Polished clear turn signals
03-02-2013, 05:49 AM
#17
Rennlist Member
To polish the lenses I started with 150 grit because they were in very bad shape. Then I went up to 220, 600 wet, 800 wet, 1000 wet, 2000 wet. The grades of sandpaper depend on the condition and how much effort how want to put in. I then added two coats of a 50/50 mineral spirit and Minwax clear and glossy Spar urethane. NO need to polish any further than the 2000 because the urethane coat clears it up. I did all the sanding by hand but some use power tools. I also taped up the surrounding lenses with two layers of masking tape to avoid scratching the other lenses. I used Meguire m105 to polish the other lenses after and it gave them a nice shine.
The plastic was very soft and had a tendency to clump up so I had a spray bottle of water handy to wash away the residue. Some people recommended an IPA wipe before the varnish but it attacked the plastic too aggressively in my case so I wiped it down with mineral spirits. I used a folded blue scott towel to wipe on the varnish. You need to sand between coats of varnish.
The plastic was very soft and had a tendency to clump up so I had a spray bottle of water handy to wash away the residue. Some people recommended an IPA wipe before the varnish but it attacked the plastic too aggressively in my case so I wiped it down with mineral spirits. I used a folded blue scott towel to wipe on the varnish. You need to sand between coats of varnish.
03-02-2013, 10:20 AM
#18
Racer
Thread Starter
I would start with Meguire's m105. I find it removes a lot of the scratches without risking of doing any damage. I used the stuff on my radio's touch screen and on my instrument cluster lense with great success.
