My first thoughts are:

1. Wet baking soda on a paper towel (cheap and easy, but messy)
2. Magic eraser (whatever the generic name of them is)

Both act as gentle abrasives and might help to clear up the scratches. If you're doing it to something with a texture to the plastic, it might smooth that out, but by the looks of it the usual texture of the mouse is very smooth, so it shouldn't change the look of it too much.

If it were mine, I would use medium to fine grit sandpaper (e.g. 600-800), work your way up to around 1000 grit, and then use Plast-x polish to buff it smooth. You would run the risk of removing that microsoft logo, though. It is probably best just to leave it how it is unless it bothers you to the extent that you can't stand to use it. Old brittle plastics aren't very forgiving when you start messing with them.

dkarguth wrote:

If it were mine, I would use medium to fine grit sandpaper (e.g. 600-800), work your way up to around 1000 grit, and then use Plast-x polish to buff it smooth. You would run the risk of removing that microsoft logo, though. It is probably best just to leave it how it is unless it bothers you to the extent that you can't stand to use it. Old brittle plastics aren't very forgiving when you start messing with them.

Nor are glossy finishes...very hard to get the same amount of gloss back.

BTW, some of the scratches on the mouse look like dirt from someone's sweaty hands, so a good wash of the plastic parts of the mouse (take out the electronics!) might already help.

The mouse from the left has a semi-glossy finish already but I agree the scratches are more noticeable because they're pretty dirty. Use a toothbrush and warm water+soap (or a soaked cloth) and give it a go. Probably retrobright them before (I'´'m in the process of doing the same for my serial mice(sp?)).

Thin scuffs can easily be removed with brass metal polish and some patience. Silver metal polish is ok'ish for glossy surfaces like plastic displays from vcr, stereo and stuff . They'll fog the area a bit so consider that beforehand. I've managed to fully recover unreadable cd/dvd discs this way, if patience (some discs can take 20+ minutes easily) it'll give better results than any of those spinning things (skip doctor-like).

many of the early microsoft mice (Microsoft Serial/InPort/Serial-PS2 dove bar shaped mice, Mouse Port Compatible Mouse, Intellimouse Serial-PS/2 Compatible, etc.) had that glossy finish, the later mice (later Mouse Port Compatible Mice, Intellimouse 1.1A, etc) had textured finishes

zerodiagonal wrote:

The mouse from the left has a semi-glossy finish already but I agree the scratches are more noticeable because they're pretty dirty. Use a toothbrush and warm water+soap (or a soaked cloth) and give it a go. Probably retrobright them before (I'´'m in the process of doing the same for my serial mice(sp?)).

Thin scuffs can easily be removed with brass metal polish and some patience. Silver metal polish is ok'ish for glossy surfaces like plastic displays from vcr, stereo and stuff . They'll fog the area a bit so consider that beforehand. I've managed to fully recover unreadable cd/dvd discs this way, if patience (some discs can take 20+ minutes easily) it'll give better results than any of those spinning things (skip doctor-like).

What's the best time to Retrobrite, I'm thinking of removing the top from my Mouse Port Compatible Mouse (which is next to the Serial-PS/2 Mouse) and putting it in a clear container full of hydrogen peroxide, it's the best shape out of all the Microsoft mice, despite the logo wearing off, there's barely any scratches on it. I have used Peroxide for retrobriting keycaps and other small things, i use the salon creme/plastic wrap for bigger things like the front panel of my ATX case, the keyboard's shell, etc. and btw, the Serial-PS/2 Mouse is not really that yellowed, it's cause of the yellowish light from the light bulbs that i have, i wish i found white LED bulbs but too bad Walmart doesn't have them

Ok, so I do auto detailing on the side, and this is what's worked for me.

1. make sure the surface is as clean as possible. use a magic eraser to remove any black marks.
2. Pick up a tube of Meguiar's Plast-x plastic polish, or pretty much any type of automotive paint polish. i'd avoid rough abrasives such as baking soda or toothpaste or compound - you want that glossy finish.
3. put a small dab on a microfiber towel and work the surface of the plastic. it will take some time but gradually it will start to get shiny and glossy.
4. i'd either retrobrite before or after this procedure, i'm leaning towards after.

i have the same mouse and this has worked for me.

do you have a before/after pic, dave?

I have a few of these mice and they are the best.

But, the buttons have lost their click point. Need to replace them.

Now I am puzzled... any idea how to open the mouse?

Some MS mice of this era had the screws under the rubber feet or a sticker.

on the dove bar mouse (inport, serial, serial-ps/2) it's under the sticker unfortunately.