Plastic light restoration (pics)

[GnatGoSplat]

I picked up a bench grinder/buffer from Harbor Freight on sale.

 

I thought I would finish up the light restoration I had started on the TGP 7yrs ago, but put off because it was too much effort to do it by hand.

I took pics. I know the lighting stinks, but I was too lazy to do anything about it.

 

Before:

Cleaned and scrubbed, but still hazy and yellowed. Scratchy to the touch.

 

I wetsanded with 220 until the wet slurry coming off the light turned from cream colored to white, then followed with 400, then 1500.

After that, I polished with the bench buffer using an automotive polishing compound. The polishing compound was a bit too soft so the buffing wheel tended to sling it, but I was too cheap and lazy to go buy proper bench buffer compound and it did the job. Getting the areas around the alignment nipples was a PITA. I had the urge to grind them off, but resisted.

 

After:

 

A huge improvement, super smooth and looks great!

 

Comparison shot with one finished light and one untouched light. Can you tell which is which?

 

I also gave the foglights a quick once-over. I had sanded and painstakingly hand-buffed those 7yrs ago (they used to be just as yellowed as the headlights). They looked good, but now they look perfect.

 

While I was at it, I decided to polish the dull, hazy inner blinkers on the 94 Cutlass.

 

Before:

 

After:

 

Restoring old lights sure beats buying new ones!

 

[Euro]

damn that looks really good!

[slick]

Looks real good!

 

But it also looks like the TGP needs a good cleaning!

[SigEpCutlass]

Wow Shawn those look great. I might need to consider doing that as well if it turns out that well. Mine are probably about the same as the one on Penny's '94 cutty.

[DiscoStudd]

Good info! Definitely something worth trying down the line...

[GnatGoSplat]

But it also looks like the TGP needs a good cleaning!

 

Yeah, it needs it pretty badly!

It's just been too hot, and I never get up early enough to do it before the sun comes out. Washing black cars in full sun never works out very well for me.

 

Soon though, she will get her bath.

 

[Psych0matt]

so, this is kinda unrelated but related at the same time

 

would any bench grinder or angle grinder do the trick? theres a cheap one for sale at work for like 15$, and I thought about picking it up, but I've never done anything with sanding or anything like that.

[GnatGoSplat]

Yeah, a bench grinder should do the trick. Just replace the grinding wheel with a buffing wheel. $15 is a really good price for a bench grinder, I would definitely pick that up. I don't think an angle grinder would work very well. What makes a bench grinder/buffer so much easier is the buffer is static and I just held the light up to it.

 

 

[Psych0matt]

gotcha, this was an angle grinder for 15$, but they have a lot of house brand tools like that for really cheap that usually have a pretty good few years warranty

 

[THe_DeTAiL3R]

Wow that's amazing!

 

I've use the rotary buffer with polishing compound on tail lights (with great success) and on some headlights with limited success. Guess you gotta sand'm good And I know what you mean about the nipples being a PITA.. ripped up a $15 polishing pad from one.

[mfewtrail]

That's a very nice improvement. You reminded me that I need to go back and finish doing my TGP foglights in a similar fashion. I quickly hand sanded them a while back, but never got around to polishing them w/ my buffer.

 

[Pabz]

Those look great, would you risk trying that with the cutlass tails?

[GnatGoSplat]

Yeah, it should work pretty good on the reverse lights of the Cutlass tails.

 

[97loudcut]

did you do the blinkers on the cutlass the same way or did you just put polish on them?

[GnatGoSplat]

I just polished and buffed, no sanding.

 

[White93z34]

i have half a mind to try that on the lumina's headlights, but i''m prety set in my want for brand new ones...

 

also, woulden't a real simple cure for hazed over plastic lenses be the glass headlights that were on earlier grand prix'?

[GnatGoSplat]

also, woulden't a real simple cure for hazed over plastic lenses be the glass headlights that were on earlier grand prix'?

 

That was originally what I was going to do, but decided not to for a few reasons:

 

- Restoring mine costs nothing but time, and I don't have anything better to do with my weekends anyway.

- No one would want my old yellowed, dull headlights if I did get new ones, so I'd have to throw them out. I hate waste.

- Glass ones were only used 88 and 89, chances are lights that old are going to be chipped, and chips can't be repaired. My 88 and 89 Cutlasses have plenty of chips in their glass lights.

- Plastic lights are a lot lighter. It never hurts to reduce weight, especially in a performance-oriented car.

 

[97loudcut]

dont you have a HID kit for the Cutlass (black)

[GnatGoSplat]

Yeah, the 94 Cutlass and also the 89 both have real HID's.

 

[CdnCutty]

I did the same restoration on my 96 Z-24s headlights(same style material) but the one thing I tried and it made the lights look ten times better in my case.....3 coats of clear coat after all the sanding and buffing was done....made them look new plus to this day I see the car around and they still look mint! But I know the feeling you musta had after it was all done to see them go from crappy yellow to almost new!

[GnatGoSplat]

That's a good idea, they actually come clear-coated from the factory. Unfortunately, that's what turns yellow and dull, but a good quality clear should hold up.

 

Only problem is I don't want to pay the money to have a quality clear painted on them!

All rattle-can clears I've used have problems after a year or two.

 

[slick]

I don't know if the Rustoleum line-up has clear coat or not, but that rattle can line-up usually last a lot longer and can withstand a lot more than normal rattle can paints.

[GnatGoSplat]

I've never tried Rustoleum, but I'll have to keep that in mind for future projects.

 

I don't think I'll bother to clearcoat these lights though. I think the only reason to clearcoat 'em would be to get that fluid water-smooth finish that a good painter can get, and it would cover up any buffing imperfections. I know if I rattle-can paint them, there will be teensy bits of dust getting in it. I'd end up having to wetsand and buff the clearcoat. It would end up looking the same and wouldn't accomplish much.

 

[CdnCutty]

That's a good idea, they actually come clear-coated from the factory. Unfortunately, that's what turns yellow and dull, but a good quality clear should hold up.

 

Only problem is I don't want to pay the money to have a quality clear painted on them!

All rattle-can clears I've used have problems after a year or two.

 

 

I`m lucky I have the necessary tools chez moi to spray the lights with professional clear coat...put then again on my cavy I just used can clear coat bought from a paint shop

[95oldsVan]

Wow they looked great! Nice work BTW!

 

Hey guys,found another alternative to getting old lenses to shine like new with some elbow grease...I found that TOOTHPASTE will remove the yellow and let you shine the lenses back to almost new appearance with alot less work.

 

I hand rubbed colgate toothpaste onto a fog lens lamp from a C4 corvette and rubbed like hell until it was done.Dont overdo it,just enough to do the lens.

 

Then I used a drill with a buffer wheel polishing pad and buffed it off some..when that was done,I used a non abrasive polishing paste to buff it more.It came out alot like the pics,and did most of the work with the drill buffing pad.Sanding works better but can take off alot of the materials off the glass lens leaving them exposed to the elements some more if theyre not coated when done.Toothpaste seems to get the stains out without removing too much material or cutting into the lens,be it plastic or glass.