Restoring Tail Lights with paint overspray
10-05-2015, 09:29 AM
#1
Rockstar
Thread Starter
iTrader: (15)
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: I'm on a boat! in Shreveport, La
Posts: 1,582
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Restoring Tail Lights with paint overspray A while back my 21 year old tail lights developed cracks and eventually the reverse lenses just fell out of them.
I never was able to find any at the junk yard but their parts department said they had some in stock that they pulled that were in good shape, kicker was that i couldn't see them unless I bought them (I let them know how fucked up of a policy that was), so I took the risk because I was desperate.
They brought up a pair that had bubbles from having bulbs with too much wattage in them and had spiderwebbed cracks as well. **** me right?
So I've dealt with that till now.
The other day I found some in pristine condition, no cracks or warping, but they had a layer of mildew or dust from what I could tell.
I pay a fairly cheap price on them thinking I could save them.
Turns out, it is extremely fine grey overspray, probably from the parts yard workers when they checked the car in.
After discussing it with a buddy, the best solution we could come up with was to wet sand with 2000 grit and polish.
Is there any other way to save these, possibly chemically without eating into the plastic? Or is a physical buff out the only way?
Other options I will consider if necessary are VHT or clearcoat.
I never was able to find any at the junk yard but their parts department said they had some in stock that they pulled that were in good shape, kicker was that i couldn't see them unless I bought them (I let them know how fucked up of a policy that was), so I took the risk because I was desperate.
They brought up a pair that had bubbles from having bulbs with too much wattage in them and had spiderwebbed cracks as well. **** me right?
So I've dealt with that till now.
The other day I found some in pristine condition, no cracks or warping, but they had a layer of mildew or dust from what I could tell.
I pay a fairly cheap price on them thinking I could save them.
Turns out, it is extremely fine grey overspray, probably from the parts yard workers when they checked the car in.
After discussing it with a buddy, the best solution we could come up with was to wet sand with 2000 grit and polish.
Is there any other way to save these, possibly chemically without eating into the plastic? Or is a physical buff out the only way?
Other options I will consider if necessary are VHT or clearcoat.
10-05-2015, 09:58 AM
#2
LS1Tech Administrator
iTrader: (3)
Join Date: Nov 2001
Location: Schiller Park, IL Member: #317
Posts: 32,044
Likes: 0
Received 1,492 Likes
on
1,074 Posts
I wouldn't start with wet sanding, that probably won't be necessary if it's just a light layer of overspray. I'd first start with a plastic cleaner/rubbing compound (3M makes a good one), if that cleans them up then a follow-up treatment of plastic polish would finish them nicely. If that's not aggressive enough, then some glass polish should do the trick, followed by the plastic cleaner and then the plastic polish for final swirl removal.
Trending Topics
10-06-2015, 03:36 PM
#8
TECH Addict
iTrader: (1)
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: Ellijay, GA
Posts: 2,769
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
I had a BUNCH of to thin to remove plasti-dip all over my tail lights, I took the old orange buffing pad from a old 3m headlight restore kit and used my cordless drill and Meguiars PlastX to polish away and eventually it all came off. I would start there, I've also read of guys removing the VHT nightshades stuff by wiping them with a rag with a small amount of gasoline, but I don't know how that might effect the plastic so I wouldn't do it personally.
10-06-2015, 10:14 PM
#10
x5 on the clay. Takes away light overspray with ease. Actually used clay a few days after I finished spray-bombing my Berger panel. Took all of the roughness away and it has a smooth and professional finish to it.