imlowr2

I'm trying find a method for polishing tail lights. The plastic appears dull and doesn't have that wet look anymore. I bought some Meguire's PlastX and used it with a microfiber towel. Unfortunately, I don't have a buffer and I heard it's easy to burn the lens if you don't know what your doing. It made some improvement but there is still some dullness to the lens. Any suggestions? I heard people sprayed them with clear and worked good.

Vetteman Jack

A little over 7 years ago, there was a vendor here that advertised he could refresh dull taillights. He didn't go into what all he used as obviously he wanted to generate business for himself, but here are a couple of excerpts from his post back then.

1) I can refresh your lights by wet sanding them, then clear coating them just like your car is for a nice, slick finish to your lights. This will allow you to easily maintain them, wax them, spray wax them, wash or wipe them off. It is basically the same process as my tint, but without the tinting step. Each light will be clear coated sprayed through a spray gun using high quality clear.

2) I can refresh your lights by wet sanding them, and then just buffing them out. This will be a quicker, less permanent process to keep your lights 100% factory but like new again. I can get out minor scratches, scuffs, haziness, and just normal wear from the lights.

If you try to do it yourself, hopefully you'll document what you did and post it up, with pics too.

Otherwise, it might be just as easy to buy a used set of taillight lenses that are in really good shape. They are not that expensive.

El original

Brasso (metal polish) and I heard even toothpaste will work. Apply in circular motion let dry and buff with soft cloth. Hey if it is safe on your teeth should be safe on your Corvette, lol.

LoneStarFRC

I agree with Jack. Wet sand evenly with 1000 - 1500 grit. Rinse and dry. Spray two or three coats of clear coat. Works great.

o2bnkc

Toothpaste really does work!

2FAS4UU

... Ed, I'd buff them out for you, but I don't know if you'd want to do the long drive !!........or, time for a Harbor Freight run and get a buffer !! Buy the digital readout one, the cheaper model is worthless !!...

Jistari

Not that a guy with a buffer isnt going to get them great....but really....its not rocket science.
I just use 3m light polish (liquid grey) but many many other things (even tooth paste...white...not gel) will work.
You're probably not using enough (about the size of a half dollar) and not rubbing enough. No you're not going to burn your lenses with a light polish/compound/swirlremover/tooth paste. If you used orange heavy compound...ya....you could dull them and you would then have to work longer with the light stuff to get them back....but thats only if you use something too abrasive.
Hell, I used to see my sons friends pull up in older cars....headlights so white it was hard to imagine any light getting out. Id just grab the 3m stuff, about three minutes later( each...by hand)....regular pad applicator that comes with auto wax...followed by towel to clean it off.....crystal clear. To them it was like a magic trick

msledge50

I use turtle ice wax it's like and oil wax,I been using it for years and it keeps them looking good I use it on all my lights and car.

Velocity_Vette

Don't knock using toothpaste. That's a classic trick for "reflector"-style headlights and works very well in removing dullness and yellowing from the surface as a good temporary fix. It may work on the C5's tail lights. I would remove them from the housings (that will allow you to detail the body under the lights), with a soft bristle brush apply toothpaste and work it in using small circular motions. I keep a spare cheap soft bristle toothbrush as a "tool" in my toolbox for this exact purpose.

In addition to removing dullness it leaves your car with a minty fresh clean feeling.

Fast one

Do you have a drill press? A buffing bonnet in a drill press is the easy way to buff tail lights because you can use both hands to hold the part. A slow rotating speed with minimal pressure greatly reduces the chance of melting the plastic. Sanding with 400-600 first then working down to 2000 will remove the SAE molded in letters that collect wax and make the surface look better by reducing any waves near the mounting screw holes. To finish polish the surface use Micro Gloss
http://www.skygeek.com/3mg8.html?utm...tScaAmBw8P8HAQ.

striper

Your teeth are enamel coated and they get polished when you brush them, use regular cheap white toothpaste. Toothpaste is an old trick for polishing paint on model cars and I can attest to that from winning Best Paint awards when I had the time to still be into that hobby. Best and cheapest fix!

imlowr2

So far I've used just about every car finish product I own including Meguiar's PlastX, Ultimate Polish, etc. I've seen an improvement but if you hold a light up to them, the plastic still has a dull haze. I haven't tried buffing, but have used elbow grease and microfiber towels. I've heard of using toothpaste and that may be my next try. Heck, while I'm at it I can brush my teeth as well. I'm curious if the previous owner sprayed the lens with some type of clear. Whenever I rub with the polishing compound, I'd get a grayish color similar to removing oxidation on a paint. I'll try the toothpaste and let you guys know how that worked. If not, I may drive to Darryl's (2fas4uu) and have it with the buffer. He can buy me lunch afterwards and we can both brush our teeth with the leftover toothpaste. LOL... Thanks to all for the great advice!

