Plastic tailight lenses how to polish??

Does anybody out there have any sugestions on how to polish light surface scratches out of PLASTIC tailight lenses??

 

Captain obvious would use plastic polish and a rag

 

Wet sand with 1500 grit, then polish with regular compound or even Turtle Wax car polish. Works great. Do this to the headlights on OT cars for my car lot.

 

Meguires make a plastic polish-works pretty good on light scratches.

 

I use toothpaste and a buffing wheel on a medium speed drill. Works pretty good.

 

Or you could get a 3m head light repair kit they sell to clean fogged head lamps on new cars. They work pretty well on clear plastic, don't know why it wouldn't work the same on tail lights.

 

Celite or perhaps aluminum oxide on a damp cloth.

 

Mothers aluminum polish works great. Use an old white sick turned inside out so the terry cloth helps the polishing action ( an old wash cloth works well too).




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i spray em with clear spray paint last about a year.

 

[QUOTE="T'RANTULA";8175326]I use toothpaste and a buffing wheel on a medium speed drill. Works pretty good.[/QUOTE]

Yes - celite and also aluminum oxide are both used in toothpaste.

 

Sand out any deep scratches with 1500 grit wet, buff on a loose cotton buffing wheel on a bench grinder/buffer with just about any kind of "jewelers rouge" I usually use the Green Chrome or White Diamond. It comes in 2 lb bars. I get this polish and the loose buffs (stack 2 or 3 together to make them 1-1.5 inches thick) from Pops Knifemakers supply (James Poplin). Been doing this since the 70s, it makes them absolutely look new. I polish stainless the same way. Be very careful though...... don't let the buff catch an edge on the piece being polished, it can take the part away from you and whip your ass with it!

 

we use that a lot at the body shop it does do a great job. If you have access to a autobody style high speed buffer that works great. If not wetsand with 1500 to 3000 grit, and hand polish. and thank god you did all that stroking practice in high school

 

This is the ticket for all plastic lenses or headlights on new rides.
1500, 2000, and some good rubbing compound with a buffer and a wool pad will also work if ya have it on the garage

 

Check out Novus Plastic Polish. It comes in three formulas; for heavy scratches, fine scratches and polish. Most acrylic / polycarbonate dealers sell it by the bottle or by the gallon. We used it when I worked in a sign shop and it really works.

http://www.novuspolish.com

 

I am going to try some suggestions posted here on my Harley Bagger windshield. A bumble bee went splat against the windshield cruising the Delta Region. The bumble bee's bodily fluids melted the windshield at point of contact. Hopefully lexan can be sanded and polished out.

 

Depending on how bad the are depends on how I do it.

Light to fine scratches - 3M Super Duty compound with a wool pad. Then 3M Perfect It rubbing compound with a foam pad. Lastly, 3M Perfect It Swirl Mark Remover with a foam pad.

Deep scratches and oxidation - Same process as above but start with 240 on a DA sander. Then hand sand with 320, then 400 and finally 600. After sanding, go to the above process.

 

"Be very careful though...... don't let the buff catch an edge on the piece being polished, it can take the part away from you and whip your ass with it! , quote by Afaulk"

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Toothpaste worked on mine!

 

If you use a buffer and compound , take REALLY care on the edges.
Too much pressure ( it doesn t take much), and you will burn the plastic.
You can fix this by sanding again.

Like many others, I sand up to 2000, then slowly polish with rouge, and finish with Plastix from Meguiar.