how to restore gloss finish on shadow trooper armor

[CaptDunn]

Hi all

I bought a complete set of shadow trooper armor from a 501st member that was stepping back from trooping. He sold me the armor at a reduced price because its not approvable in its current state. The plastic is in great condition with no cracks or chips but the armor is covered in scratches, blemishes, stains and discolorations due to years of trooping and display. The finish is also currently matte and not gloss. I'm not sure if the matte is from paint or wearing over the years. Someone on reddit recommended sanding instead of panting over the issue. I wanted to ask for insight here.

 

I can upload photos of the armor this weekend.  

[Darth Emphatic[CMD-DWM]]

I 100% agree on sanding. I had to do this for areas of my shadow stormtrooper years ago. Obviously, if it's been painted, then you'd need to strip that and see how the plastic, but since I was working with black ABS, sanding worked great. You want to sanding pads that essentially run up to like 12000 grit. Others may have recommendations for where to start, meaning you don't have to start at the lowest grit necessarily and work your way up. You may be able to start in the middle. What I would do is find a spot that you can sand the inside of the armor or a spare piece and go through stepping up the grit until you get to that gloss finish. I will also wax mine periodically with Maguire's. Worst case scenario is you can go the paint route in the end, but it can be tough to get it even. I had an auto body shop do a different set of armor pieces to get it right.  

[Blackwatch[CMD-DCA]]

ive done a lot of plastic model sanding wth Micromesh polish abrasives up to 12000 grit, starting around 6000. I used to polish plastic model airplane canopies to clear from whatever waviness the factory molded the plastic in. Followed with a proper plastic polish after the sanding the results are amazing. it does take work, you wwork it wet (to keep it cool and remove the slurry) and it takes time but its amazing when done.