Renew the look of your Digital Meters - LCD  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / projects

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2010, 04:25:27 pm
content: Before few years back I had to completely rebuild my Japanese motorcycle.Because of this process , I discovered special materials , for many applications.The most fantastic one " The mister life savor " , are this special cream that can remove scratches of any soft acrylic surface ..I have test it , in so many applications , and always amazes me , thats why I writing this thread ,so to help as many I can ...It can remove any scratches from the acrylic clear plastic of your DMM .Notfrom a naked display !!Onlythe ones covered with acrylic clear plastic ones.Now that we clear this detail ... lets move on .The product are Made in Germany , and the price are as 10 EUR.You need only a drop of it ( looks like yogurt ) , and just lots of cotton.Your display will become perfect as new .. GuaranteedI did some cleaning of my Fluke 87-5 , and I had put on one screen protector .My display was clear enough , but there was some small scratches like hair lines, visible only under very specific conditions.Now its clean 100% .This material it does not only removes scratches , but it takes away any contamination on the acrylics,that causes blur or yellow colors .The application , is very easy , first pass with the cream and one cotton, about 2 minutes circular movement with out extreme force , and another 2 minutes of polishing with clear cotton.And thats it .. works every single time.Its always best to get some screen protectors as they are very cheap.For the Fluke I used one screen protector , originally purchased for my iPAQ rx5915.( I was have one as spare ) ..About cleaning the body of the DMM , use your imaginationI use just wet cloths , and if this fail , I find in the local super market , very cheap wet cleaning pads,for sun glasses and glasses in general , that contains an mixture of water with ethanol.Pictures ... Maestro.

author: rossmoffett
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2010, 09:29:56 pm
content: Toothpaste works well to clean the yellow rubber slip-cover, believe it or not.I've heard that you can use acetylene torches to fix deep flaws in acrylic, I tried propane with miserable results.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 24, 2010, 10:16:43 pm
content: acetylene torches partially works , in the black plastic , like the one found on the motorcycles , rear top box.As cure for heavily scratched ones.The tooth paste , it does have abrasive materials in it , good of cleaning soft silver parts.The Xerapol , its an specialized product for clear plastics, the abrasive material in it,imitates the 8000 grade , if there is such an value as sandpaper .

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: April 24, 2010, 11:52:31 pm
content: Got a before and after photo?Dave.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2010, 08:20:22 am
content: Hi Dave ... there was no way to have my digital camera to focus on such hair line visible under angle,even with my macro lens .I am using the product since 2007 , the only time that it failed to do the job , was on the visor of my helmet ( SHOEI ) because the visor had even finer finish that the abrasive grade of the Xerapol.And the second time , was the screen of mobile phones (no touch-screen ones ) that haves hardened acrylic face plates.At anything else , like acrylic face plates , of portable radios , DMM , panel meters , UV plastics on remote controls, plastic head lights , torches , reflectors (on vehicles ) , speedometer face plates ... its does remarkable job.Thumps up ... hands and footsThere must be products equivalent to Xerapol , but you must know the abrasive grade that you are looking for, from the start .... Xerapol its just made for Plexiglas and similar, so its an foolproof product.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 25, 2010, 07:09:32 pm
content: I just opened my fax to replace one button at the face plate , and did use the Xerapol , and took pictures.This is a Japanese made fax , a bit old still great , the acrylic face plate are from hard material .I had to do three applications of the Xerapol , and it removed the 90% of the scratches .Oh well If i was insisting more, I could remove them all , but I did not.

author: Zad
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2010, 02:04:46 am
content: One tip that always works for me on acrylic (Perspex etc) and that is a product called Brasso (not sure if it us available outside the UK/Aus). It contains a really mild solvent and super fine abrasive that works extremely well. I haven't tried it on meter casings though, I must admit.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: April 26, 2010, 11:39:24 am
content: I am aware of Brasso and I own an metal bottle of it , its advised to be used only for copper parts.I had use Brasso also for plastic surfaces , that does not have added color ( paint ) and they are not gloss ones.Brasso Ingredients:C8-10 Alkane/Cycloalkane/ Aromatic HydrocarbonsQuartzKaolinAmmonium TallateBut there is no way to use it on clear acrylic , its a very sensitive area .Still there is a chance to use Brasso as first application , to extremely damaged acrylic surfaces ,and use the Xerapol as main material to finish the job .I have also test , to start with 800 -> 1200 grade sandpaper , and do the finish with Xerapol, this combination works too.The Fluke 87-5 , has very soft acrylic window ( external cover ) , I just ordered three different quality display protectors , and I will use the best on it .( Got 19 protectors)6pcs3.5" wide LCD Protector Film For Sony T500 T700 G3 ( 79.1*46.1 )10x 3.5" 16:9 NEW LCD SCREEN PROTECTOR FOR SONY CAMERA (78.5*45.5)H0013pcsScreen Protector for HP IPAQ rx5700 5715 5720 (73*55)

