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Rear Light Refurb

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 6:32 pm
by eye of ra
After a question from the meeting I thought I would do this how-to.

Before

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First you will need some or all of the following.

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The sanding discs I used are P120, P240 and P400
The wet & dry are P400, P800 and P1200
Other brands of compound are available.

As you saw above mine appears to have been “cleaned” with a brillo pad so has deep scratches, if yours is less damaged or even just faded you may be able to skip step 2 or maybe even 3.

1. Unless you are unlucky the reflector will be in good condition so will need masking off.

2. Use the P120 disc and the drill on a slow speed or you could damage the lens. It is quite scary at first as it looks like you are making it worse.

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Just keep your movements gentle and evenly spread over the whole lens and keep going till all the scratches are even and you have no outstanding deep/large scratches.

3. Repeat with P240. Again it won’t look great at this point but keep at it.

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4. Repeat again with P400.

5. At this point I switched to Wet & Dry P400 by hand. Take your time till again all scratches are even in size (when looked at dry it will just look shiny when wet).

6. Repeat with P800 and then P1200. The scratches should be getting smaller and smaller to the point the light just looks dull rather than scratched at first glance.

7. Now switch to the sponge and apply some G3 neat at first then sprinkle a small amount of water and continue. Add more water as it dries out and more G3 as it runs out.

This is what you should end up with. Notice I have only done the indicator.

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8. Then do the same with a finer compound and polishing disc.

I have not done step 8 yet, I’ll do it when I do the whole light.

Don’t go too mad in the early stages (you need to remove the old scratches with an even amount of the new but not leave the plastic thin or melted) but the more time you spent on the later stages the better the result.

Also the first time I did it I did it all by hand (bar the G3 and final polish) as I felt I was less likely to do any damage but it does take longer.

Re: Rear Light Referb

Posted: Tue May 15, 2018 7:24 pm
by jamescarruthers
Impressive! Must have a go with my spare set

Re: Rear Light Refurb

Posted: Sun May 20, 2018 9:47 pm
by jifflemon
So just to add my thoughts to this:

What your looking to achieve is an even, flat surface - Flat smooth surfaces reflect light. This is why the classic trick over cover the lights in a thin oil (veg oil, wd40 etc) works temporarily; The oil covers the surface, "filling" the imperfections and giving a flat, even surface.

I tend use much finer grades - Wet'n'dry grits 1000,2000 and 3000.
I probably means It takes a lot longer, but time is something I've got.

Just to repeat what Eye of Ra says...
eye of ra wrote:
Tue May 15, 2018 6:32 pm
Don’t go too mad in the early stages (you need to remove the old scratches with an even amount of the new but not leave the plastic thin or melted) but the more time you spent on the later stages the better the result.

Re: Rear Light Refurb

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 3:11 pm
by eye of ra
jifflemon wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 9:47 pm
I tend use much finer grades - Wet'n'dry grits 1000,2000 and 3000.
I probably means It takes a lot longer, but time is something I've got.
As you say I'm sure Wet & Dry 2000 and 3000 will do the same job but I didn't have any above 1200 and using the two grades of compound with an electric drill is easier and quicker.

Re: Rear Light Refurb

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 3:32 pm
by dragonflyjewels
Al does ours on my jewellers' polishing mop which is in an old electric drill clamped to the workbench - he uses my crocus wax which is much finer. It doesn't take very long on the drill, wouldn't like to try it by hand :(
Bit tricky if you can't get the clusters out though ! Lily's are firmly stuck to the seals and unbroken so they will stay in situ. Might have a go at them with my Dremel when I get time.

Re: Rear Light Refurb

Posted: Mon May 21, 2018 5:59 pm
by jifflemon
eye of ra wrote:
Mon May 21, 2018 3:11 pm
jifflemon wrote:
Sun May 20, 2018 9:47 pm
I tend use much finer grades - Wet'n'dry grits 1000,2000 and 3000.
I probably means It takes a lot longer, but time is something I've got.
As you say I'm sure Wet & Dry 2000 and 3000 will do the same job but I didn't have any above 1200 and using the two grades of compound with an electric drill is easier and quicker.
Please don't see it as criticism; Like I said, there are many many ways to achieve the same results, I try to limit myself as I've been known to get "over enthusiastic" (or as my bodyshop mate says, "heavy bloody handed") :rofl: