Anyone have good luck polishing the light scratches on the tail lights on 13 and 14 MY? It seems like if I wax them they aren't as noticeable for a couple days but you can always see them in the direct sunlight.

 

Oh please someone chime in here!

 

I agree, if anyone has a solution to this it would be greatly appreciated. It's the one downside to the tail light setup on these cars.

 

Plastix - plexiglass scratch remover

 

The tail lights on my car have zero scratches. It has been hand washed only.

 

Yes they do. Look at them in direct sunlight. I kept mine pretty nice for a couple months...then I just gave up. I'm eventually just going to matte clear them. Easier upkeep.

 

I sanded mine using progressively finer grit to about 5000 grit.

 

if you can solve world hunger you can solve this.

 

I'm one of the most OCD people while it comes to cleaning the car, and after 3 years it driving and washing it, it still looks better then any new car on any dealer lot.
Saying that, the taillights are impossible to keep without them getting fine swirl marks, specially visible only on good hard light, if your like me, just forget and live with it, it will never look as good as lets say the paint of the car.At least our clearcoat is decent quality and does not swirlmark at all (if you wash it properly).

Its plastic so I guess every few years you can get a good plastic polish product and polish it to a smooth finish, then after few more years go at it again, cant recommend any products at this time as I myself have not looked into this yet, but down the line I will do my own research on what works best.

 

What about polishing them out, then stripping the polish off and clear coating them?

 

Astra products plexi hard coat...

 

Same here no issues with scratches yet...

 

Well even though I'm careful I still have scratches. Maybe the dealer put them in washing it for me, maybe it's before I started the two bucket method but I have them now and want to get rid of them.

Another individual PMed me and said this:

"I use plast-x polish since it's a plastic lens. Do a few passes then a once over with a couple very light coats of wax to protect them and give em a lil shine."

So you other folks recommending products, can you also recommend what kind of applicator and technique?

 

Agreed. If you don't see them you're not looking at them right.

I have tons of fine scratches on mine. Of course it's worst in direct sunlight. One of them has a deeper scratch that I have no idea how it got there. oh well, can't keep a car perfect.

 

Check out this video by Chemical Guys. They're working on the B-pillars of a Taurus, but I'm willing to bet they're the same soft black plastic our tail lights are made from:

 

Go to a motorcycle dealer and pick up Novus plastic polish. Get number 1 & number 2. I am a motorcycle rider and use this stuff on windshields, helmet visors, etc... Best stuff out there. Number 2 is a fine scratch remover and number 1 is the polish. You will not be disappointed. Number 3 is for heavily scratched plastic. Never had to use that.

https://www.novuspolish.com/

 

We use that on our airplane canopies too. Works great if you take your time.

John

 

So on these products, are we going by hand or machine? What kind of applicator, e.g. Microfiber, foam, cotton, etc.?

 

+1 on the Novus polishes. I have even made a faceplate from my Alpine head unit look brand new after I dropped in the gravel. CAUTION! Slow settings on any polisher or buffer!

 

Plastic polishes are available, use one to remove any swirls, then look into a protective coating.