stall Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 I've read the excellant discussion of tail light restoration a few weeks ago and I have a few questions. ---Has anyone used the solvents that are sold to restore clouded headlights on these tail lights? ---There was talk of taping off the BUICK letters ( BTW, wow, what a perfect job) and just removing them to glue on later. Many years ago I restored vintage license plates by spraying the entire plate with the base color then using a rag with paint remover to take the "new" base coat paint off of the raised , black license plate numbers. The results were excellant and I wonder if this process would work on the tail lights? ---Failing that how much hassle is there in removing the BUICK letters and re-glueing them? I am not enough of an artist to tape off the letters. Thanks in advance, Murray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 20 minutes ago, stall said: -Failing that how much hassle is there in removing the BUICK letters and re-glueing them? I am not enough of an artist to tape off the letters. I flipped mine off easily with a plastic putty knife. 3M makes double faced tape made just for applying emblems that is easy to apply and holds tight. You just clean the back of the letter good, stick the tape on the back and trim off the excess with a razor blade or pen knife so the tape fits the back of the letter. Then peel the covering off the other side of the tape and press in place. I would recommend removing the letters because yours may be on the verge of falling off right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ol' yeller Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Failing Ronnie's suggestion, you can also use dental floss to saw through the old adhesive to remove the letters. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 As our cars are now approaching 30 years now, your letters are more off then stay on. However taping them off is easier then you think. Put the blue tape on and then use an x-acto knife and slice the tape off. I wouldn't use the clear acrylics that are used on the headlights. The clear should be used on the headlights as maximum clarity is needed to make vision better for night driving, while we want to restore "color" to our taillights to bring out the beauty of them. This can be best done using the amber tinted alkyd solvent based varnish. However this is your car and you can try whatever you wish. Please post what you used and how it turned out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 13, 2018 Share Posted July 13, 2018 Dashmaster followed my suggestion to use an Oil Based Gloss "Spar" varnish. I have it on both my "summer" Reattas. Finish makes the taillights look like new. Minimum pep, easy to apply, lasts a long time, and requires no maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 14, 2018 Share Posted July 14, 2018 I've saw Dave's taillight. It looks really good. I used a different method when I did mine and it came out OK but I think Dave's way would be much easier I put a dark tint on mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MRJBUICK Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 2 questions The spar varnish you use is that anything like the helsman spray by minwax? And The adhesive pad that hold on the hood emblem anyone have a source or how to reproduce the circle pad the factory used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 You will have to make your own out of automotive grade double stick tape. There used to be a vendor on E bay but I didn't see it when I looked just now. Regarding the sray on Spar Varnish, I am not good with aerosals so I went the brush on route. If you feel confident spraying give it a try and let us know how it turned out. I used Gloss brush on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dashmaster Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 The brush on Varnish self levels and smooths out. Spray on may leave a textured finish depending on how fast it drys. Let us know how it works if you try it. Also make sure you can remove it if needed without harming the tail light. Mineral Spirits will remove the Spar Varnish and not harm the tail light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 I bought this product and am going to use it after I use their headlight restore product. 1. Meguiar's Headlight Coating: https://amzn.to/2JALdHx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronnie Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Why does he feel he needs to yell at us to make his point? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DAVES89 Posted July 19, 2018 Share Posted July 19, 2018 Cause he is telling everyone it is a headlight finish... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 I used the Meguiar's products today. There is a local car show Saturday and a bunch of us from my church group are bringing our rides. Pics follow. Before and prep: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 After: 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
91vert Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 Nice job. The bumper looks good too. Did you do anything to it ? Cal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AZVET Posted July 20, 2018 Share Posted July 20, 2018 32 minutes ago, 91vert said: Nice job. The bumper looks good too. Did you do anything to it ? Cal. I use Mother's aluminum polish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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