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My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:07 pm
by MisterH
Good Evening all

I have recently been pondering how to preserve my rear lights in their unfaded condition, I understand there is an elaborate swedish method of restoring the rear lights that is very techical, but how to stop them from going foggy and brown?

so far I have tried putting the Autoglym vinyl repair on it (the same stuff I use to moisturise - for lack of a better word - the interior)

this hasn't made it worse, but I am unsure if this is the right path to follow

what are the tricks that other people use that are easy to do on the driveway?
Image

Image

Many thanks
Ben

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:28 pm
by arthuy
I have a film on mine, it is supposed to have UV protection.

Comes in various tints if that's your thing.

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:50 pm
by MisterH
arthuy wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:28 pm
I have a film on mine, it is supposed to have UV protection.

Comes in various tints if that's your thing.
where do you get it from? I assume there is just a tintless clear one?

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 5:58 pm
by JP
Through several years i found the best way to preserve them from UV light is wax. That common car wax :wink: . Silicone or oil based products will not protect from UV and will rise temperature leading to cracks and splits

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:03 pm
by arthuy
From My old post, I went for a slight tint, the clear wasnt very forgiving with the scratches and rough surface of the plastic.
arthuy wrote:
Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:30 pm
Image

Image

Bought the film from the one stop shop that is ebay. I bought a 30cmx100cm for £4.25 inc p&p, it actually came in 2 50cm sheets. I did manage to do the 3 sections with one piece.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Headlight ... 2749.l2649

I had sanded and polished the left hand one but thought I would give the film a bash rather than trying to remove the lights and risk them breaking to lacquer them.

The right hand lamp has two cracks and all I did was clean it down with a baby wipe.

The search is on for a set of lights that arent broken.

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:09 am
by MisterH
arthuy wrote:
Sun Jul 07, 2019 6:03 pm
From My old post, I went for a slight tint, the clear wasnt very forgiving with the scratches and rough surface of the plastic.
arthuy wrote:
Sat Aug 05, 2017 4:30 pm
Image

Image

Bought the film from the one stop shop that is ebay. I bought a 30cmx100cm for £4.25 inc p&p, it actually came in 2 50cm sheets. I did manage to do the 3 sections with one piece.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Car-Headlight ... 2749.l2649

I had sanded and polished the left hand one but thought I would give the film a bash rather than trying to remove the lights and risk them breaking to lacquer them.

The right hand lamp has two cracks and all I did was clean it down with a baby wipe.

The search is on for a set of lights that arent broken.
Thanks for that, I think I will try JP's wax trick first, and then try the film, as I am still not sure about the way it looks, but this advice is very useful, thank you for letting me know!

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:04 pm
by JP
If the lights are ok (not faded yet), wax is one of the best method to preserve them. A good paste wax is the one to go for. For example, i use collinite 476. A liquid/quick wax won't last. If the lights are faded i would polish them first and then go to the wax method.

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Wed Jul 10, 2019 5:55 pm
by MisterH
JP wrote:
Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:04 pm
If the lights are ok (not faded yet), wax is one of the best method to preserve them. A good paste wax is the one to go for. For example, i use collinite 476. A liquid/quick wax won't last. If the lights are faded i would polish them first and then go to the wax method.
The lights have not 'faded' in the sense that they have gone brown, but they do not look brand new, but I think they are ok, as you can see from the pictures

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:49 pm
by MisterH
JP wrote:
Mon Jul 08, 2019 8:04 pm
If the lights are ok (not faded yet), wax is one of the best method to preserve them. A good paste wax is the one to go for. For example, i use collinite 476. A liquid/quick wax won't last. If the lights are faded i would polish them first and then go to the wax method.
I have bought some paste wax now, I shall try it later today, do you have any tips for applying the wax? I assume it is rubbed in like a polish, but I could be wrong, is there any special things to take into account for the plastic?
Many Thanks

Re: My rear lights are in quite good condition - How do I protect them easily?

Posted: Thu Jul 11, 2019 12:57 pm
by JP
I have found the best way to preserve/maintain they current condition is to apply wax the same way as it would be on the paintwork. Make sure they are completely dry and clean. Apply one thim coat of wax and wait untill it begins to dry. Buff it off. Aplly a second coat in the same way and it's done.. your lights seems to be in a fairly good contidtion. If you want to make them better, carefully polish them first with an appropriate acrylic polish kit and then go to the wax process :wink: