I guess your boat is trailerable? What kind of lights are you talking about,
navigation, courtesy, etc.? If this appears no matter what, you might be
seeing "blooming" where additives in vinyl plastics come to the surface. I
kinda doubt the lenses are made of PVC though, although that's all I can
imagine. UV degradation wouldn't polish off, so you've got some sort of
contamination on the surface. Try spraying with a little Pam or silicone
spray after you clean them next time.

--


Keith
__
When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.
wrote in message
om...
I have long been curious as to why the polymer lights on my boat
become cloudy relatively fast, whether near the sea or not & whether
under cover or not. It polishes off fine with a bit of work, but I
never see this occur in other acrylic or lexan windows I have around
my place, and it is a minor annoyance. Is there one particular type
of clear polymer which clouds up like this? If left for months, they
will become only translucent until repolished.

"Keith" wrote in message ...
I guess your boat is trailerable?

Nope.

What kind of lights are you talking about,
navigation, courtesy, etc.?

See subject title.

If this appears no matter what, you might be
seeing "blooming" where additives in vinyl plastics come to the surface. I
kinda doubt the lenses are made of PVC though, although that's all I can
imagine. UV degradation wouldn't polish off, so you've got some sort of
contamination on the surface.

Whatever it is bonds to the surface as if it were part of it & must be
abrasively polished off.

Try spraying with a little Pam or silicone
spray after you clean them next time.

I have done this in the past (other more suitable product - silicone
sprays are awful to get on anything one cares about, especially where
long-term visual clarity is an issue, are impossible to remove from
plastics, and often cause degradation themselves; I would like to see
people who put them on things they sell mildly tortured; Pam is
vegoilarrgghh).

On 5 Oct 2004 07:03:40 -0700, wrote:

"Keith" wrote in message ...
I guess your boat is trailerable?

I have done this in the past (other more suitable product - silicone
sprays are awful to get on anything one cares about, especially where
long-term visual clarity is an issue, are impossible to remove from
plastics, and often cause degradation themselves; I would like to see
people who put them on things they sell mildly tortured; Pam is
vegoilarrgghh).

Hi,

Try taping over part of one of them with foil tape, and part of
another with foil taped loosely at the edges. This will give some idea
of whether it's related to light or some reaction with the air.

If it's UV degradation then you might be able to get a clear coating
that blocks UV.

cheers,
Pete.

wrote in message
om...
"Keith" wrote in message
...
- silicone
sprays are awful to get on anything one cares about, especially where
long-term visual clarity is an issue, are impossible to remove from
plastics, and often cause degradation themselves; I would like to see
people who put them on things they sell mildly tortured; Pam is
vegoilarrgghh).

Quite right!
Silicon is virtually impossable to remove.

Put a drop of the stuff of a GRP mould.... Leave for 10 mins....
Clean it off and repolish the mould.
You will see a blemish where the silicon was on every component from that
mould... for years!

A portlight is a porthole designed to let in light ...from the sun (or a
curious neighbor's flashlight). It's not a light fixture.

Brian D



"Keith" wrote in message
...
I guess your boat is trailerable? What kind of lights are you talking
about,
navigation, courtesy, etc.? If this appears no matter what, you might be
seeing "blooming" where additives in vinyl plastics come to the surface. I
kinda doubt the lenses are made of PVC though, although that's all I can
imagine. UV degradation wouldn't polish off, so you've got some sort of
contamination on the surface. Try spraying with a little Pam or silicone
spray after you clean them next time.

--


Keith
__
When the chips are down, the buffalo is empty.
wrote in message
om...
I have long been curious as to why the polymer lights on my boat
become cloudy relatively fast, whether near the sea or not & whether
under cover or not. It polishes off fine with a bit of work, but I
never see this occur in other acrylic or lexan windows I have around
my place, and it is a minor annoyance. Is there one particular type
of clear polymer which clouds up like this? If left for months, they
will become only translucent until repolished.

"Brian D" wrote in message news:UZLad.231664$D%.200791@attbi_s51...

A portlight is a porthole designed to let in light ...from the sun (or a
curious neighbor's flashlight). It's not a light fixture.

gaspOh, no! I though it's purpose was to let OUT light, so that it
stays relatively dim & romantic below...or to see OUT to starboard or
port while speed-using the head when singlehanding in crowded harbors
on autopilot. Now if it lets light IN, then I have to keep CLEANING
the main saloon, and have NO excuse for misreading charts, and will
get NERVOUS if I can see ALL those boats while trying to relieve
myself or cook, this is a very bad idea...NOW I know why they used
plastic that CLOUDS, thank God for UV degradation!