Auto Body Repair Guide: Polishing Tail Lights
Posted by Chip Roth | Filed under Reference & Education
Nothing is more important then a clean car. Some people spend hours and hours washing and waxing and buffing to make their ride stand out from the rest. Sometimes years and years of use cause the cars paint to fade beyond repair and a new paint job is in order. Even then when your cars body is looking great all those years can cause your cars tail light lenses to deteriorate. In this guide we will go over polishing your tail light lenses to make them look better then new and save you some money instead of buying new.
Not a whole lot is needed for this project and most of it can be had pretty cheap. There is a good chance you have alot of this stuff around the house already. Everything else can be purchased at a local hardware store or auto body supply store. First your going to need some good 400 grit sand paper. Make sure its designed for wet sanding. Next your going to need a buffing wheel and of course a buffer to attach it to. Your also going to need plastic polishing compound. There are many on the market out there, I personally like the one made by the Eastwood Company. You will also need a clean terry cloth towel.
Begin by taking the tail lights out of the car. If your feeling daring you can skip this step but I personally wouldn’t want to slip while sanding and put a deep scratch into the paint of my car. Once you have them out start sanding with the 400 grit. You don’t have to sand the entire lens, just the spots that have scratches and other blemishes. If you want you can also sand down the DOT lettering and other part numbers at this time as well. This will give it a much cleaner look. Make sure the sand paper stays wet during the whole process.
Once you have finished sanding down the lens, wash it thoroughly with soap and water. I recommend using a dish soap for this part as the de-greasing agent in the soap will remove any remaining wax that may be on the lens. Dry the lens fully.
Now that your lens is dry it is time to start polishing. Fire up the buffer and start to pick up the polishing compound into it. A little goes a long way here so don’t over do it! Once the wheel begins to change color you have enough. Begin buffing it into the lens but make sure you are moving quickly. If you stay in one spot to long it can over heat the plastic and cause it to melt. Quick motions over the entire lens works best. Wipe any excess compound up with the towel right away. If your getting black blobs on the surface you used to much compound.
Continue buffing until you see the results you like. You will know they are finished when they look and feel like glass. Now stand back and admire your results. Your wallet will thank you for not buying new lenses too!
Learn more about Auto Body Repair. Stop by Chip Roth’s site where you can find out all about Auto Body Repair Schools and what they can do for you.
Tags: auto body repair, car care, car detailing, diy auto body repair, Reference & Education, tail light polishing
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