Buffing tail lights?
Buffing tail lights? My tail lights had some fading from the sun and minor scratches, i was told i need to buff them with a buffer, does anybody know what else i need to do, as far as if and what cleaning compound/wax i need to use, any help would be appreciated, thanks
Yeah it's easy but I would not do it yourself unless you have prior buffing experience. JMO though. I would use 3M clean cut rubbing compound (tan)and then go over it with there perfect it Polishing compound (black) the color refers to the color of the products. The bottles are black.
Joined: Dec 2001
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From: Central Indiana Honors: 4th grade spelling bee contestant
If you want to try a easier route first to see if it works for you, you could try a bottle of Meguiars PLASTX. You don't need to use a polisher to apply it. I went online to buy my bottle after it first came out, but you can probably find it in the stores now.
I use Zaino's Plastic Polish to polish the center sections, & I can gaurantee that they come out looking awesome. Super high lustre when polished with an electric buffer.
Good Luck!
Good Luck!
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Joined: Apr 2002
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From: Eastern MA
Originally Posted by Inspector12
Yeah it's easy but I would not do it yourself unless you have prior buffing experience. JMO though. I would use 3M clean cut rubbing compound (tan)and then go over it with there perfect it Polishing compound (black) the color refers to the color of the products. The bottles are black.
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I've taken my lights out, and buffed them with Meguires No. 2, 3 and 9 with my high speed rotary buffer, but that was after sanding off all of the casting flash and letters that getts gunked up with wax. Then a final hand shine with Zaino plastic polish.
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if you want it done right wetsand it w/2k grit sandpaper then use a mild polish swilrl mark remover w/ a buffer then polish to high. I used Menzerna Intensive polish then Final polish finished off with All In One Cleaner Polish. Ill post pics later if its not too dark.
Originally Posted by 6']['9
if you want it done right wetsand it w/2k grit sandpaper then use a mild polish swilrl mark remover w/ a buffer then polish to high. I used Menzerna Intensive polish then Final polish finished off with All In One Cleaner Polish. Ill post pics later if its not too dark.
Originally Posted by 6']['9
if you want it done right wetsand it w/2k grit sandpaper then use a mild polish swilrl mark remover w/ a buffer then polish to high. I used Menzerna Intensive polish then Final polish finished off with All In One Cleaner Polish. Ill post pics later if its not too dark.
Smoothe as glass!!! 
Ok this is what i did i started w 1500grit then went to 2000 grit. Keeping the surface wet at all times working the paper in a side to side motion. My polishing steps were done with a high speed buffer or rotory. If you dont have a high speed buffer you can use your pc, if you dont have a pc you can do it by hand but it will take you longer.
once all the pieces were done being sanded i used a cutting pad w/ Menzerna's Power gloss which is good for taking out 2000 grit scratches worked very well.
Then i used Menzerna's Intensive Polish to take out any little scratches that could have been left over from the power gloss this was done w/a polishing pad @1500rpms. The last polishing step was w/ Menzerna's Final Polish which adds a nice gloss. I used this w/a finishing pad @1200rpms. I cleaned up the plastic w/ Klasse's All In One cleaner polish (AIO) then topped w/ P21S carnuba paste wax. All in all it took me about 30 minutes w/ the rotory if your using a pc im guessing it will take you about 45 minutes to an hour. If your doing it by hand its probably going to take you ALL DAY. Theres still a little wax here and there but i had to hurry up cause it was about to start raining.
Heres the Pics Enjoy.
once all the pieces were done being sanded i used a cutting pad w/ Menzerna's Power gloss which is good for taking out 2000 grit scratches worked very well.
Then i used Menzerna's Intensive Polish to take out any little scratches that could have been left over from the power gloss this was done w/a polishing pad @1500rpms. The last polishing step was w/ Menzerna's Final Polish which adds a nice gloss. I used this w/a finishing pad @1200rpms. I cleaned up the plastic w/ Klasse's All In One cleaner polish (AIO) then topped w/ P21S carnuba paste wax. All in all it took me about 30 minutes w/ the rotory if your using a pc im guessing it will take you about 45 minutes to an hour. If your doing it by hand its probably going to take you ALL DAY. Theres still a little wax here and there but i had to hurry up cause it was about to start raining.
Heres the Pics Enjoy.
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Joined: Oct 2002
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From: F.H,Waterford,Port Huron, MI
My camaro lights where getting bad so being lazy! I had them wetsanded down tell the writting was gone and then all the black lines repainted on and then 2 coats of clear on top. Realy nice but wish I had then smoked out a little a little black in the clear! oh well...
