I had such good results restoring my t-tops to like new condition. I figured I'd go ahead and see what i could do about my taillight covers and center emblem as these areas (co-worker bustin my chops) are usually neglected.

before . . .


after . . .


yeah, the tailights came out just as good ! -- but, i figured there were plenty pics of pretty taillights already . . .

~ alex

 

did you use the same process you used on your t-tops? where do you get the 3m plastic cleaner and polish?

 

Damn Adam!!!! Those are SWEET!!!!

When the tail lights and turn signals are shining (I.E. Brand new looking) it really improves the appearance of the car.

:hail: Polished tail lights :hail:

 

Wow great job Alex, hey your not far off we should touch base sometime I'm in Oakland.

 

yes, exactly . . .well, a few slight exceptions . . .

1. no neoprene block needed . . .the contours of your hands are just whats needed for the gently curvature of the pieces.

2. no sandpaper needed -- micromesh is much better to work with, and reusable !

3. the relatively small size of the lights and center make it doable in the kitchen sink, or wash basin.

4. a little dish soap goes a long way to clean as we polish.

-- I found the professional 3M plastic cleaner and plastic polish at my local NAPA.

 

thanks man, Im actually closer than you know . . .unfortunately, I work weekdays in Berkeley hehehehe

have you checked out the designs for the norcal thirdgen logos im currently workin on ? havent seen you on that thread.

 

I saw that post, last I read into it you hadn't submitted anything yet though so I responded to your artwork and the GTG on the other post. Why unfortunatly do you work weekdays? Don't we all work weekdays? Or was it unfortunate that you work in Bezerkly?

 

. . . no, nothing against work . . . it's Bezerkeley that doesnt work for me . . . silly place . . .:lala:

 

Yeah theres something about that town that makes people strange, must be the water. As far back as the 60's the politics and people have had a passion for the absurd.

So back to the topic of this post, did you do the tail lights with just the micromesh? Is it possible to do them with just the fine sandpaper kit and the polish, or is the Micromesh the trick in it all. Don't have T-tops but I really like the way your center section came out and mine could use some shine restored.

 

you made me realize now that i didnt even use sandpaper for this job . . . so yeah, the micromesh is the trick.

i made the discovery, sometime ago that the 1500 grit micromesh (the lowest grit in the kit) is equal to 400 grit wet/dry paper . . . and once you work with the micromesh, you'll wonder why you ever used sandpaper.

also -- dont throw the micromesh away, its reusuable.

i went ahead and just started with the 1500 mesh and worked my way up to the 12,000. And, to be completely honest, I dont even know that the 3M cleaner / polish step makes that much of a difference. If you work up to the 12,000 grit mesh - its a mirror either way. I just get kinda obsessive about my bird -- and had a good amount left after buffing my t-tops.

 

Where did you get this mesh. And it is 3m polish aswell?
Might sound stupid but here it is:
How do you polish? Wash off the peice to polish, then use it like wax but use a buffer wheel on a drill or buffer??

 

the micro mesh i found online here . . .

Steward-MacDonald Finishing Supplies

the Professional 3M cleaner and polish was at my local NAPA auto parts store.


The 3M cleaner and polish directions are simple : using a soft clean cloth, apply a quarter size drop and rub in circular motion until dry -- buff out with another soft clean cloth. Its just that easy!

 

That looks awsome good job. I've been meaning to polish mine, but I have the 82 style lights with the "ribs" on them that I don't have a nice flat area on them I could really do well. Has anyone polished their early style Firebird lights with good results? If so how did you do it?

 

well just ordered my micro-mesh hopefully my stuff comes out as good.adambros are there limits on what you can use this on i was thinks of trying it on the plastic over the gauges in the dash.someone should do a test,one tail light with the polish like many others are doing and one with the micro mesh to see which one comes out better. Mods you should sticky this one too as with this method there is less risk of damage i.e. no heat build up like with the polish wheels and if you can't use sand paper evenly you shouldn't be doing either method (not that there is anything wrong with that) just my 2 cents


redtail

 

I've read that the intended use for this stuff is actually to clean, clear and polish aeromotive plexiglass. . .like windshields on passenger airlines. Im sure a few swipes with lowest grit would remove any cloudiness from the plastic cover over your gauges.

and -- I actually tried just polishing my t-tops before I went to the micro-mesh . . . no comparison. The polish restores the gloss, yeah, maybe even hides a few of those shallow scratches. . . but theres no way polishing could remove the deep scraches, pitting, and restore the optical clarity of the tops like the mesh does.

 

Stunning results !

I have some small scratches on my tail..Im gona give it a try

I found a supplier that sells the sheets for 2.49 each :Micro Mesh Singles

 

Those are a modern marval

 

I got the micro-mesh & polished the tailights, but I still see some little scratch lines. Can barely see them, but they are there. Im thinking is the polsher I used... is the Mothers plastic polish. Should I ge the 3M, or am I doing something wrong?

 

So wait, did you just use 400 and go all the way up to 12000 sandpaper?

 

two things :
first off if the scratch pattern, as faint as it is, is uniform -- that just means you haven't used a high enough grit yet . IIRC I went all the way up to 10000. 4000 should look like a brushed finish, 6000 satin finish, and by 8 or 10000 the scratch pattern should dissappear.

-- but, if the scratch lines your talking about are random and only appear in a few places then most likely, what happened was that you proceeded to the higher grits without making sure all the deep scratch lines were smoothed out. The only way to take care of this is go back to a coarse enough grit to remove the deeper scratches and work your way back up.

The plastic polish really doesn't do much after you work the piece over with 10000. Its more for addt'l protection, and shine. It may fill in the scratch lines some, but that's not what I use it for.

cooltc2004 -- I started with the 1500 grit micro-mesh, which as you will see is about equal to the 400 grit fine wet/dry stuff you might find in sears or at your local auto shop.

 

did you use water with soap? I did.