front grab handles

[MikeAce]

hi all, my ace jubilee is prepped and ready for the new season, and thanks to mer it took little effort to clean after a winter worths of storage.

The only part of my van that lets the side down is the handles, they look grubby and appear to be made of quite a porous plastic, i would like to bring them back to gleaming white and am favouring soaking them in bleach for a spell, has anyone got any better ideas?

 

[Damian]

Mike, it is a great shame that manufacturers chose a very inferior product for one of the most noticeable external fitings.

Unfortunately once the surface has deteriorated there is little you can do to get them back.

You could try re-gelling them with a fibreglass gel coat, but bleaching will not help them , even in the short term.

Failing all else, its a case of replacing them.

 

[rob_jax]

The usual reason for a plastic to look "shoddy" is that the very top layer of the plastic has photo-degraded in sunlight.

The usual indications are a matt or chalky surface that has an open surface, picks up grime, and won't clean. The photo-degradation "destroys" the plastic, leaving the inert filler behind - turning the surface into a sponge.

What to do:

1. If really only cosmetic damage - try T-Cut or a more agressive polishing compound to remove the top fraction of a mm - and then wax with a quality wax.

2. If quite deep - try 600 grade "wet / dry" paper - keep dipping the paper in water and this will quickly remove the matt area - then use 1200 grade "wet / dry" to smooth the surface, and a final T-cut polish and wax.

3. If really bad consider replacement - the plastic will have be weakened too

What NOT to do:

1. Use bleach - this won't remove the degraded layer - and will just provide ultra-active Oxygen to really attack the plastic.

Alternative:

Buy a European caravan - these use plastics that don't mind the sun.

Robert

 

[Garfield]

Hi,

We simply replaced the handles on our 2001 Lunar, they were about