author: Buzz
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 02, 2010, 02:31:25 pm
content: I've always used Brasso on clear plastics, works great. You have to use a soft cloth like those ones you get with sunglasses etc. Never had a problem with it eating up anything. In fact its my standard method to repair scratched CD's. If the scratches are deep I put a few drops of Brasso on the CD and run it over a loose-leave mop on the bench grinder. Mind you I'm fairly experienced with polishing all types of materials. With plastics you obviously need a light touch when using power operated equipment.

author: JoeMISCO
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: June 03, 2010, 01:09:28 pm
content: Does it work on Lexan? We switched from plexiglass to lexan windows on our instruments as a recommendation from our new machine shop. It's supposed to be much stronger, I guess lexan is used in safety glasses and stuffs like that too.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 03, 2010, 02:28:17 pm
content: Quote from: JoeMISCO on June 03, 2010, 01:09:28 pmPrimarily I got the product to deal with scratches on my MRA windshield on my motorcycle ..MRA = Company from Germany , and the only one with certification about the windshields for motorcycles.Yes it worked great on it ..( but it was needed some more effort , at rubbing it )http://dhost.info/ax1/html/bmw__k1200r.html

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2011, 05:38:19 pm
content: After all those months,I was hopping to see some threads about restorations with successful resultsIn any case, add this link in your bookmarks.I will not bump it up.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2011, 08:29:56 pm
content: I can confirm that xerapol works very well on acrylics, the stiffer they are, the better. Usually this is not the case on DMMs but anyway.What I wanted to add was that if you have a rather deep scratch, xerapol on its own will not help. What you must do is sand the scratched area first with coarse sand paper, then with fine sand paper. Once the scratches are very fine, then apply xerapol or other similar compounds.I still have the protective film on the screen after 3 years (its not glued on) and for the non-removable yellow (yes, yellow) holster I use the Fluke MC6 wet wipes. Probably an overkill and I would recommend gloves, but they can be used on all surfaces (screen, buttons, holster etc) and they also clean persistent stains that diffused in the holster.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: June 19, 2011, 08:39:43 pm
content: Quote from: rossmoffett on April 24, 2010, 09:29:56 pmIt is called flame polishing (term for online search), and only works for very shallow scratches in acrylic.The idea is to melt the surface of the acrylic so that it reforms and the scratches are removed. To avoid deforming the rest of the material, not to mention setting it on fire, you must make a quick and steady pass with a high temperature flame. Commercially oxyhydrogen is used, but I have successfully used MAPP gas (yellow gas cylinders for joining pipes used by plumbers). To finish off, it must be heat treated for some time so that the stress created by the slightly expanded area you flame polished is distributed across the entire material. Final note, avoid solvents on flame polished areas, the entire material will crack like safety glass within minutes.Alex

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2011, 10:09:03 pm
content: The xerapol product it comes with one small sandpaper, but yes its all about the size of the problem.The xerapol alone it will cure every scratch caused by finger nails, and light impacts.Basically if you do care for your DMM, you should have as minimum protection, an soft case for it.And a scratch protector ( acrylic film ).But even if you are crazy like me, about the health of your tools, little accidents still happens,its a good idea to be always prepared.

author: RCMR
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 19, 2011, 11:49:05 pm
content: I use Solvol Autosol polishing paste for a lot of this kind of work.A friend has a Suzuki car which has acrylic headlight lenses. They were cloudy and yellow -- to the point where it would not pass a roadworthyness test.He spent 10 minutes polishing them with some Solvol Autosol and they looked brand new -- totally clear and just like glass.One tube goes an awful long way too.

author: Kiriakos-GR
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 20, 2011, 12:18:32 am
content: From the price point, this Solvol Autosol polishing paste, looks to be identically priced,with the xerapol.And I also have test xerapol on acrylic headlight lenses.Its good to know that there is and another similar product out there,Thanks.