Auto Body Repair Guide: Polishing Tail Lights

By Chip Roth

If your like me having a clean and sharp looking car is very important. You take your car to get washed and detailed, you may even spend the money to have the car repainted, just to get that showroom floor look. All this washing and polishing may make your paint look great, but can wreak havoc on your tail light lenses. Today we will outline what it takes to polish your tail lights to give them a better than new shine.

This is a fairly simple project that does not need a whole lot. Most of the materials you probably have around your home already. The rest can be easily obtained from a local store or on our websites online store. First and most important you are going to need some good 400 grit sand paper. Make sure its for wet sanding. Your also going to need a buffer and buffing wheel, plastic polishing compound and a clean terry cloth towel.

Step one is to remove the lenses from the vehicle. I DO NOT recommend sanding down the lenses in the car because one false move can mean scuffing up your car really good. Once you have them popped out you can start working them over with the 400 grit. Its not necessary to sand the whole lens. Concentrate on the areas that have blemishes and scratches. For a cleaner look you may opt to sand down the part numbers at this time.

Once you have finished sanding down the lens, wash it thoroughly with soap and water. I recommend using a dish soap for this part as the de-greasing agent in the soap will remove any remaining wax that may be on the lens. Dry the lens fully.

Now that your lens is dry it is time to start polishing. Fire up the buffer and start to pick up the polishing compound into it. A little goes a long way here so don't over do it! Once the wheel begins to change color you have enough. Begin buffing it into the lens but make sure you are moving quickly. If you stay in one spot to long it can over heat the plastic and cause it to melt. Quick motions over the entire lens works best. Wipe any excess compound up with the towel right away. If your getting black blobs on the surface you used to much compound.

Go ahead and buff the lens until you see your desired results. When you are finished your old lenses will look like glass! Its now time to detail the rest of your car to match your awesome new lenses! - 21396

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Learn more about Auto Body Repair. Stop by Chip Roth's site where you can find out all about Auto Body Repair Schools and what they can do for you.