my 68 charger tail lights I took all apart to refinish them . any way to polish up the lens

Meguiar's #17 Plastic Cleaner and #10 Plastic Polish.

I purchased a "string" buff from ( I think) Eastwood, that is designed for plastic, for my buffer.. Used some plastic buffing compound and WOW, like new......

this is the one I swear buy. Tried it on my 2005 Chrysler 300C. Beautiful results!

and then you can reuse the polishing pad for your next project.

http://3mauto.com/products/headlight-restoration/3m-lens-renewal-kit-39014.html#vWj6BczmCdPkx6Tc.97

UH-huh...

Floppy and some rouge...


Go slow...

I hand polish with mothers mag wheel polish with excellent results.

If you want them to look like new AND stay that way.....clear coat them. Lightly scuff them and clean them good, then have a body shop spray them with clear. It will only take an once or two, usually about what they throw out when painting a part.

The clear will really make the lenses snap, even in the nooks and crannies that you cannot get to to polish. And it is even harder than the plastic, so it holds up better.

X2 . . . took my time and did quite a few applications on my 70 Sport Satllite. Afterwards, I will take "cleaner/wax" every now and then on the lenses - keeps them like new.

When I bought my 65 Cuda some 20+ years ago the rear lenses had holes in them from blue dots (not legal in TX). So I had some repair work to do. I cleaned them, used that Permatex lense repair epoxy to fix the holes, then wet sanded them with Testors (the model car people) ultra fine sand paper. Still look great today.

Whatever they used for plastic back then holds up better than what they use today.

Common polishing compound has worked well for me for initial clean up. Then the Eastwood 3 step plastic polishing system... which finishes with a clear protective coat. Not clearcoat exactly but similar.

has anyone ever tried the spray can clear that is intended for wheels on lenses ? supposedly, it is pretty tough stuff ?

We scuff and clear many headlights. The spray bomb stuff doesn't stick to them, it just falls off. I guess the gun clear has solvents that bite the plastic. Now I haven't tried spray bomb clear on taillights, only headlights. But it is safe to assume that the 2 clears would act the same on the 2 plastics.

If you use SprayMax 2K clear, it will stick.

I see no need to clear...

I got 20+ years on a set of NOS t-light lenses...

On a car that gets driven...


I keep 'em clean...

They are still like new...

any link please ? does this have a button you push to introduce a hardening agent ? the products i have seen that use the button seem to be decent paints, but it seems to be a waste when a guy only needs a spritz or two. i guess using a "preval" type air/spray unit would be a better compromise. are these type sprayers available with a fan spray nozzle now ? i know the original units were using just a regular spray can nozzle.

I agree, I see no need for clear on tail lights.

Spraying taillights with clear is not a necessity, but it has some very real advantages. And is worth considering given that it is less work and can be done for less than the cost of plastic polish.

Just offering an alternative to polishing should the OP wish to consider it.