[Boatanchors] Hallicrafters S-meter face refinishing?

[fkamp at comcast.net]

Dave Maples wrote:
> 
> All: I have a Hallicrafters SX-99 receiver that I have done some basic
> reconditioning on (restrung the dial cord, etc.) to put up for sale.  It was
> given to me by another fellow in the area that didn't have any time for it.
> At some point in its past someone apparently tried to clean the meter face
> with something that wound up making the face somewhat translucent.  It
> doesn't appear discolored, just "rough" like someone took some fine-grit
> sandpaper to it.  I imagine the surface was attacked by the cleaning
> solution.
> 
> Is there any way to either buff out the plastic surface with an emery cloth,
> or some other method, to make the plastic transparent again?
> 
> I'm not aware of any such method, but hope springs eternal...
> 

Dave,

I had a similar clouding of the plastic front  cover to an old tube type
Zenith AM/FM radio dial.

I was able to restore the covers transparency by polishing with
toothpaste.  It required some serious hand polishing but the result was
very gratifying.

At one point in the process I was tempted to use my Dremel tool with
polishing wheel to speed the process.  That was a mistake.  The heat
generated by the tool only caused more damage.

The plastic was fairly soft.  Hand polishing worked well but took a long
time.

Regards,
Frank Kamp
K5DKZ