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Plastic polish kits
- Thread starter G
- Start date
I don't know, but I will also be in need in the future.
Dialcaliper
Well-known member
This kit is very good:
Eastwood Co.
It actually uses very fine metal polish for doing mirror finishes on metal. You'll also need some 400-600 grit sandpaper to wetsand with first, followed by some finishing sandpaper (1000-1200 grit or higher).
A lot of the kits provide you with 200 grit paper or so, which is too harsh - they try to make the kits easy and convenient or "quick". Using finer sandpaper and the less aggressive polish will require a bit more patience, but produce better results.
Eastwood Co.
It actually uses very fine metal polish for doing mirror finishes on metal. You'll also need some 400-600 grit sandpaper to wetsand with first, followed by some finishing sandpaper (1000-1200 grit or higher).
A lot of the kits provide you with 200 grit paper or so, which is too harsh - they try to make the kits easy and convenient or "quick". Using finer sandpaper and the less aggressive polish will require a bit more patience, but produce better results.
CP
Well-known member
Meguiar's offers two "professional" grade products that may suit your needs without having to buy 10 different items. #17: Clear Plastic Cleaner (PN M-1708) and #10: Clear Plastic Polish (PN M-1008).
pachood_1953
Well-known member
I have had a few glass kits with no luck.
I just use the regular old 3M rubbing compound I use to buff cars. Whenever I get a car in the shop with cloudy headlights I hit them because it's a pretty good first impression for when they pull in the parking lot. Also, we have people coming into the shop to get this done every once in a while.
I dont think anything could work much better then normal buffing compounds..Just treat them like paint. I'v even sanded some REALLY bad lamps when I had an Avenger. I think I used wet 3000grit pad on a DA.
I just use the regular old 3M rubbing compound I use to buff cars. Whenever I get a car in the shop with cloudy headlights I hit them because it's a pretty good first impression for when they pull in the parking lot. Also, we have people coming into the shop to get this done every once in a while.
I dont think anything could work much better then normal buffing compounds..Just treat them like paint. I'v even sanded some REALLY bad lamps when I had an Avenger. I think I used wet 3000grit pad on a DA.
Romanova
Well-known member
turbowop
Well-known member
DAmnit. I thought this was a thread about one of our members. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/hsugh.gif
dsmer06
Well-known member
Maybe a little off topic, but I have a cheaper, and easier way if you're just looking to get rid of that yellow crap on plastic headlights/taillights. Buy a 150 sanding sponge, and a can of Krylon triple thick clear glaze. Wet sand all the yellow off, let it dry, and spray the clear on. The glaze is thick and fills in the scratches left by the sponge. When it's done you can't tell it was ever sanded. I bought both the sponge and glaze at walmart, I think it costs less than 5 bucks. I did it probably 6 months ago on my talon and it still looks great.
Chad989of2000
Well-known member
Blue Magic Plastic Cleaner works pretty good. Just used some on the G20 plastic headlights and it cleared them right up...too much pitting and you'll def need to sandpaper a bit...cheap and available at Advance Auto.
blacksheep
Well-known member
Ken Inn recommended Janvil which worked well for me in the past...
Any kind of mild abrasive and then a follow up with a polish will work.
I usually use the same stuff that I use for cutting/polishing paint and if the tail lights are flat I cut/polish them with the buffer the same time as I do the paint.
I usually use the same stuff that I use for cutting/polishing paint and if the tail lights are flat I cut/polish them with the buffer the same time as I do the paint.
2nd to what most of the guys here have said....treat the plastic like oxidized paint, and buff out, from coarse to fine. The Meguiars plastic cleaner and then polish works well, just before you wax them!
When I bought #880 the speedo cluster was messed up, from someone using too aggressive a spray cleaner on it that fogged the plastic all up. It took a lot of elbow grease, but the Janvil made it look like new. I was VERY impressed.
Rausch
Well-known member
If you have a plastics fab shop in your area, go see them. In most cases they will sell you the stuff they use for different materials, same as the bonding agents, as the retail stuff is usually sub par.
