COMET, Really?

Just don't mix it with Windex 

So I threw this out in the calling all gurus thread and thought I'd double check here as you seem very familiar with Comet....  I could only find with bleach. 

any issues there you think?  Others said no and I'm going with that - just checking. 

tks!!

Mrchntmarine

So I threw this out in the calling all gurus thread and thought I'd double check here as you seem very familiar with Comet....  I could only find with bleach. 

any issues there you think?  Others said no and I'm going with that - just checking. 

tks!!

 

It's mildly bleached and produces the preverbial squeaky clean to the plastic. With bleach it's kind of a one step process in getting rid of skin oils and such while micro scuffing at the same time.. I've use Comet with bleach on plastic with no issue. Also if used with water it's only mildly abrasive as well. On transluscent parts the plastic will go from a clear gloss to a slight hazy shine but with micro scratched if you look close.

Anyway I haven't seen that Comet with bleach is an issue at all, actually a good thing IMO. You will seek your own level of paste consistentcy that you like and works for you.

But it can't be any good, it doesn't have a model manufacturers name on it!

BonAmi is another good household cleanser 

Colgate tooth paste (not gel) contains a mild abrasive and is good for polishing canopies.  

Mr Clean Magic Eraser is one of my go-toos to polish plastic before NMF paint.   It is mildly abrasive and doesn't leave a residue that must be washed away before finishes can be applied

I use Colgate original tooth paste as well in polishing, be it paint on car bodies or test parts with lacquer or airbrush needles. It's one step in the process at least. Worth keeping around. As mentioned by Ed not the Gel.

EdGrune

Mr Clean Magic Eraser is one of my go-toos to polish plastic before NMF paint.   It is mildly abrasive and doesn't leave a residue that must be washed away before finishes can be applied

I hadn't thought of Magic Erasers for that purpose!  I always have plenty of those on-hand because of how much better they are than anything else for cleaning my bathtub and sinks.  Working on an F-100 right now that's going to be partially NMF, so I'll definitely have to give this a try!

Hey, Stikpusher!

    You didn't didja? Oh my, That mixing of Comet with Chlorine, with Windex with Ammonia ! Must've scary bad!

So with the wife out of town, this was a good day to try the comet paste in the kitchen sink instead of a hot garage!  Having never done this before, I have no benchmark. But after paste and battery toothbrush I didn't seem to notice a big change in sheen of plastic. I then made the paste a bit thicker and used the ole fingers On the sides and bottom. I think that made a difference. 

guessing it's not going to be completely dull / flat ?  Seems to still reflect a little light but not nearly as shiny as before. 

Well!

       The thing is, using COMET the finish will not be totally dull. It will be more like you experienced. Like a strong Semi-Gloss with emphasis on Gloss. The point is it will give your surface "Tooth" on which the paint will adhere to with tenacity. In all the years I built Revell's Ships, I never had one peel, using Scotch magic mending tape as masking.

I have used neither on my models, so this is just me thinking out loud, but if I remember correctly, Comet/Ajax are alkaline cleaners (some or all with bleach) and Bar Keeper's Friend is an acidic cleaner, so NO BLEACH. We use that extensively in our home for cleaning sinks/etc., and it's quite good with stainless surfaces and the glass cooktop. Might be a good non-bleach alternative for models!