Yellow and scratched windshield. Repair or replace?

Juanda

Joined
Feb 9, 2025
Messages
7
Age
29
Location
Spain-Italy
Bike
Honda ST1300
Hello

The windshield on the bike I bought is not great. There are no deep scratches but it's scratched all around. It's also yellowish.

This picture looks especially bad but driving at night and getting lights from the other drivers produces a similar effect.
1741555441929.png

The yellowish color might be hard to notice indoors, in a dark space, and in the distance but I guarantee you it's yellowish.
1741555508818.png

Do you think the windshield is beyond salvation? I have never restored a windshield but I've been reading a bit and watching videos to get an overall idea. It'd be a matter of polishing and waxing, right?
I don't have the tools but I found some cheap ones online.

On the other hand, I also could just buy a replacement. It's a little more expensive than the cheap tools but maybe it's worth it. I wouldn't get the tool and the experience from the process though.

What do you recommend? I like doing things myself but I don't know how hard is it to get a good result. If you recommend doing it myself, could you share some tips? I would of course take it from the bike to work on a more comfortable surface. What products should I apply?

Thanks in advance.
 
I'd start with the simple Novus Plastic Polish kit and some elbow grease. You may want to remove the windscreen from the bike for better access around the mounts. You'll need this polish or comparable even if you buy a power polisher, but you can start doing it the old fashioned way and see if you get the results you're looking for before spending the money on the power tool.


My friends and I have been using this for years on our bike's plastics, helmet visors (go gently on them!), plastic headlights, etc.

Works great and a little goes a long way.
 
I tried one of those headlight polishing kits - I assume that is the kind of thing you will be trying out. My experience was yes, it removed the yellow and made the headlight plastic look new. BUT, a close examination showed there were fine scratches left on the plastic (probably from being stuck out front when the car was moving at 60 mph+ over many years time). It worked fine for the headlight - I was not looking through it, but for a windshield I would think you might see some distortion or halos at night, especially if you have to look through it when looking to the side or down. I am one of those guys who looks through my 'shield, so I doubt polishing the whole thing would work for me.

Besides, what is your time worth? Wouldn't you rather be riding (if you can afford a new 'sheild)?
 
The Novus is a good product and it has worked wonders on some other applications for me. However, in my case, it didn't do much to improve my ST1300 windscreen. The surface of mine seems to be delaminating. Its almost as if Honda coated it and/or made it with some sort of top layer. I'll be replacing it with something new this year.
 
Plastix by Maguires is also good for maintaining and cleaning a good windshield and your helmet visor. Not as expensive as Novus as well.
 
Terry500 said:
The Novus is a good product and it has worked wonders on some other applications for me. However, in my case, it didn't do much to improve my ST1300 windscreen. The surface of mine seems to be delaminating. Its almost as if Honda coated it and/or made it with some sort of top layer. I'll be replacing it with something new this year.
Click to expand...

Not sure about the 1300 but the 1100 Honda shield did indeed have a coating layer on the shield.
 
Ron said:
Not sure about the 1300 but the 1100 Honda shield did indeed have a coating layer on the shield.
Click to expand...
Yes, the 1300 shield has a "coating" on it. It is quite durable and I couldnt imagine hand polishing through the coating ( the entire screen). While you can remove the coating with a machine in an hour or so, it would take a week by hand. I have used a machine to polish out a deep scratch in mine and once you go through the coating in any one spot, you have to do the whole screen to hide the "burn-through" spot. I got mine looking like new but , unfortunately, once that coating is gone, the screen must be polished often to keep it looking new (once the coating is gone the plastic will haze over easily). With a machine, its not a huge issue, but I wouldnt want to hand polish 2 or 3 times a season. I read up once about this coating and if I remember right, it is part of the plastic curing process. All your vehicle headlamps have this film and the sellers of headlight refinishing kits dont tell you that once you polish your car headlamps, you have to polish them regularly as they haze over quickly, unless you re-apply a coating, which I believe they now have. To be honest, I havent paid any attention to the plastic polishing systems in years but seem to remember hearing that there are now coatings that one can apply. I have a factory screen that looks like new that I havent used in a few years and any screen I have used since then, I have avoided trying to repair/polish larger blemishes because of this coating and fear of burning through it... :twocents1:
 
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I would install a new National Cycle VStream hard coated windshield.

N20001 Replacement Screen for Honda® ST1300

National Cycle's VStream® Windscreens have turned the motorcycle windscreen world upside down -- literally! The patented, unique inverted "V" profile creates a quiet and comfortable riding experience unequalled by any windscreen on the market.
www.nationalcycle.com www.nationalcycle.com
 
Thank you all for your comments. It seems replacing the windshield is the best approach since I wouldn't be able to get an optimal result by myself. Maybe buy a new one and have some fun with the old one in case I want to learn the process.

Whisperquiet said:
I would install a new National Cycle VStream hard coated windshield.

N20001 Replacement Screen for Honda® ST1300

National Cycle's VStream® Windscreens have turned the motorcycle windscreen world upside down -- literally! The patented, unique inverted "V" profile creates a quiet and comfortable riding experience unequalled by any windscreen on the market.
www.nationalcycle.com www.nationalcycle.com
Click to expand...
This one looks tough. Pricey but I guess that most of the good things are. I checked it and they also have European distributors.
 
Juanda said:
Thank you all for your comments. It seems replacing the windshield is the best approach since I wouldn't be able to get an optimal result by myself. Maybe buy a new one and have some fun with the old one in case I want to learn the process.


This one looks tough. Pricey but I guess that most of the good things are. I checked it and they also have European distributors.
Click to expand...
Check the for sale section on this forum. You never know
 
Turtle wax 'Polishing Compound'. I remove windshield, place on towels, and the compound removes the yellow film. I need to try using it with a low speed buffer.
 
Sadlsor said:
Maybe so, but don't overlook the excuse, I mean, "opportunity" to buy MORE TOOLS.
That's gotta be worth something too, doesn't it?
Click to expand...
Of course it means a lot. BUT, this is a motorcycle forum, not a tool forum. On the latter, I'd push for buying a big, 7" Milwaukee cord powered buffer/grinder with a full complement of buffing wheels (and abrasive cutoff wheels, just in case....) but here, I'd push for hopping on the bike and going for a ride.
 
Juanda said:
Thank you all for your comments. It seems replacing the windshield is the best approach since I wouldn't be able to get an optimal result by myself. Maybe buy a new one and have some fun with the old one in case I want to learn the process.


This one looks tough. Pricey but I guess that most of the good things are. I checked it and they also have European distributors.
Click to expand...
Or buy one from UK
https://www.st1300-accessories.co.uk/windscreens
 
I'd try some toothpaste or polish made for windshields. Toothpaste might be good. Use a small buffing pad and see what it does. You haven't lost anything. It could be the yellow is only on the surface.

Chris
 
My ST-1300 came to me last year with an aftermarket windshield already on it.
People say it's better than the factory original one. I wouldn't know, I've never sat on any other ST-1300 except this one.
If you want to know exactly what it is, I'll post a pic or two later.
 
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