cleaning windshield washer bottle

[SteveJ]

I am trying the oxygen bleaching now. Before I did that, I removed some of the grime inside the bottle with coffee grounds. I'll do my writeup with plenty of pictures when I'm done.

[TomoHawk]

I think dry walnut shells would do a better job than coffee grounds in water. The idea with that is to slightly smooth or polish the inside surface. You could make the plastic "clear" by just filling it water, but as soon as it dries, it will show the aging again.

[240260280z]

Hmmmm, hot radiator hose, water and coffee.... could make a nice brew in the washer bottle when driving.... use the mesh from the pvc as a French press then hook up vinyl hoses to squirt it into a coffee cup in the cabin....who needs Tim Horton drive-thrus anymore?

[TomoHawk]

I always thought the fog lamp switch on the 240Zs looked like a hot water spigot...

I suppose you'll have us broiling chickens on the intake manifold while driving home from work too?

Edited February 17, 2013 by TomoHawk

[grannyknot]

Canadian military does that all the time on winter manuvers, the meals come in foil packets so they just slap them on the valve cover of any idling truck.

[TomoHawk]

I once saw an infomercial for a pneumatic car lift that you hook up to the exhaust pipe.

[SteveJ]

Well, I think it worked some. I think I needed more H2O2 and sunlight. The Sun OXYgen sure produced a lot of bubbles. The washer bottle kept filling up with air.

[TomoHawk]

I am also a member on the Meguiar's website, so I posted this question, hoping one of their experts could recommend something. I did get a reply from a "detailing expert" who simply just says that you can't polish it like a headlight lens, so "just buy a new one." I wasn't aware the coolant reservoir was relate to the headlight lens.

40-year-old new plastic bottles?

[TomoHawk]

OK, so it's SO simple. The "experts" say you should just go buy a new one, so.....

All you need is a time machine, go back to the 1970s, and get yourself a NEW bottle!

[TomoHawk]

I looked into this some and did some thinking about the thing too. Basically what you have is an oxidized plastic surface; sort of like rusted metal. By using the peroxide & oxy mixture, you are basically removing the layer of oxidized plastic, and that makes the thickness of the reservoir wall thinner. Sure it might look like new, but what do you do the next time it starts to look milky or opaque? You use more of the solution to 'melt off' the oxidized stuff, and the plastic gets thinner yet. Eventually you will have holes in it.

So what you really need is a way to convert the stuff on the inside surface back to a transparent or translucent plastic- essentially restoring it to a like-new condition. Either a restoration product or a transparent coating is needed here, not an "acid." But without knowing exactly what kind of plastic it is, you are probably doing it more harm than good. Even my polymer Chemist friends can't suggest anything but to 'polish off' the stuff to get back to the original plastic.

[SteveJ]

Or you can shell out the money to get a new one from Banzai Motorworks.

On my budget, I'll try the bleaching.

[ollie]

I used diluted Simple Green then soaked it in 403 Aerospace protectant. Worked great, still a bit yellowed but I like the patina, same with the voltage regulator cover.