Pledge polish for helmet visors?

way back in the 70's when I was going for my pilots license, the idea of pledge polish was turned on to me by an oldtimer who owned a couple of the planes. He said not only will it cut the bug goo, but will let the water bead much easier off the canopy. Thats when I started using it on my helmets and shields, and I preach the stuff. You guys buying plexus, you must be rich fuckers!

Gee, I learned something here. I use Cee Bailey aircraft plexiglas polish to shine up the surface of my face shields. You guys are suggesting I finish it with Pledge to protect it and bead water better? Brilliant. And you're also saying it works for spooning new tires?! Jeepers, where have I been all these years.

I'll get some today!

The cheapest grade of walmart furniture polish works too. If it smells of lemons, the wasps like it, along with all the bug guts sticking to the windward surfaces. Bikes are mobile entomology sampling systems, riding around with their own ecosystems stuck to them.

I think I'll have to try this... does it work to reduce fog on the inside of the visor too?

I've been doing some searching for Pledge vs Plexus and "best faceshield cleaner polish" and I'm still wondering if Plexus has any advantage over Pledge. Still looking for information on other cleaner/polishes too.

I did find this contribution by XLonDL650 at the Stromtroopers Forum:

" Plexus vs Lemon Pledge Ingredient Comparison
I recently purchased a new Lexan winshield for my Strom(V-Stream), and noticed a warning label to not use alcohol or ammonia based cleaner on it. I already knew this, but wondered if my old cleaner(Lemon Pledge) would be suitable for Lexan. So, I did some internet research to try to determine the active chemical ingredients in both Plexus and Lemon Pledge for comparison.

Lemon Pledge Ingredients:

Naphtha, petroleum, light alkylate 5%-10%
Polydimethylsiloxanes (Silicon oil) 5%-10%
Water 70%-85%
Butane 1% -5%
Isobutane 1% - 5%
Propane 1% - 5%


Source: Consumer Product Information Database

Silcon based cleaners(silicon oil) are said to be O.K. for Lexan, but not alcohol or ammonia-based cleansers. At this point I was not sure whether any of these ingredients contained alcohol or ammonia, or were safe for Lexan—until I compared them to those chemicals found in Plexus.

Plexus ingredients:
Alipathic petroleum distillates 23%
Isobutane 12%
Propane 3 %

Source: Plexus Plastic Cleaner MSDS Page 1 of 3 Material Safety Data Sheet

I think the rest is water, just like lemon pledge. Another Pledge similarity is listed Under “Appearance and Odor”. It states, “White/Off White creamy emulsion with Lemon Odor in an Aerosol can.”

However, there are those “Alipathic petroleum distillates” listed for Plexus in this MSDS, but I believe I found what those are in another MSDS listing for Plexus :

Solvent Naptha(Petroleum) light Aliphatic, 23 % - also found in Pledge(5%-10% Naptha/Petroleum & 5%-10% Silicon Oil)

In terms of cost, Plexus can go for $16 aerosol can, while Lemon Pledge is about $5 -$7 can.

Now I’m not going to claim that Lemon Pledge and Plexus are exactly the same, but they do look similar enough to me to risk using Lemon Pledge on my new National V-Stream Lexan windscreen.

Anyone else is free to disagree, but I'm beginning to think they are quite similar."
http://www.stromtrooper.com/general...us-vs-lemon-pledge-ingredient-comparison.html

I started out using Plexus, then found Pledge worked pretty good for a lot less money, but now I put on an application of car wax every month or so. I've been using turtle wax - it was on sale at the time and the tin is about large enough to last four lifetimes.

Bugs and road grime wipe off after a bit of a soak in hot water, no need for soap or detergents.

.. And has the added side effect of making you morbidly obese and lowering your I.Q.

Just say "NO" to cheep walmart knock-offs.

For the Aussies, Mr Sheen or any "No Name"furniture polish does the trick.
Good for cleaning your bike too.
Mind you,if you ever need any of your bikes panels painted, the painter will curse you.

I'm almost to the point of buying it by the case. So far I've used it on: my helmet, windscreen, granite countertops, leather couches, fridge and stove surfaces, my road bike (awesome for this), inside my RV and oh yeah, I actually dust with it too.

I use Meguiars or Mothers detail spray on my visors and windshield (as well as the whole bike).
Armour All low sheen type works very well also.

Works well on plastic and metal. If your panniers need a cleaning, pledge works great.

Well, I like Plexus better then Pledge on clear windscreens at least.
Just a little of Plexus goes a long way and it makes my windscreens look like new.
Plexus cleans up much easer and faster then Pledge.
I bought a can of Plexus 4 years ago.
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I ride 2 or 3 times a week. I clean the windscreen on my Helmet before every ride. The windscreen on the bike is cleaned at least once a week
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For removing bugs, I use Windex without ammonia and then polish the screen with Plexus.
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For on the road: I carry a 2 oz spray bottle of Windex for cleaning. For polishing the screen I use a 2 oz bottle of Scott’s Anti-Fog/ Cleaner. Scotts’s works nearly as well as Plexus, but is not as easy to clean up.

Except make sure that the oily film is wiped off good for forward visibility. If not, then Pledge can really create a glare problem when landing at night in the rain with the approach / runway lights turned up! Don't seem to get that with Plexus. Good for day flying though, but watch for bees after the canopy is closed! :eek1

This is news to me. How does it work for mx goggles in dusty conditions?

This

I've always been a tightwad on shields so I use nothing on them but soap and water. I take them off and wash them using dish soap and water, I lather the lense up and let it soak a bit, then wash off. I've also used folded paper towels soaked with window cleaner too, to soak off the dried bugs. Otherwise the bugs remain on them until I do wash them. Seems most any rubbing of any sort has cause swirls when I've done so in the past.

I've only bought one new shield for a helmet in the past 15 years or so, never needing new ones.

I do a similar plan with goggles, but use tear offs on the lense, since they're dirt cheap. I've replaced two lenses in about 12 years, using the tear off plan. The leses eventually get scuffed by dust that gets under the tear off.

That's the way I do it.

Paper towels will scratch plexi when dry. I have a cotton t shirt that I cut up in my mud room/gear area that gets used, into the washing machine then back again.

I've used nothing but water and gas station paper towels on my shields for the past few years. If they're scratching the shield, I sure can't see it.

But to be on topic, I've used Pledge on my bikes in the past. Works great.

Jamie

Dry towels will scratch. If so then wet should still be able to. Gas station paper towels and toilet paper are like John Wayne, rough and tough and dont take shit off of no one..... cant imagine them being great for cleaning a visor!

That's why I use the Vanilla scented stuff... No Bees!