Dialcaliper
Well-known member
I just posted up some taillights for sale. Here's the process I used, and here's a shameless plug for my FS ad With Pictures.
The taillights started with some scratches, bad oxidation and a bunch of overspray. I didn't get a picture of the initial condition before I cleaned the paint off, but suffice to say it looked a good deal worse.
This requires a bit of effort, but I'm very pleased with the results:
Have a roll of blue shop towels or rags available.
Cleaning:
1) Water and paper towels to get dust and grime off.
2) Acetone to remove grime and soften up the paint splatters. Use an old credit card or fingernail to loosen the paint spots
3) Isopropyl alcohol to clean off the acetone residue and prevent the acetone from attacking the plastic too much.
4) Some type of Mineral Spirits or Orange cleaner (I had some "Paintbrush cleaner" handy) to wipe it down with.
5) Water and paper towels again
If you've got chrome trim, you might want to mask it off - the black vinyl trim I simply sanded and polished along with the rest of the plastic
Sanding:
6) To shave the lettering down or any big scratches, wetsand with 400 grit sandpaper
7) Once its to your liking, wetsand the whole surface, including the black plastic with 1000 grit or finer sandpaper
8) Water and paper towels again to get rid of the sandpaper grit.
Polishing:
I used this kit: Eastwood Co. and Meguiar's PlastX. Any metal polish and plastic cleaner/wax will probably work.
9) Apply the Autosol metal polish in a thin layer all over. Polish off by hand with a paper towel and elbow grease.
10) Apply another thin layer of polish and buff it off with the buffing wheel using a grinder or drill. You can do it all by hand, but it doesn't come out quite as smooth.
11) Repeat as necessary until you're satisfied (I did 3-4 passes with the buffer)
12) Polish the remaining residue off with a clean polishing cloth. I used a toothbrush to get the excess polishing compound out of the cracks.
13) Apply a layer of Meguiar's PlastX
14) Polish the PlastX with a second polishing cloth.
Voila! You have just spent several days to make something really shiny! You could probably finish in a weekend, or maybe a single day if you know what you're doing (as opposed to just figuring it out as you go along like I was)
The taillights started with some scratches, bad oxidation and a bunch of overspray. I didn't get a picture of the initial condition before I cleaned the paint off, but suffice to say it looked a good deal worse.
This requires a bit of effort, but I'm very pleased with the results:
Have a roll of blue shop towels or rags available.
Cleaning:
1) Water and paper towels to get dust and grime off.
2) Acetone to remove grime and soften up the paint splatters. Use an old credit card or fingernail to loosen the paint spots
3) Isopropyl alcohol to clean off the acetone residue and prevent the acetone from attacking the plastic too much.
4) Some type of Mineral Spirits or Orange cleaner (I had some "Paintbrush cleaner" handy) to wipe it down with.
5) Water and paper towels again
If you've got chrome trim, you might want to mask it off - the black vinyl trim I simply sanded and polished along with the rest of the plastic
Sanding:
6) To shave the lettering down or any big scratches, wetsand with 400 grit sandpaper
7) Once its to your liking, wetsand the whole surface, including the black plastic with 1000 grit or finer sandpaper
8) Water and paper towels again to get rid of the sandpaper grit.
Polishing:
I used this kit: Eastwood Co. and Meguiar's PlastX. Any metal polish and plastic cleaner/wax will probably work.
9) Apply the Autosol metal polish in a thin layer all over. Polish off by hand with a paper towel and elbow grease.
10) Apply another thin layer of polish and buff it off with the buffing wheel using a grinder or drill. You can do it all by hand, but it doesn't come out quite as smooth.
11) Repeat as necessary until you're satisfied (I did 3-4 passes with the buffer)
12) Polish the remaining residue off with a clean polishing cloth. I used a toothbrush to get the excess polishing compound out of the cracks.
13) Apply a layer of Meguiar's PlastX
14) Polish the PlastX with a second polishing cloth.
Voila! You have just spent several days to make something really shiny! You could probably finish in a weekend, or maybe a single day if you know what you're doing (as opposed to just figuring it out as you go along like I was)
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