Peter is correct – The £5k was against an invoice from them for replacing many hoses on the plane that they said were mandated to be replaced, whereas in fact the regulations mandated only that they be inspected and renewed as necessary (‘IRAN’) and didn’t need replacing. They also lost an old propellor log book from the plane, damaged and badly glued a piece of internal furniture and took far too long to do some important necessary work on the plane – doing a hinge repair. They were very expensive and seemed unused to working on anything smaller than a Learjet. They were the first shop that I used and I haven’t been back.
I have since used Graham Corbin at Sandtoft (E-Plane Limited) and have been very pleased.
I have tried a search on the forum but could find no relevant thread. Does any one know where I can get my Plexiglass screen re-polished to get it back to “new”? there is no damage as such just a myriad of fine scratches.
Thanks
@ErlendV, I have a tin of the same product and have used it to polish out local defects, but not for the entire window yet. On very small defects I just rub it with a bare fingertip; for bigger areas, I would recommend a pad of felt or soft leather.
Another product with similar action is a toothpaste, but choose a highly abrasive one, otherwise it will take too long.
If you are afraid to take it to your windows right away, just try it on a scrap piece of plexiglass, maybe even scratch it deliberately and try to polish the scratches out.
A word of caution here: nothing easier than ruining a windscreen by polishing it to the point of creating optical distortion. Tread very very lightly and make frequent checks by looking through from inside.
Thank you everyone, much appreciated. However I am seeking someone or some company that can do this professionally so to speak as I am unable to do it myself because of temporary (a few months) incapacity.
Thanks
Personally, if it is old and grazed due to age, and especially if it is yellowed, I would chuck it out and fit a new one. Decent windows are great in a plane. You can get decent photos, for a start.
You just need somebody who is not a total monkey to fit the new one, because they come oversize and need to be trimmed. And sometimes corrosion is discovered… a can of worms, but you will be glad it was found. And it is a chance to properly seal the joint, using Sikaflex 295 – here.
Generally replacing a windshield in common types is less costly and more pleasing than polishing back. If you choose to have it polished, I highly recommend a product called “Micro Mesh”. It’s progressively finer sand paper to 12,000 grit if I remember. I bought a kit about 30 years ago, and still use it occasionally. Buy the kit, hire an eager person to put in the elbow grease. It’s pretty hard to get wrong with that kit, though supervision is good!
