Microscraches

[Nova]

Ok, so i have been cleaning my psp with this glasses cleaning cloth, thinking that all was fine... Well a couple of days ago, I took my psp outside, into the bright sun, and nearly burst into tears. I found there were thousands of small scratches on the console i had been treating like a newborn child since i'd got it a day previously. On closer inspection i found that my nwa walkman has these too, from the same cleaning cloth.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone knows how i can remove these scratches, I have heard toothpaste is good, but am not sure.

Also, please don';t say "Shoulda got a screen protector", 'cos i was off to get one the very next day.

Thanks in advance,

Paul.

[Richard]

Those glasses cleaning cloths are a nightmare. I was silly enough to do something similar on the LCD of my DH10P minidisc player a few months back. I miraculously restored it to a "as new" condition using Brasso. It now looks as good as the day I bought it - I had read about this solution but never believed it might work.

I strongly advise against toothpaste as this will likely increase the scratching.

I think the Brasso solution would be ok on the PSP, but for the NWA it is a lot bigger area to cover I think. I was very very careful when I did mine. I carefully put masking tape around the edges of the screen to avoid the brasso making contact with either the metal casing or entering the unit in any way.

I then took a tiny amount of Brasso on some kitchen towel (scottex or whatever you want to call it), and just tried with one corner first - you may want to do the same. Basically give it a good rub for around 5 mins in a circular fashion. A this point you will just have kind of white smearing. Wipe this off with the kitchen paper. Then clean with a couple of drops of water / dampened kitchen paper again and check the results. If this works give it a go on a larger area.

Edited April 12, 2006 by richyhu

[Guest Stuge]

Don`t use Toothpaste in any case as it will create more minor scratches (As said by richyhu)..Aslo Brasso is angood option b`cozi have aslo tried brasso on my E505 & got good results.

[MDX-400]

Don`t use Toothpaste in any case as it will create more minor scratches (As said by richyhu)..Aslo Brasso is angood option b`cozi have aslo tried brasso on my E505 & got good results.

Car or automotive waxes and polishes which are "safe for clear coats" (pretty much all of them today) are good ideas too. It will not do any damage and will remove minor scratching like you describe, to some degree. Also wax adds a tiny bit of protection as well.

If the scratches are really light/fine wax should be good enough, if they are a little worse I use a "cleaner wax" or polish first and then follow up with a coat of wax. It doesn't remove scratches entirely (particularly deeper ones) but it will make a night and day difference. It might not be as effective as some purpose-designed plastic scratch remover or other such solutions, but it is more gentle and generally has good results.

In the future, a good idea is to use those screen protector films on your devices, however. Also never use a dry cloth to clean anything that will be susceptible to scratching or have the scratches become annoying or noticeable. Always use a dampened cloth (using special tissue for "delicate surfaces" like Kimberly Clark's "Kimwipes" is best); use a small amount of soap to remove oily fingerprints, etc. Be very careful that water doesn't seep into "cracks", joints, or places where different parts meet or buttons are. Even then, some surface water even in button and joint areas is fine 99% of the time because you're just wiping it off in a second anyway. Dry with the same type of tissue or use a soft, clean cotton cloth or similar.

I always see people wiping displays of different devices with their hands, dry cloths, etc. and I just shudder at how they can do that. If I get anything like fingerprints on a display I leave them there and later clean as described above (unless it's been previously waxed, then I sometimes breathe on the plastic to create a fog and wipe with cotton from a shirt like a T-shirt). Wiping dry things (including your hands) across screens at any time makes things worse, not better.

[Nova]

Car or automotive waxes and polishes which are "safe for clear coats" (pretty much all of them today) are good ideas too. It will not do any damage and will remove minor scratching like you describe, to some degree. Also wax adds a tiny bit of protection as well.

If the scratches are really light/fine wax should be good enough, if they are a little worse I use a "cleaner wax" or polish first and then follow up with a coat of wax. It doesn't remove scratches entirely (particularly deeper ones) but it will make a night and day difference. It might not be as effective as some purpose-designed plastic scratch remover or other such solutions, but it is more gentle and generally has good results.

In the future, a good idea is to use those screen protector films on your devices, however. Also never use a dry cloth to clean anything that will be susceptible to scratching or have the scratches become annoying or noticeable. Always use a dampened cloth (using special tissue for "delicate surfaces" like Kimberly Clark's "Kimwipes" is best); use a small amount of soap to remove oily fingerprints, etc. Be very careful that water doesn't seep into "cracks", joints, or places where different parts meet or buttons are. Even then, some surface water even in button and joint areas is fine 99% of the time because you're just wiping it off in a second anyway. Dry with the same type of tissue or use a soft, clean cotton cloth or similar.

I always see people wiping displays of different devices with their hands, dry cloths, etc. and I just shudder at how they can do that. If I get anything like fingerprints on a display I leave them there and later clean as described above (unless it's been previously waxed, then I sometimes breathe on the plastic to create a fog and wipe with cotton from a shirt like a T-shirt). Wiping dry things (including your hands) across screens at any time makes things worse, not better.

Now this sounds like a good idea. I have already bought a screen protector and just wanted to remove the scratches from the console before application.

Just a few questions:

Does this have a chance of marking the console at all?

What should i use to apply the wax?

Any certain direction i should be applying the wax, (circular motions, left and right, etc)?

Thanks, this sounds like my trump card.