Volvo 480 Club Europe

Well,ive tried several methods to improve those hideously crazed rear light clusters with not much lasting results,

recently i tried tinting them which was quite successful,but still produced a matt but not a light grey finish....I almost spent

£310 on a new pair of lights when i spotted an article on Meguiar's One Step Headlight Restoration Kit and it actually worked.

You can see from the pics how horrible my rear lights were,which is a great shame as the rest of the car is immaculate.

I bought the kit ,got a strong cordless and 2 hours later hey presto............£310 saved..........

Impressive results! To help your fellow sufferers on Club Europe, could you say exactly what bit of kit you used to apply the Meguiars stuff with ?

Most certainly...it was Meguiar's One Step Headlight Restoration Kit at £21 from Halfords.....

The kit contains small abrasive pads,a bottle of the abrasive cream and a small buffing wheel with which to apply,

so you will need a drill,as mentioned,either a powerful cordless or corded drill will do the job.

It takes time going over and over the lights replenishing the cream at least a dozen times for each light .

Must admit,I wasn't confident at first but put in the effect and you'll get rewarded...

Hi
Would you mind giving a step by step so I can take exactly the same approach rather than trial and error (as it worked!) ?
Thanks

There are instructions in the box on how to proceed but basically,

Mask up around the light so you don't accidentally scuff your paintwork,

If the lights are really crazed as were mine,you will need to rub the lights down first with the supplied little pads.

Use water with the pads as you would with wet and dry paper,and give them both a brisk rub down them dry thoroughly

Next put the supplied buffing wheel in a suitable drill,apply a small amount of the cream to the pad and start buffing over the lights.

NB.start the drill slowly after applying the cream to the buffing wheel or you will flick it all over the place and waste the lot.

Just keep buffing the lights until the wheel becomes dry,then replenish the cream and start again.I probably did this about a dozen times putting cream

the size of a 2p piece onto the buffer.Eventually you will notice the lights going glossy instead of matt. Keep going until your happy with the finish....

Cheers - kit now ordered on line !

Nice...the question is how long will they stay like that?

Thats the question, even a new set will start to degrade the moment they are exposed to the sun.The polycarbonate plastic

is obviously an inferior type even compared to the centre piece.Apparently the surface starts to craze over time until ,as we well

know,they become so badly crazed they take on the familiar grey matt lack lustre look. So basically what this stuff does is scim off the crazing (with much

effort and a very hot drill) until the surface becomes clearer the more you buff it,then no doubt,it starts to craze up again over time.If I keep at it,they will

probably end up as thin as paper.

Thats a fair summary. You could try protecting them from UV with some polish/wax? Seem to recall someone on here saying they did that years ago

The Meguairs stuff includes UV protection I believe ?

I had a go with mine which weren't 'that' bad and they're definitely a bit better. OK enough for me to delay fitting the as-new clusters plus Dutch seals I got 6 months ago. Will save that for a rainy day !

Has anyone on here fitted the dutch seals? Do they just stick on to the units then you bolt the lights back in, or is there any additional sealant needed.

Cheers
G

I have fittet the dutch seals, a perfect fit Just to be on the safe side I applyed some sealer after the units were boltet back on. I haven't had a drop of water since

ChrisDK wrote:I have fittet the dutch seals, a perfect fit Just to be on the safe side I applyed some sealer after the units were boltet back on. I haven't had a drop of water since

Thanks for the reply , what kind of sealant did you use and did you need much, did you just slap a bit along the top ?

I fitted new Dutch seals about 5 weeks back. According to Joep, the guy I bought them from, no sealant should be used. It is essential though that the bodywork & clusters are completely clean, free from any sealant etc. The seals have adhesive on one side that attaches to the clusters. I've had no leaks whatsoever even through all this heavy rain we've had recently
Re
Dave

Great stuff !!

Have we had rain ??

Wow! Im definitely going to try this with mine, thanks

When I sanded down my rear lights I just asked a local spray shop to coat them in a two stage varnish which cost about £30 from memory, which made them extra glossy and I hope will protect them from the sun.