not see until the last process. I also had to do the inside of the panel to make it REALLY nice.

In the end....anyone can do this....I know all you VZ guys probably have some level of markings so get out there and get'em polished up! :-D
 

bklyn sound

Requiem Æternam
very nice chris.....i use a makita 7" high speed polisher with a wool finishing pad....with some 3m microfinishing compound ...then use 3m finnesseit..plastic come out like brand new.. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
b997a1cf.jpg
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
chump1039 said:
so are you going to start offering up your polishing services for cash?

nice job!
:-D :-D :thumbsup:

:hmmm: :hmmm: :hmmm: SURE, You mail it here and back and I'll do the work! We can work out a trade or $$$

blu_fuz said:
Soooooo, that kind of looks like WHAT I DID!

https://boomboxery.com/forum/viewtopic.p ... ilit=plexi
Nice work.
It's soooo easy to do it's almost retarded that any of us have passed up boomers because of plexi scratches :dunce: . NEVER PASS UP A BOOMER WITH PLEXI SCRATCHES!

I'm sure it's what you did...and yes NEVER PASS UP A BOOMER WITH SCRATCHES (sadly I have :sad: ) But Never Again!

bklyn sound said:
very nice chris.....i use a makita 7" high speed polisher with a wool finishing pad....with some 3m microfinishing compound ...then use 3m finnesseit..plastic come out like brand new.. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :thumbsup: http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa373/bklynvettepics/b997a1cf.jpg

Giant Tool, Little Plexi...but yes, same idea. :-D



Thanks Fat Dog! :-D
 

hemiguy2006

Member (SA)
Chris that looks friggin awesome!
I wonder if this technique would be too harsh for let's say a lasonic
Or super jumbo type of plastic decals
Maybe done completely by hand wouldn't hurt it?
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
hemiguy2006 said:
Chris that looks friggin awesome!
I wonder if this technique would be too harsh for let's say a lasonic
Or super jumbo type of plastic decals
Maybe done completely by hand wouldn't hurt it?

I'm not sure about decals, since it probably would depend on how they are printed :huh:

Maybe Fatdog could answer that one!
 

alfie

Member (SA)
How did I miss this thread???

Great work Chris, this should help when I get round to tidying up the VZ I found on the street corner ;-)
 

Cpl-Chronic

Member (SA)
AWESOME INFO for sure!!!! :w00t: This is what the forum is about. The free exchange of techniques & iinfo. Too bad some members want to charge money for resources instead of sharing for free.
 

superlew

Member (SA)
With the Plastic Polishing Posts bubbling to the surface again, I was inspired to do the dust cover on my Denon DP-30L turntable. I decided to do it at the kitchen counter so I could watch the Sox. I was smart enough to wear sacrificial clothing, but that's where the intelligence ended.
Now I'm debating as to whether or not I should buy a new coffee maker. :lol:
It is mostly plastic...Maybe I'll polish that too! :w00t:
 

Lasonic TRC-920

Moderator
superlew said:
With the Plastic Polishing Posts bubbling to the surface again, I was inspired to do the dust cover on my Denon DP-30L turntable. I decided to do it at the kitchen counter so I could watch the Sox. I was smart enough to wear sacrificial clothing, but that's where the intelligence ended.
Now I'm debating as to whether or not I should buy a new coffee maker. :lol:
It is mostly plastic...Maybe I'll polish that too! :w00t:
:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:
 

oldskool69

Moderator
Staff member
Outstanding my man! This can come in handy for multiple applications. And this will get filed away for future reference. :-D
 

BoomboxLover48

Boomus Fidelis
Great job! Poor me!
I wore my joints using PlastX over and over. However the scratches were not deep at all. They were very light hair line scratches.
The cover came out like new but had joint pain for a few days. :lol: :lol: