How to rejuvenate upvc frames?

[Merlin5]

I've washed down and sanded the old paint on all the masonry fascias, window sills and upright masonry posts around my front upvc windows and will be filling some cracks in the sill and then painting the masonry with white Sandtex. The white upvc window frames are 8 years old and looking a bit dull now, and they'll look even more dull against fresh white paint. A faint mottling effect has also developed which doesn't show in my photos. Can I get them looking whiter again using a vinegar solution, or is there a good product I can buy to get them sparkling?

This is how they look against some fresh white caulk that I put on today (badly). They're not terrible looking, they're 'ok' but you can see the contrast.

 

[johnny2007]

I used upvc solvent cleaner before and the results are good, however a upvc fitter told me to use Cif cream neat and rub it in a circular motion, then whipe clean with a damp cloth.
It works perfectly.

 

[johnny2007]

https://www.cifclean.co.uk/products/catalog/cif-cream-original-multi-purpose-cleaner-500-ml.html

 

[Merlin5]

I used upvc solvent cleaner before and the results are good, however a upvc fitter told me to use Cif cream neat and rub it in a circular motion, then whipe clean with a damp cloth.
It works perfectly.

Awesome, thanks. I've got a bottle of Cif cream. My first thought is that Cif is mildly abrasive and might leave light scratching but I guess not or nothing noticeable. Will try that tomorrow!

 

[Mottie]

I’ve noticed our sills are getting dirty outside our bathroom window. As a test, I got a dab of toothpaste on my finger and give it a little swirl and it came up perfect. Like Cif, toothpaste is mildly abrasive too so I’ll try Cif.

 

[JohnD]

Awesome, thanks. I've got a bottle of Cif cream. My first thought is that Cif is mildly abrasive and might leave light scratching but I guess not or nothing noticeable. Will try that tomorrow!

Wash the dirt off first, as there may be grit that will scratch more than the CIF does. The more of the gloss you grind away, the more it will hold dirt.

I've found you can get them pretty clean using warm water with a squirt of car shampoo, and a large, soft brush such as you might use with a dustpan. And rinse off with plenty of water.

 

[Merlin5]

Wash the dirt off first, as there may be grit that will scratch more than the CIF does. The more of the gloss you grind away, the more it will hold dirt.

I've found you can get them pretty clean using warm water with a squirt of car shampoo, and a large, soft brush such as you might use with a dustpan. And rinse off with plenty of water.

Yes, I gave them all a basic wash down. Hmm, I don't want to remove gloss. I'll try your suggestion first with some car shampoo. If it looks much the same then I'll try the Cif.

 

[opps]

Yes, I gave them all a basic wash down. Hmm, I don't want to remove gloss. I'll try your suggestion first with some car shampoo. If it looks much the same then I'll try the Cif.

Polishing is a process of sanding with ever finer abrasives until you reach a gloss. I would expect that finishing up with T-cut would probably give you a nice gloss. You might need to polish it with a machine though.

 

[johnny2007]

They're upvc windows, not supercars!
A clean up with cif will make them sparkling white to anyone looking at them.
Then of course if you're going to inspect them with a microscope...

 

[crank39]

,

 

[HERTS P&D]

What does Crank39 recommend??

Andy

 

[johnny2007]

What does Crank39 recommend??

Andy

Comma

 

[Merlin5]

Lol@ Comma.

Sorry chaps, was going to start cleaning the upvc, but actually, since we've had rain I wanted to catch up on the masonry painting preparation so I've just been continuing caulking some gaps around the base of the frames where they meet the stone sills. I might start cleaning the upvc tomorrow.

 

[crank39]

I would use Cif but watered down slightly, its as good as anything really and won't scratch heavily if at all, you can use T-Cut also either after Cif or on its own, after both though I would use cheap car polish to bring back a bit more shine and it helps remove the T-Cut residue. Don't worry about scratches using Cif, you can polish a gouge out of pvc starting with as low as 80 grit right upto 1500, no need to go higher than 1500, with a polish after it'll look grand

 

[Merlin5]

I would use Cif but watered down slightly, its as good as anything really and won't scratch heavily if at all, you can use T-Cut also either after Cif or on its own, after both though I would use cheap car polish to bring back a bit more shine and it helps remove the T-Cut residue. Don't worry about scratches using Cif, you can polish a gouge out of pvc starting with as low as 80 grit right upto 1500, no need to go higher than 1500, with a polish after it'll look grand

Thanks crank. I found a big bottle of autoglym polish I could use.