Lord be careful with a fool

[manoplata]

From Johnny Winters tune..

OK. Here's the new rub. I have used 600w Ipower lighting for a couple of grows and have been happy with production. This week I noticed tiny pieces of plastic on floor of room and even on a plant or two. 70+ year old eyes dont see like they used to. heheh

I waited for lamp to cool, removed from grow room and saw that I had failed to remove the thin inside plastic film covering which protected the textured aluminum reflector. I remember peeling off several; pieces of plastic from several other parts of reflector, but must not have done so on the important inside surface. It's the largest piece of the reflector system and WAS is still bright. I have tried cleaning, alcohol and light abrasive but only seems to have made plastic more stubborn. The dimples dont allow any scraping with plastic tool due to uneven surface. A few minutes with heat gun didn't help this either.

I have access to dremel tool and after reading info from google search, I used wire wheel and tried on a small less conspicuous area. Really feel like the fool again as that area lost some of the reflection ability that it had prior to the attempt. I think I could eventually use dremel with wire wheel attachment and bring surface down to bare metal dimples, and then repolish or repaint..., but here's my Q....

What would you do? I have tried contacting mfg. but the response from their support was only about when and where purchased. I disclosed there is no remaining warranty and I just want to repair, repaint with reflective material, or replace the one piece (of several pieces) on the reflector. Not replace the reflector and cool tube unit.

Anyone have ideas on clean up or repainting (what product) the dimpled aluminum reflector to bring out its best. Other than my FOOL move, the reflector is in outstanding condition. And you dont have to tell me the way to fix is not to have done this in the first place. manoplata

 

[Budz Lightyear]

Would freezing it shrink the plastic and allow for easier removl do you think maybe? Idk, just a thought.

 

[brickweeder]

I'd break out the plumbers torch, burn off the plastic (indoors of course), scrub it with detergent and a scothbrite pad, followed by a polishing wheel and some brasso. PITA for sure, but better than picking dimples...

 

[Hammerhead]

The inside polished hammered reflector is not meant to be cleaned with anything other than a moist cloth and air. I do this every 6 months. Using any chems(windex included) will dull it, been there did that. The easiest way to do a major clean is to remove, use a bucket and dunk the whole thing using a soft brush to dislodge any dust particles, use air to dry. If the burnt plastic has discolored the reflector it will not come off(tarnished). Some pics would def help. Depending on who made it you might find replacement reflectors..

If out of options you will have to brute force cleaning using harsh chems with a scrub brush to get off the tarnish or plastic. When it's all off you can try to repolish but this is unlikely to be as good as it was.

 

[brickweeder]

Its very easy to remove discoloration off of aluminum...aluminum is also extremely easy to polish up. You can use some 600/1000/1500 grit wet paper after burning off the plastic then hit with polish.

 

[manoplata]

Good ideas. Will see if I can correct this error in my ways.... Onward through the fog, Amigos

 

[Hammerhead]

Its very easy to remove discoloration off of aluminum...aluminum is also extremely easy to polish up. You can use some 600/1000/1500 grit wet paper after burning off the plastic then hit with polish.

Have you ever tried that on a reflector lol. I've ruined many using just water and the wrong cloth. Doing so will never bring back the same finish.

Good ideas. Will see if I can correct this error in my ways.... Onward through the fog, Amigos

Good luck, You can get off the burnt stuff but the efficiency of the reflector will not be the same. I'm sure you will notice the damage cleaning it caused. Good polished aluminum has a reflectivity of approximately 95%. Superior reflectors are optically modeled given a particular light source to bend the light around the back side of the lamp rather than reflect the light back into the lamp. Dust and dirt can reduce reflector efficiency by 15% or more, damage can reduce that to over 50%. For dust and light debris, simply blowing out the reflector may significantly improve the reflector efficiency. For finger prints and stubborn dirt, water and a micro fiber cloth may be used to polish aluminum reflectors. You can still use it but it will need to be replaced at some point.

 

[star crash]

manoplata Don’t feel bad I’ve done the same exact thing:

 

[Three Berries]

Maybe some lacquer thinner or other strong petroleum solvent. Or try covering with bacon grease and let it soak.