I would try removing the paint with a very mild paint thinner in a small area to see if the thinner affects the shell. If you can remove the paint, the 3 step Novus process works miracles....

Thanks, I've considered thinner but it seems to caustic. I wonder if wet sanding would be better. At the shop when they work with acrylics that are scratched they heat it up slowly and at first the plastic turns opaque white, then the scratches are gone. An armboard and a drumset are two different things though ( i guess). What's a mild paint thinner ? That sounds interesting, i could try it on the bottom of the bass drum.

http://ronkilber.tripod.com/acrylic/acrylic.htm

Take a look at the link... might be some ideas. Lots of airplanes have acrylic windows and because of the expense of replacement some pretty good cleaning and polishing systems have been created.

You might even stop by the local airport and see if you can find a mechanic who could point you at a shop or system that he (or she) uses.

Sounds like between the equipment you have available through your employment and some of the products available, you can definately bring those V-lites back to NEW!! (or close)

another awesome idea, once i get started i will post pictures of the restoration start to finish. i actually live about a mile from a small airport, so im gonna ask about that.

I was also given a 7 piece blue Vistalite that was painted black on the inside. I started resoring them with astounding (yet time consuming) results. First, you have to determine if a latex or oil-based paint was used. Mine were pained with a latex (water) based paint. You really shouldn't use ANY kind of solvent type paint stripper as it can cloud and/or damage the acrylic shells!

I used Motsenblocker's Lift Off #5 http://www.liftoffinc.com/product-latex-paint-remover.php with a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. You have to uses discresion with the Eraser because it is abrasive. After that I rinsed the shells well. After letting them dry over night, I got a spray called Gel Gloss which is made for acrylic shower installs and marble counter tops. It filled in little scratches well and made them shine as well as offering a little protectant. The stripper was about $8 a bottle and I used 2 bottles to do a 7 piece kit!! The Gel Gloss was about $10 and I used about 1/4 of the can so far. The project isn't very costly material-wise...time-wise on the other hand. That's another story. Someday I will post pics!! Good Luck!!

How does one determine what kind of "spray paint" (latex or lacquer or?) was used on the inside of my clear Vistalites? I just bought a set that was sprayed with black spray paint at some point in the past. They painted over the attaching hardware as well, so can someone suggest an easy way to clean off the paint on the screws/washers/bolts?

I used the Novus system on my vistalite Super Sensitive and it helped but there are still scratches and abrasions that won't come out. I'm considering wet sanding it but I don't want to destroy the finish. What grade of sandpaper should I use? I'm not experienced in sanding at all.