1983-86 Taillight Restoration to like new!
Couldn't find any threads like this by searching and have seen some people asking about this.
These were the first set I attempted at restoring for my '85 SSP. Take your time and don't rush! I think it took me two days, off and on between drying times and other projects, to do the set.
First off start with gently prying the taillight from the housing on the wrap around side (put some masking tape around the end of a flathead screwdriver) and then work your way around until you can lift it off by hand.
Next, start wet sanding the lenses starting with 800 grit paper, and then move up the steps 1000-1200-1500-1800-2000. I think I skipped the 1800 and you don't have to go any further than 2k. Use a foam wet sanding block or a strip of a new scotch brite pad as to not sand in finger impressions. On the sections that will be painted, you don't have to sand them further than 800 to scuff them up. If there are deep scratches in the lenses you can start with 600 to sand them out quicker, or use a small amount of filler if they are in painted areas and sand that down. I didn't worry about sanding the small edges of the lighted portions of the lens as it's a pain to polish scratches out of an area like that by hand.
I polished the lighted areas before painting so that I wouldn't mess up the new paint. You can buff them out by hand with a microfiber towel or use a small pad on a drill if you have one (not sure if it will melt the plastic or not). I use the 3M Perfect-It series compounds for everything I polish. The lenses could have been polished out real nice with just compound but I chose to go the extra mile.
Buff out the scratches until you get a very nice clear finish and don't see any haze from the wet sanding scratches.
Lens after completed polishing on a partway restored housing (we're getting to that!)
I used 2" masking tape to mask off the freshly polished lighted sections. Firmly press the tape down onto the lens and use your finger nail or a tooth pick to press the tape into the sharp paint break line. Use a sharp exacto knife blade to cut the tape along that line and peel off the excess tape. Go over the edge again to make sure paint won't bleed under.
Scuff the paint one more time with a dry grey scotch bright pad to get any areas that might have been polished in the previous step.
Paint! SEM 39153 is a near perfect match for the 85-6 Gray, and SEM 39143 is a pretty close match to the '79-84 trim color. I'd let it sit a few days to cure but it dries to the touch within an hour.
Now for the housings! Alot less effort than the lenses lol. All I did was take out the old caulking and clean/scuff all the areas to be painted with dawn dish soap on a gray scotch brite pad.
Taped off the areas around the reflectors
I painted two sets of housings, one with gloss white and another with a bright metallic aluminum to see which was brighter (I used the bright aluminum ones anyway for a stock appearance). I didn't take any pics of the silver though
Reversed the masking to paint the gray
And the finished products. Silver on the left, white on the right
I think this had the white reflectors, but I did paint up a silver set and used it instead
Hope this can help a few people out!
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Originally Posted by Travis T
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