Black 02

I know you mention not having a polisher, but it's really what you need for the job. I would remove the lights, wet sand if necessary and then cut them with a product like menzerna fg400. After that, polish them out with your product of choice (I like Sonax Perfrct Finish) and seal them. To have good results, you really need a random orbit polisher. I love my Rupes but a Flex or PC would also work.

imlowr2

Thanks Black 02, I'll be going to Harbor Freight this afternoon, can anyone recommend a buffer that they sell? I don't have much knowledge with buffers such as speed setting and functions.

nsogiba

Polishing taillights is no different than polishing dull headlights. You would be very surprised how easily you can bring some life back into a lens that's pretty far gone. Wet sand using progressively finer paper until they are evenly hazy throughout. Then using a cutting pad on your random orbital, compound the lens until it begins to get nice and clear. You'll see an immediate improvement. Finally, on a soft pad, polish the lens using a liquid polish and wipe away the residue when done. I would remove the tail light lenses from the car to do this since they are recessed into the body.


I love my Porter Cable 7424XP. Picked it up on Amazon and it is worth every penny. Good, name brand quality random orbital polisher:




Compound:
Polish:

imlowr2

UPDATE: OK, I tried the toothpaste and it seemed to help but didn't give it polished wet look. It actually took some of the film and haze off. Someone mentioned not to use a gel type and it's hard to find the old fashioned toothpaste. I used Colgate, but it had the whitener added to it, so not sure if I'm using the correct toothpaste (sounds odd). I did use Meguiar's Ultimate Polish after and a coat of wax. Haven't taken pictures of it yet and I may try another toothpaste. Went to HF and they had a 6" orbital polisher for $18.00. I decided to pass on it since I don't know much about them nor what pads to use, etc. Might do more damage than good.

nsogiba

sometimes when you do a whole panel/headlight/taillight it can be tough to see the difference. Next time before you begin, tape a piece of painters tape over half the unit and refinish just one side. Then, when you peel away the tape, the product of your work is very easy to see.

chasboy

First please pardon me if I disagree with a few posters here including my friend Striper. I was a Metal Shop teacher at the Jr. High level, because of that our lathe/machine use was never of the 'heavy' variety and we did lots of stuff with acrylic plastic that we polished on buffing wheels. I also enjoy polishing stuff as a weird hobby. I've even put unfinished wood on a buffer...you'd be surprised.
First thing, your teeth are stronger than any paint finish or plastic that would be on our cars. It's very abrasive. Want to ruin your chrome or other polished faucet? Take some toothpaste and you will have nice scratches. It does work, including as mentioned already but as a rough cut like red compound.
I put Euro style tail lights on my Z. After about 6 months, one of them started to 'alligator'. A second one followed and a 'clear coat' slowly started peeling off. I tried many of the methods listed above and nothing could stop the peeling or even the surface. I even took the lights out, wet sanded up to 1500 grit and then put them on my buffing wheel, going as 'fine' as crocus (the greasy red stick) on an open flannel wheel. If you are careful and take your time, buffing/polishing plastic is easy and satisfying. That's how I finish my shift *****. I got the lights as shiny as the wheels could do, but they didn't match the untreated lights. I went to a body supply and he told me to use a UV protective clear. I bought UPol (?) clear from him, and yes, the job came out almost stock. Good enough for me to do all 4 lights so they matched. About a month or so later, the worst light started to peel again. I have a feeling it was the plastic itself, not the coating. I just was looking at a friend's car with the euro lights and I saw the same thing starting. It's a fine 'alligatoring' and then gets worse.
Unfortunately I don't have a solution, because none of mine worked. If I were to do it over again, I think I would polish the lights to the highest gloss I could get on the buffing wheels, call it a day and see how they weather.
Needless to say, I'm going to leave the stock lenses on my 'new' '02 I'm picking up Monday and go with LEDS and or sequentials to individualize(Its what we do!) my tail lights.
Hope I didn't bore or insult anyone, but having spent lots of time making scrap plastic look like jewelry with my students I figured my 2 cents is worth something.

mrlmd

I tried all those methods to restore the opaque yellowed headlight lenses of my 24 year old Chevy Suburban, with little success - toothpaste, polishing compound, fine sandpaper, etc. Before I ordered new headlight lenses, I read on the internet that ordinary brake fluid works to clear the lenses. I tried that and afterwards, they looked brand new - nice and clear. That effect lasted about 6 weeks, they started to get cloudy again, and another very light wipe with a rag wet with brake fluid restores them again. If I have to do this every month or two, that's fine with me, it has worked better than anything else I have tried. It doesn't dissolve the plastic, it may just fill in the microscopic scratches and imperfections on the surface. Give it a shot.

zachaeous

I have had success with wet sanding with 2000 grit wet or dry using water while sanding.

Then I used Meguiar’s® Ultimate Compound with a power buffer and then use Meguiar’s clear plastic polish to finish and protect the surface.





The corner lights were cloudy and dull and this is how they looked after using the above process.

Good luck