CM Block Grinder plastic eye shield clean-up

torqueman2002 · Nov 26, 2015

Feb. 04 2018 - Because of PhotoBucket's change in 3-rd party hosting, this thread has been edited to post pictures directly. Therefore, the first post has been split and continued begning in post #8 , below.

I thought a short thread on how I restore the plastic eye shields (PES) for Craftsman Block grinders might be of interest.

Note: I have not found OEM replacements. If you want/need to replace your eye shields, here's a link for non-OEM replacements.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showpost.php?p=3323239&postcount=465

These dirty and less than perfect PES are from a 1/2-HP m-397.19440 (APR 17, 1975 A).
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=311149

Continued in post #8, below.

Thanks for looking.

Comments and suggestions are encouraged.

gnpenning · Nov 27, 2015

Thanks for posting this. I have this same pair that needs a little cleaning.

torqueman2002 · Nov 27, 2015

gnpenning said:
Thanks for posting this. I have this same pair that needs a little cleaning.

You betcha'.

If you haven't already, be sure to visit the 'let's see your craftsman block grinders' thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=157794

drivesitfar · Nov 27, 2015

DOC: it was hard to tell they were even see through before you started. nice thread and thanks again for sharing some of your wisdom.

sector9 · Nov 27, 2015

This thread is quite timely for my current project. I have a pair I am trying to clean up now. I was wondering if anyone has taken a series of progressively increasing sandpaper grits to theirs to get rid of deeper defects? Mine are looking much better after being cleaned up with some toothpaste then Meguiar's PlastX plastic cleaner and polish, but there are still some deep marks on the inner side of the shield that I would be interested in removing if possible.

torqueman2002 · Nov 27, 2015

sector9 said:
This thread is quite timely for my current project. I have a pair I am trying to clean up now. I was wondering if anyone has taken a series of progressively increasing sandpaper grits to theirs to get rid of deeper defects? Mine are looking much better after being cleaned up with some toothpaste then Meguiar's PlastX plastic cleaner and polish, but there are still some deep marks on the inner side of the shield that I would be interested in removing if possible.

Nice close up. Good job on the lens.

I have those kind of scratches, as well.

Today, I used FLITZ on the RH PES above.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001447VB2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

It left slightly more scratches than the Cleaner/Wax.

FLITZ did, however, shine up the aluminum molding on the bench top.

The Cleaner/Wax was used after the FLITZ and the RH and LH PESs look about the same. Sorry, no pictures.

I wonder about using a headlight restorer product on the PES.

torqueman2002 · Nov 27, 2015

drivesitfar said:
DOC: it was hard to tell they were even see through before you started. nice thread and thanks again for sharing some of your wisdom.

Thanks for your kind support, as always. :thumbup:

torqueman2002 · Feb 5, 2018

Continued from post #1, above.

Below are pictures of the LH PES, after a rinse with warm water to remove the dust.

This is a pan of slightly used Simple Green for the next step of restoring the PES.

The next step uses a Cleaner /Wax, soft cloth, and brushes.

The cleaner/wax is applied and removed in back and forth motion in 1 direction, and that same direction on each side. This avoids circular and hatch patterns of fine scratching.

Continued on next post, below.

torqueman2002 · Feb 5, 2018

Continued from previous post, above.

The white and silver paint in the upper RH corner in the above picture is removed with as little force as possible.

Here is what is used to remove the paint in the next step - the dental pick (ask your dentist for some he/she's ready to discard) and plastic razor blade are very useful.

The Scotch Bright is used only on the portions of the lens that are not 'line of sight'.

The LH PES ready to be put into service; while it is not perfect, it is an improvement from the RH one that has not had the cleaner/wax & paint removal steps performed on them.

CM Block Grinder plastic eye shield clean-up

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