F.A.Q. - Make your matt rearlight units shine

One of the painful moments for a 480 driver is when his rear-light clusters stop shining and go matt. Even though later models seem to have better rear-light clusters, they too will start fading. Somehow the units drie out in the sun, the UV-radiation is slowly turning them into ugly white scratched units.

Several temporal solutions have been offered like polishing them or rubbing oil over them. In most cases the effect lasts one or more months, but you are probably looking for a better solution...

On http://volvo480.kicks-ass.net/ we found an article that deals with faded rearlight clusters more thoroughly! Björn Leinen (member 1732) has posted how he uses waterproof sandpaper to smoothen the surface and then uses a two-component finish to make them look (and last) as brand new clusters! It shouldn't matter how badly faded your clusters are, as long as they aren't cracked. Following is a translation of the Swedish article:

New rearlight clusters are terribly expensive, you must be both crazy about your Volvo 480 and extremely rich to buy them. Even better, you don't need to buy new clusters, you can make them shine again yourself!

You start by removing the rearlight clusters from your car, be carefull not to use too much force when removing them as you could make them crack. This is what the clusters looked like after removal:

   

Tools:

• Waterproof sandpaper (800 to 1200 works fine)
• Transparant plastic primer, to make the varnish stick better
• Two-component laquer, it's very important to use 2-component stuff!
• Paintsprayer and a compressor
• Safety mask, you don't want to get poisoned

Instructions:

1. Use the waterproof sandpaper to polish the lamps untill they look somewhat like this:
      
   
   
2. Allow the clusters to dry thoroughly afterwards.
3. Wipe the surface with T-red (terpentine).
4. Apply the plastic primer, make sure it's transparent primer. Apply three thin layers instead of one thick layer! They will start looking much better now.
   
   
   
5. Make sure the surface is dust-free.
6. Now apply the laquer and the two-component stuff in three thin layers. Mix the ingredients according to the producers' instructions. Pause about 10 to 15 minutes between applying each layer. When you're finished the rearlight clusters should look brand new! Don't you just love the way they look?
   
   
   

That's it, you're finished! I think everyone with faded rearlight clusters should make them look this nice again, it really improves the looks of your Volvo 480!
   

I cannot stress enough how important it is not to use a single component laquer. These laquers will start to crack after a while, the laquer with 2-component hardener will last!

Yours,

Björn Leinen