Can this be cleaned up

[junkyardjeff]

The windows for my 65 Wildcat are fogged up and can it be buffed out.

[Mark]

Doesn't hurt to try...if things don't work out, look for glass from a reissue '66.  You might luck out and find someone on eBay parting one out.  Or, try to find an open, started, or damaged one, and get a new interior, engine, and chassis too.

[junkyardjeff]

I am watching for parts on eBay and have found a stock steering wheel but no glass so far,I will get it ready to assemble and wait for parts. I do have a unbuilt engine coming since the engine in it has the stacked injectors and headers,I want this one stock 

[stitchdup]

the hasegawa buick glass should also fit 

[bobss396]

I would start wet sanding with a polishing kit. It may depend on how it was fogged. With CA glue, YMMV.

Start with around 2000 grit up to 12,000 and see if it improves.

[dphipps]

I have touched up CA fogged windows with Meguires PlastX plastic polish before and had good results, however it was never this severe. As said above some fine sanding before polish might be needed.

I'm kind of curious what it would look like with some Future clear over it

[Geno]

2 hours ago, bobss396 said:

I would start wet sanding with a polishing kit. It may depend on how it was fogged. With CA glue, YMMV.

Start with around 2000 grit up to 12,000 and see if it improves.

Yes, I have done this with great success. 💯👍

[peteski]

I'm curious as to how the fogging happened.  Going by the shape of the fogged area of the "glass" it seems to have been removed from an assembled model and only and only the the exposed "glass" area got damaged.  Could it have just been sprayed with Dullcote?  It wouldn't have fogged up like that just by itself.

[blizzy63]

Last time I saw something like that on clear window glass was the effects of excessive clear lacquer...

I would at least attempt to restore with my old Novus plastic polishes. I always used them on old kit clear window/windshield glass.

[espo]

For polishing any plastic lens and especially on the models we build I use a Meguire product that is for polishing plastic lenses on full size cars. I even used it to polish water spots out of the plexiglass windshields on a couple of boats in the past. 

[johnyrotten]

That's gotta be a record. Like others have said, wet sand and polishing is in order. Or replace/ make new "glass". Good luck, and let us know how it turns out if you save it.

[Hi-Po]

If that is actually a clear coat of paint, dull or otherwise, I would first try giving the windshield a bath in Super Clean to see if that will remove the majority of the fogging.  Then I would use Novus #1 and/or #2 to polish out any scratches that might be hiding under the fogging.  A dip in some Future would be the final step in the process.

[junkyardjeff]

It was togather and no clue on what happened to it,the body was not painted and had yellowed so all I can say is it was not treated very well or exposed to the weather.

[peteski]

That is strange. Maybe the yellowing was due to sunlight (UV) exposure and it also affect the clear plastic?

I agree that likely the best way to try repairing it will be to use some sort of abrasive method others mentioned, and maybe give it a final coat of Future floor finish  (or whatever that stuff is called now, or one of its equivalents).

[rattle can man]

If it was yellowed (yellowed plastic and yellowed paint do look different), combined with the windshield pic, the whole model was clear coated once assembled. Clearcoats tend to yellow, esp. old enamel Testors clears.  And the clear would result in the frosted appearance. I have some of the first models I built decades ago and thought you should clear coat every part to protect the finish. I figured out the frosted look on the clear within a day. The yellowing took a year or two.

A tip I learned from this site is to back it with some clay when sanding and polishing to prevent cracking and breaking it.

[StevenGuthmiller]

Personally, I wouldn’t waste my time.

Get some .007 “lay film” and replace the glass.

In nearly every case, kit glass is entirely too thick and looks completely out of scale and unrealistic anyway.

I only re-use kit glass if it’s an odd shape, or has compound curves that are difficult to form with flat, clear sheet plastic.

Thin plastic will give you a much more realistic looking windshield, and you won’t have to waste your time trying to save basket cases.

These models have all had the glass replaced with lay film.

 

 

 

Steve

 

[junkyardjeff]

Cleaned it up and much better 

[Bucky]

Looks great! What method did you end up using? 

[junkyardjeff]

Sanded started with 1000 to 5000 and buffed with plastic cleaner.