Nothing is more important then a clean car. Some people spend hours and hours washing and waxing and buffing to make their ride stand out from the rest. Sometimes years and years of use cause the cars paint to fade beyond repair and a new paint job is in order. Even then when your cars body is looking great all those years can cause your cars tail light lenses to deteriorate. In this guide we will go over polishing your tail light lenses to make them look better then new and save you some money instead of buying new.

The supplies needed to do this project are relatively cheap, some of which you may already have around the house. The rest of them can be easily obtained from your local hardware store or auto body supply house. You will need some 400 grit wet sanding paper, a buffing wheel, a buffer to mount it to, a clean terry cloth towel, and some sort of plastic polishing compound. Several companies have products on the market for this, I prefer the one made by the Eastwood Company.

Begin by taking the tail lights out of the car. If your feeling daring you can skip this step but I personally wouldn't want to slip while sanding and put a deep scratch into the paint of my car. Once you have them out start sanding with the 400 grit. You don't have to sand the entire lens, just the spots that have scratches and other blemishes. If you want you can also sand down the DOT lettering and other part numbers at this time as well. This will give it a much cleaner look. Make sure the sand paper stays wet during the whole process.

Once you have finished sanding down the lens, wash it thoroughly with soap and water. I recommend using a dish soap for this part as the de-greasing agent in the soap will remove any remaining wax that may be on the lens. Dry the lens fully.

Once the lens is dry, its time to start the polishing process. Spin the buffing wheel and start to pick up the polishing compound you got from the auto body repair supply house into it. Do not take to much compound on the wheel, just enough to start to change the color of the wheel. Start applying it to the lens, but be careful not to sit in one area for to long as this will cause a over heating issue which can lead to a warped and melted lens. Move quickly back and forth over the lens and you will avoid this issue all together. Wipe any excess compound off with the towel. If you start to get black blobs on the surface its a sign that you are using to much compound.

Continue buffing until you see the results you like. You will know they are finished when they look and feel like glass. Now stand back and admire your results. Your wallet will thank you for not buying new lenses too!