Photon 2 reborn

This week I managed to weasel back into my posession the first led light I ever owned.A green Photon 2.I bought it locally about a year and a half ago and carried it on my keychain everyday.It hit the pavement or gravel driveway or floor about once a day on the good days.Basically I put it through hell.I gave it to my Mom about 4 months ago and she wasn't any easier on the poor little Photon.Last week I traded back for an Asp Mirage I had.She never really liked the green light,so she was happy.Upon inspection,the led was beaten up badly.it was so scratched that looking down on the led the abrasions were so bad that I coudn't make out the "innards" of the led unlit.It still put out good light,but it started to bug me so I decided I would try to polish out the scratches.I make orthodontic appliances for a living,so alot of my work is polishing acrylic.I began with a loose muslin buff loaded with tripoli compound.I used a fairly slow speed,and was pretty impressed with how all but the deepest scratches came right out.I followed up with a loose muslin buff loaded with a white stick compound called Fabulustre on low speed.I finished with an ultrafine paste called Creme Polish on muslin wheel-low speed.The result was way better than I had anticipated.The led came out crystal clear except for a couple of the deepest dings,and they were minimized greatly.If I wanted to go back and repeat the process starting with a coarser compound,I believe I could bring it back to new condition-even the deeper dings.The whole process took about a minute and a half,and now my sentimental favorite light is back up to spec.So if you try this at home remember:
- low speed
-use a separate buffing wheel for each grit of compound you use
- use light pressure
-clean off the polishing compound from the led as you move to the next finer grit.
troy

Try "Wonder-Bar" (if you can find it) instead of Fabuluster. Gives a finer polish and less likely to overheat the plastic.

I use 800 or 1000 grit diamond "sandpaper" if there are deep scratches followed by the Wonder Bar, at fairly high speed with a light touch.