What can you use to polish a plastic slab? 1 1

[CIII]

I have several slabs that need some polishing.  Does anyone have a particular method they have found works best?  Thanks in advance for suggestions.

[EagleRJO]

I think it may have been @Coinbuf who previously mentioned something that can be used to fix or polish coin slabs.

[Sandon]

   I have seen dealers use the same products that are used to make old automobile headlights less cloudy to lessen the effects of scuffs and scratches on certified holders. I have tried "Meguiar's PlastX (TM) Clear Plastic Cleaner & Polish" myself.  It helps a little, but nothing will remove serious scuffs or scratches that really interfere with viewing the coin.  So far as I know, using these products will not harm the coins in the holders, but I would not recommend their use on holders that are chipped to a point that the surrounding atmosphere can readily enter the holder.

[Coinbuf]

An old thread with Product information and some helpful tips.   NGC slabs are more difficult to work with than PCGS slabs are, different plastic.

Link

[ldhair]

PLASTX does a good job on minor stuff but it takes a bit of time to polish the slab by hand. 

[powermad5000]

Did they change the Meguiars Plastic Polish in the red bottle to PlastX? I have an old red bottle of Meguiars Plastic Polish (thats the name it says on it) and it works well if you use a small sized Mothers Powerball on it.

Further looking, the product I use has been changed to Meguiars M10 Mirror Glaze (registered trademark) Clear Plastic Polish. It is apparently different from PlastX.

I agree with @Sandon that any slab however that is severely scratched or is physically cracked or compromised should not be attempted to remove the scratches and should be sent to NGC for a reholder. It is worth paying the fee for a new slab than to risk damage to the coin by the having the holder fail. If your slabs are stored where they are easily scratched, I suggest a different storage method and if that is not applicable, then you should request scratch resistant holders when you submit or reholder your coins.

EDIT : For note, I used this plastic polish on the taillights of my classic car which if damaged are irreplaceable. The polish worked great. I did not get satisfactory results trying to do it by hand, though, which is why I recommended using the Mothers Powerball as that is what I used and it worked great.

Edited December 27, 2023 by powermad5000

[Coinbuf]

I would be very hesitant to use a tool that is meant for use on a power tool to polish automotive wheels, it would be very easy to catch the edge of a slab and sling that at high speed into a wall possibly injuring yourself or another and breaking the slab.   And if anyone takes the time to read the thread I linked you will see that it is quite possible to remove even very deep scratches with the use of sandpaper and the plastix product.   Naturally any slab that has so much damage that the integrity of the plastic slab has been compromised should be sent in for a reholder.

Edited December 27, 2023 by Coinbuf

[ldhair]

There are ways to use power tools but it's not worth the cost to set up for it. Some folks get in trouble using polishing wheels. The speed and the pressure create heat. It's not hard to melt plastic using the wrong process. I just hand polish. 

[powermad5000]

Well, I didn't sling my taillights across the room and wreck them. As I said they are irreplaceable.

Pressure is not how you use either the plastic polish, the powerball or the tool to accomplish the task anyway. I apologize if I have some other mad skills in life that allow me apparently to accomplish things that I want to accomplish.

To the OP, I retract my response to your question and please ignore my reply.