A Tip for Tail Lights!

[Mr. Land Yacht]

I installed my new Pass. tail light finally...got it from 88grandmarq MANY months ago...I can't remember how long ago...
but I noticed it wasn't as clean as my other one...a little dull...just a tiny bit.
So, I used some Meguiars Paint Cleaner on them since I had some left...and WOW!
made a HUGE difference!
I used it on both tail lights and they reflect like no other. :banana:
take a gander... these pics were taken near Sundown...



I recommend this to everyone...you WILL see a difference!
makes them look Ruby Red

[87vicFIVEO]

looks good, might try some myself (meguires)

[85crownHPP]

paint cleaner???

[Mr. Land Yacht]

yep...paint cleaner.
it works well for headlamp oxidation...so, why not use it on the tail lights?
and that way you have plenty left to use on the rest of the car...instead of buying the stuff just for tail lamp cleaning. :banana:
oh, I love nice weather! I get out there and do some detailin'!

[drock96marquis]

Do you mean the Meguair's Deep Crystal step 1 paint cleaner?


That will work alright, but the abrasives are so low it won't do much agressive cleaning. Meguiar's PlastiX works excellent, I use it on all of cars to keep their factory lamps/lenses nice and clear:

[Mr. Land Yacht]

yea, the step 1 stuff...I ahven't tried the PlastiX...Bobert told me about that....
that's like the only plastic on my car..so I prolly wouldn't buy some of that.

[boXman]

PlastiX does work pretty well. I think my lenses are just too far gone. It did clean them up some tho.

[mrltd]

Depending on how bad the stuff is, rubbing compund, a buffing wheel and some rouge, and some plastic-x

[86GmLsCoupe]

I have both Pastix and 3m Swirl Mark Remover that I've used on the tail lights. I actually prefer the swirl mark remover as it seems to give them much more shine and gloss. The Plastix I think I bought for the Instrument cluster but decided against using it after it made a test peice sorda cloudy/hazy. I wax the tail lights with 3m Perfect-It Paste Wax after I'm done. The water beads nicely off them.

[drock96marquis]

.......but decided against using it after it made a test peice sorda cloudy/hazy

You did not work the product enough.

PlastiX uses diminishing abrasives, which break down as you work the product in. This allows the polish to be more agressive at first, then as the abrasives break down remove the marring from the larger abrasives and leaving a clean, clear shine.

If you do not work it in enough and wipe it off before you have broken down the abrasives, you'll be left with a slightly dull finish due to micro-marring of the plastic.

Give the PlastiX another try - but this time REALLY work it in well, I'm sure you'll like it much more.








For lamps that are really gone, I recommend to sand out imperfections (start ~400 and work up to ~1000+) then buff with a compound ( I use Mirror Glaze color restore (#44? iirc) for gelcoats for this step) then follow this with a finer cut plastic polish (ie PlastiX)

[mrltd]

Yeah, I've used plastic-x on my clusters in all of my cars. Not one issue ever.

[Mr. Land Yacht]

I'll have to give it a try sometime...

[86GmLsCoupe]

Gotcha, I think I just got nervous when I saw it getting hazy on the test piece. I'll give it another go. My friends Mark VII lamps are dull yellow boxes so I might try your other advice out to. Anyone used that smaller mother's ball for stuff like this?

[drock96marquis]

Yes, it will work fine with a powerball.


Make sure to use a decent drill (14.4v +) otherwise you'll burn through batts liek crazy.