Polishing up a tail light lens - options please

[MikeH1A]

Hi Guys,

The tail light lens on my TS250 looks a bit old and tarnished compared to the rest of the bike. This is the usual red plastic cover/lens. It looks old and dull with a few scratches. I'd like to spruce it up and make it more in keeping with the bike. So, what are the options to brighten/shine/spruce up please?

Thanks, Mike

[tz375]

Mike,

Try a car headlamp polisher ie soft ball and mild polish. I have done plastics on a 8" bench grinder/polisher with softest wheel and blue compound, but keep a wary eye on it. Polishing generates a lot of heat and it's easy to melt chunk out of a lens.

[joolstacho]

Use wet and dry, (use it wet to avoid heat build up), starting with a grade that gets the deepest scratches out, go through the grades of wet and dry (use 1/4" neoprene as a soft pad with the wet and dry folded around it).
Typically you might need to go from 400 grade through 800, to 1200 or 1500. Then polish very lightly on a buffing wheel, or polish using Brasso or similar metal polish.

[MikeH1A]

Thanks for those tips guys. I shall have a bash at it this coming weekend. It'll be nice to have it looking a bit smarter

[joolstacho]

But uz the fush 'n chups un the frudge bro?

[MikeH1A]

your post reminds me of Graham Norton. Whenever he has a Kiwi in the the red chair he wets himself laughing at our accent