Refurbishing tool handles

[Jeff Ivers]

Some time back I acquired a Mother's headlight rejuvenator kit that includes polish, various grits of very fine sandpaper and this foam ball.

I have discovered it is excellent for refurbishing plastic handles on tools.
Before:


Another example - this one was in worse shape, but I forgot to take a before pic.

 

[Beerhippie]

Brilliant!

Use a plastic polishing kit to polish... plastic!

 

[RTM]

The real question is, while they stay nice and pretty over time?

 

[Beerhippie]

The real question is, while they stay nice and pretty over time?

Did they the first time around?

 

[RTM]

Did they the first time around?

Some do, others go sideways quickly again after polishing.

 

[Professor Gascan]

I watched a video where a guy sprayed a set of craftsman vomit scented handles with clearcoat to refurbish and contain the smell. Seemed like a good idea but I'm not sure how that would hold up to heavy use.

 

[PCustoms]

The real question is, how do they smell?

FIFY

 

[woody 73]

I have so many old screwdrivers that could stand a good cleaning, but alas I am so afraid of removing any original paint or makers marks that I leave them alone. I picked up two very nice old Ohio makers marked screwdrivers, but because they are as rare as hens' teeth, (in my area) I leave them alone.

The last time I tried to remove painter's paint, at least I picked a bad screwdriver as a test run and that chemical concoction, just melted off the handle, and left a gooey mess to clean up. That's right kids use you junk first as a test run.

 

[Jeff Ivers]

In response to the above negativity, please note the polishing did not harm the Ace logo in the pic. I bought the kit to rejuvenate headlights and they still looked great a couple of years later when I sold the car. Don't know how it will last on screwdriver handles, but I would think they could re-polished again. I had always used a buffer and the appropriate plastic rouge in the past and was excited when I found out how much gentler that foam ball is than a buffing wheel.

 

[PCustoms]

In response to the above negativity,

Where?

 

[RTM]

FIFY

Sorry, didn’t want anyone to lose their dinner over my comment, which actually classified the smell.

Don't know how it will last on screwdriver handles, but I would think they could re-polished again.

Please keep us updated. If it goes a year or more, there might be interest from this side. I’ve spent that kind of money on other things that didn’t work as well on headlights, and I could hide the plastic handle work easily.

 

[KnurledNut]

Great job on the screwdriver handles Jeff.
I restored a torque wrench last year which included some plastic rejuvenation.

Here’s a before and after: