Scratched Or Discoloured Acrylic? These Simple Steps Save You Money!

Acrylic is a fragile substrate that can get scratched easily. A small fleck of dust on your acrylic during installation can end up being an unsightly scratch. This could mean extra (often unexpected) expense on a project.

The steps listed below could mean the difference between making or losing money on a project.

The photo on the left shows a piece of acrylic that had paint and a lot of scratches on it. We used both Heavy Scratch Remover (Novus No. 3) and Fine Scratch Remover (Novus No. 2) to get a clean scratch-free piece of acrylic.

STEP ONE

Dirt and grease should be removed from the surface of the acrylic or Plexiglas prior to removing scratches. Clean with Novus No. 1 Acrylic Cleaner or with one of our recommended cleaning solutions found on our blog post Use the Right Acrylic Cleaner to Keep your Signage Beautiful.

STEP TWO

Assess how deep the scratch on your acrylic is. The deeper the scratch(es) the greater the pressure required to remove them.

Light Scratches

To take out light scratches we recommend using Fine Scratch Remover (Novus No. 2) and following the steps listed below.

1. Shake your bottle of Novus No. 2 well.

2. Test in an inconspicuous area to make sure the polish will not affect your substrate adversely.

3. Apply the Fine Scratch Remover liberally, using a clean soft cloth. Polish with a firm back and forth motion at right angles to the scratches until the scratches have been removed. Make sure you keep your cloth saturated with polish at all times.

4. Reapply the Fine Scratch Remover uniformly to the entire surface using short circular strokes and light pressure. Let dry slightly.

5. Using a clean portion of the cloth, buff the surface to a high shine using firm short strokes. This procedure is imperative to achieving the best results.

Heavy Scratches

For heavy scratches, discolored, or faded acrylic, multiple applications of Fine Scratch Remover may be required to achieve desired results. Use the steps listed above 2-3 times for best results.

Deep Scratches

To remove deep scratches we recommend using both Heavy Scratch Remover (Novus No. 3), Fine Scratch Remover (Novus No. 2), and following the steps listed below. This is not recommended for use on coated acrylic.

1. Shake your bottle of Novus No. 3 well.

2. Test in an inconspicuous area to make sure the Heavy Scratch Remover will not affect your substrate adversely.

3. Apply the Heavy Scratch Remover liberally, using a clean soft cloth. Polish with a firm back and forth motion at right angles to the scratches. Make sure you keep your cloth saturated with polish at all times.

4. Continue polishing until only fine scratches remain. Using a cloth, remove all remaining polish. This is very important!

5. Shake your bottle of Novus No. 2 well.

6. Using a clean cloth apply the Fine Scratch Remover (Novus No. 2) uniformly to the entire surface using short circular strokes and light pressure. Let dry slightly.

7. Using a clean portion of the cloth, buff the surface to a high shine using firm short strokes. This procedure is imperative to achieving the best results.

This process takes a bit of elbow grease and patience, but the results are well worth the effort! Discolored, scratched acrylic now looks brand new.

Click below to see:

ALL OUR CLEANING PRODUCTS

For more great How-to’s:

READ OUR BLOG