Going over the car hoping to not get to nit picky and have her ready for the spring. Seems the more little things i do seem to snowball to the next part,which is a good thing.So now i have a new roof,all new emblems,door handles,mirrors,polished trim,polished doorlocks,paint to come,etc... Question is,i have a nice set of tail lights but they are not perfect and with everything else hopefully gonna be up to snuff when installed,i would like these to be as well.Do they make reproduction ones? I have noticed a 3M product somewhere that cleans plastic lenses, i believe apparently to look like new.Am i crazy or is there such a product and has anyone here used it and if so what kind of success if any? Thanks for any help....

David

Ames has the lenses for $79.00 or so. They look pretty nice. http://www.amesperformance.com/

certain toothpastes will polish plastic. gets the yellowing off of headlights. it has to be a kind with abrasives, no gel. the products i've seen for polishing lenses looks to be just a low abrasive car polish, which works as well or better than toothpaste. use a toothbrush to clean the polish off of the raised letters.

the taillights have chrome on them too, and if that is damaged or flaking, you're better off with new ones if you want them perfect.

Meguiar and 3M market plastic cleaner and plastic polish products that work very well if the lenses are properly cleaned before polishing. They also work very well on instrument cluster lenses and radio dial plates.

Thanks guys and gals,will give the plastic cleaner a try and see how well it works,not looking for perfection but better would be nice.My trim around the tailights are in excellent condition so hopefully it works well,if not i can give ames a call and purchase a set of repops.So how exactly does the plastic polish work it's supposed magic out of curiousity? Does it etch it some sort of way?

David

The 3M polish works great.

- Jake

Mother's also has a polish. I happen to have the Meguiar's, I've had the bottle for 10+ years as a little goes a long way. It is a blend of very fine polishing abrasives and a petroleum distillate. Remove the lens from the housing, use a soft toothbrush to remove dirt from the crevices, wash and rinse in lukewarm water, and allow to dry. Then use a very soft COTTON terry cloth to apply polish to the smooth surface of the lens, and rub. Follow the instructions on the label as to drying time and rubbing out, and you will be very pleased with the results.

Meguiar's and Mothers are available in auto parts stores; 3M is found at good auto paint stores. If I was buying now, I'd buy the 3M.

The plastic polishes work fantastic! And it takes a lot of elbow grease.

Me and elbow grease go way back, thanks!

David

A good finish for plastic parts is "Future" acrylic polish, the kind you use on your kitchen floor. Learned that doing canopies.

Future is an applied coating, not a polish. I'd not recommend it unless you are looking for a non-permanent quick dressup.

My son has a set of Lexan goggles that dropped on the floor too many times, and were too scratched to use. This afternoon, I removed the lenses and laid them over a rolled newspaper (to support the curved lens) and sanded them lengthwise with 600 grit wet-dry paper. They were totally obscured, but a few deep scratches remained. More wet sanding took care of those. By now the lenses were completely fogged. Next, fifteen minutes with 1500 grit wet-dry, then the plastic polishing compound, then a final soapy water wash. The lenses look nearly new, and it's not because they are coated, they are refinished.

the painter that painted my car says he clear coats the lenses when he clear coats the car and they look new. havent seen it yet but I'am thinking of trying it on my second set of lenses to see how it looks.

Wade