Cleaning misted rear indicator covers

Grandad99

What is the best way to remove the slight opaque misting on these plastic covers?

vacheron

Depends how opaque it has become, 

If just light, something like T-Cut and a polishing pad on a drill (or a lot of elbow grease) will do it. 

More severe and you will have to sand it down, polish, and possibly apply a clearcoat to the lenses.

Barkin

How bad are they?

For my headlights, I start with a good wash with warm soapy water, to remove dirt, grease etc.
Rinse.
Using a spray bottle of water to keep the surface wet, start with 800 grit wet & dry. Rinse.

At this point, if you've not done this before, you might think "aaargh, what have I done?" Worry not.
Repeat with 1200, and work up through progressively finer grades to 2000/3000, depending on what's to hand.
Rinse. Dry thoroughly.
Finish with ceramic polish.

Not a permanent job, but it only takes me about 20mins a light by hand - probably quicker with a polishing machine or pad in a drill - so no big deal redoing it as/when necessary,

Grey_Critic

Brasso - DO NOT start sanding down. 

Barkin

Grey_Critic said:

Brasso - DO NOT start sanding down. 

Care to tell us why?

Anything more than early signs of mild clouding, and you'll be there for a looong time with the Brasso.

I've used wet & dry for years (my car's old...) because it works!

Perhaps you should tell these guys, and all the others offering headlight restoration as a professional service, that they're doing it wrong.

And while you're at it, all those companies selling restoration kits which are essentially the same, but with overpriced proprietary materials.

facade

Once you have them clear again, a wipe over with polymer sealant will offer a tiny bit of UV protection and help keep them clear for a few more weeks than just leaving them.

I used to polish mine for every MOT, they would be fairly cloudy again by the next one.

Lidl occasionally sell a teenie tiny polisher (about 50mm diameter) that would be ideal for lights, they sell out within minutes though, so I've not got one yet, but one day.....