If you all didn't see it, I started a thread awhile ago that can be seen here.

It was about how to make your taillights look like glass with a plastic polishing compound. Well, my guage lense was all scratched up and I had some time today so I tried it on the lense as well. Here are the results:

 

looks good. I did the same thing when i was restoring my mach 1 the were so bad you couldn't even see the gauge. Afterwords they looked just like yours. Amazing.

 

Did you use a buffer? I just got mine and my Dad tried it on his headlights on his Concorde which are just like the headlights on a LS1 and he said he couldn't do it by hand and that he needed a buffing wheel. I thought some people did it by hand?

 

Yes, i used a buffer. Actually a 6" wheel on a bench grinder. There isn't really a way to get this compound on the wheel w/o spinning it at a couple thousand RPM. Some people did it by hand using some off-brand polishing compound that is like a wax where it's really soft. This is a solid compound. Works waaaaaay better IMO.

 

Yeah I have the hard eastwood compound. I already have a buffer but I need the right wheel, I am going to get one from eastwood and see how it goes, thanks.

 

I ordered the stuff from eastwood. but what kind of wheel do I need? I have a dremel tool and a power drill. Is there one for that??

Can someone post a pic of the wheel so I can see it?

 

Here is a picture of the loose buff. It's sewn near the arbor and then once again around that. The rest of the flaps are 'loose' and can move freely back and forth.



You can also head to Sears and pick up a package of them. It comes with 3 buffs, and like 3 or 4 polishing compounds (used for various metals) and it costs like $6.

 

Damn, that looks amazing!!

 

i tried the link, but where is the wheel? I saw some paint polishing package for like $70, is that the wheel i need? It's pretty big. I don't have buffer. Is there one for a drill or dremel?

 

Sorry about the link, I guess it didn't work.

If you want one for a drill, like I said, head to sears, you find them there as I said above. If you go to eastwood and click on 'buffs' under 'buffing' you will find various sizes. You can get whichever size you want, and you should get the 'loose' style wheel...it will say which style it is.

Keep it mind that your drill needs to be spinning at 2-3K RPM in order for the compound to cut like it's suppose to.

 

Another good use of that would be to do the plastic lens for A4 cars--those can get pretty scratched up after time.

 

ok, thank you. How do I get my drill to maintain that speed? The different speeds on a dremel can be set to that, would it be a better choice?

 

If you have a steady finger

Choose which ever will work best for you.

 

You can go through all that trouble, or you can use a rag and some MacGuire's Plastic Polish like I did and get the same results.

 

It does look good!

I got very similar results by using Zaino Plastic Polish with a rag by hand. I've used it on the taillights, headlights, driving lights (my new Hella FF75s), clean turn signals and the dash lens. They all came out great. Then you can even Zaino polish over them to seal them and keep them shiny.