MIflyer
1st Lieutenant
Several years ago I was working on a WWII aircraft radio that I bought on ebay from a seller in Arizona. The set apparently had been sitting in the desert sun for some time and the tuning dial had been exposed with no cover, leaving it rather faded.
I knew I would never be able to repaint that dial, given its elaborate markings, and decided I'd just clean it off and leave it alone. As a final step I wiped it down with rubbing alcohol - and for a brief moment the dial looked almost new, clear and shiny again.
I suddenly realized that the dial was not faded, but the top layer of the paint had become abraded and rough, causing the light to be scattered. The answer was to restore that top layer. I had some Testor's clear gloss lacquer left over from a model project and a light mist coat of that did the trick. The dial looked almost brand new.
I then realized that was the reason why the plastic headlight lenses on modern cars tend to get frosty looking. Older cars just had sealed beam headlights and the glass of the bulbs did not abrade. Newer cars use plastic lenses with removable bulbs underneath, and those lenses abrade.
My Mom's car, a 1998 Dodge Stratus, suffered from the frosty headlight problem, I cleaned the lenses thoroughly with some Windex-like spray cleaner, wiped down the lenses with rubbing alcohol, and masked off the areas around the headlights. A light mist coat from the Testor's can restored the headlight lenses to clarity.
So, if you have a problem with frosty headlights, you might give this a try. Cost is almost nothing and you can brag that you've found a new use for your model,materials. Of course this is not a permanent fix; the headlight lenses will get abraded again and you'll have to do it all over again after a year or two.
I knew I would never be able to repaint that dial, given its elaborate markings, and decided I'd just clean it off and leave it alone. As a final step I wiped it down with rubbing alcohol - and for a brief moment the dial looked almost new, clear and shiny again.
I suddenly realized that the dial was not faded, but the top layer of the paint had become abraded and rough, causing the light to be scattered. The answer was to restore that top layer. I had some Testor's clear gloss lacquer left over from a model project and a light mist coat of that did the trick. The dial looked almost brand new.
I then realized that was the reason why the plastic headlight lenses on modern cars tend to get frosty looking. Older cars just had sealed beam headlights and the glass of the bulbs did not abrade. Newer cars use plastic lenses with removable bulbs underneath, and those lenses abrade.
My Mom's car, a 1998 Dodge Stratus, suffered from the frosty headlight problem, I cleaned the lenses thoroughly with some Windex-like spray cleaner, wiped down the lenses with rubbing alcohol, and masked off the areas around the headlights. A light mist coat from the Testor's can restored the headlight lenses to clarity.
So, if you have a problem with frosty headlights, you might give this a try. Cost is almost nothing and you can brag that you've found a new use for your model,materials. Of course this is not a permanent fix; the headlight lenses will get abraded again and you'll have to do it all over again after a year or two.
