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Repairing Scratches in the 5200's Case?


Tempest

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My Atari 5200 has some scratches in the plastic and on the metal band of the case.  I'm not sure if there's much I can do about the metal, but I was wondering if it was possible to rub out the scratches in the plastic.  Any good methods? 

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I've never tried it but I've heard of people have good luck with other scratches in plastic using Novus restoration products? 

 

I do think the reason that Atari started using textured plastic on the later 4 port and 2 port units was likely for the issue with scratches and swirly being so easily seen, plus fingerprints on that piano like smooth finish. Having said that, I still really like the smooth glossy look of the earlier 5200 consoles and that is probably the main reason I'm partial for the 4-port units over the 2-port.

 

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If the plastic is smooth and not textured it's a good candidate for Novus plastic polish. As I recall it's sold in grades of 1, 2 and 3. You generally want to go with #2 for cosmetic scratches and scuffing. #1 is more of a cleaner and I've never had to use #3.

 

The convention of buffing out a scratch, at least in my experience, is to rub the cloth perpendicular to the scratch line in one direction, or back and forth. You're removing the surrounding plastic so the scratch 'disappears' but you're really just reducing the material down to the very bottom of the scratch.

 

I have tried a number of things like baking soda, toothpaste etc. but nothing seems to work as well with plastic as Novus does.

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17 hours ago, Bratwurst said:

If the plastic is smooth and not textured it's a good candidate for Novus plastic polish. As I recall it's sold in grades of 1, 2 and 3. You generally want to go with #2 for cosmetic scratches and scuffing. #1 is more of a cleaner and I've never had to use #3.

 

The convention of buffing out a scratch, at least in my experience, is to rub the cloth perpendicular to the scratch line in one direction, or back and forth. You're removing the surrounding plastic so the scratch 'disappears' but you're really just reducing the material down to the very bottom of the scratch.

 

I have tried a number of things like baking soda, toothpaste etc. but nothing seems to work as well with plastic as Novus does.

 

I have used the Novus 3-part kit at work on some clear plexi-glass, but that was years ago.  It worked well, but the scratch i needed to clean up wasn't very deep.

 

The concept is as Bratwurst described:

You start with #3 and go perpendicular across the deep scratch to wear it down, then you'll have that area being a scuffy area now, so you move to using #2 for lighter scratches and scuffs, and then you can use #1 for the final polish.

 

NOVUS Plastic Polish (novuspolish.com)

 

image.jpeg.00b06221693d8d1259038cc027694b7f.jpeg

 

 

14 hours ago, Tempest said:

Huh ok, I'll have to try that.

give it a try in an inconspicuous area, just in case :) 

 

14 hours ago, Tempest said:

 

Anything I can do about the metal?

Brasso or other metal polishes should do the trick - unless it is a deep scratch/gouge and then you may need to start with some really fine sandpapers doing a similar process in that you work the area to get rid of the scratch and then use finer and finer grades to work the area smooth again, and the use the Brasso type of polish for the final shine.

 

Again, maybe best to try on a practice piece.

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