After somebody busted my driver side fog lamp that somebody busted, my new replacment fog lamp makes the passenger fog lamp look so dirty and faded, anybody know a way to restore the brand new look to the fog lamp shells?

 

You can try the "off the shelf" Meguiars PlastX. I used this on my 1994 Ranger, applied with some 0000 steel wool, and then buffed off. I bought this truck from the original owner who NEVER parked in the garage (they were/are whooped). The Meguiars helped a bunch, but there's nothing bringing these lenses back to new.



I've also heard folks say they have had good luck with a paste rubbing compound.


Either way, start with the least aggressive (Meguiars/ applied with a foam pad)...and move up the chain till you're hopefully satisfied.

Good luck.

 

hmm ok i guess i'll give that a try, I was considering the Flitz stuff too has anbody out there tried this stuff?

 

I would remove the fog lamp and hit it with a high speed buffer.

 

Flitz buff and polish ball and a good polish.

 

thanks for the tips! I'll give the Flitz a try

 

Flitz is okay but, there are much better products out there IMO... Honest to goodness, for the price, Meguiar's Plast-X is the way to go. It may (will) take several applications but, you will see killer results.

I sat through a class there in Irvine with Meguiar's where they INTENTIONALLY scuffed up a windshield off of a motorcycle. Further, it was foggy and looked like poo... the Plast-X made it look NEW. It is a product that I keep in stock to deal with client's foggy headlights... it works. Plain and simple.

 

Used Plast-X to fix a scratched up plastic (side) windscreen on an aircraft earlier this year, it really did work good, much better than I was expecting. You gotta be careful working on aviation windscreens and this worked okay, just had to be really careful and not get rushed, took my time.

 

Well I guess i'll forget about the Flitz stuff then, I'll stop by autozone and check for that Plast-X stuff. Hope I can bring the fog back to life.

 

For plastic restoration, I swear up and down on 3M plastic cleaner, then their plastic polish. It is better by machine, but really unnecessary. I did the taillights on my 64 and they look better than new. It doesn't hide huge scratches, but what does? Clarity it does do and well, it is sold in autobody repair/supply stores.

 

Just a hint here. You might want to remove the entire fog lamp housing before using any of the fine products mentioned here. If you don't, you risk getting the polishing compund ground into you valence and creating a new problem.

 

Good idear there 2stroke...

The entire assembly is held on the late model version with three bolts... it's cake to take off and replace. I had the fogs off of my 2001 KR 'several' times...

 

i don't think removing the light is necessary . the plastiX will not hurt anything if you leave the light on the truck. you don't need a lot of product to do the job. i use it on my bug deflector and lights all the time and never had a problem getting any on the painted plastic (your already applying it to non painted plastic). if i did get any on there i just wiped it off without any problems that i could see. i can't imagine removing all lights and deflector every time i detail, it would take me a day to do everything if that was the case.

 

Here's how I look at it...

He has a foggy light lens.... if you'll look very closely, the fog light lens is, indeed, actually behind the lower valence around the perimeter of the light. By removing it, he can deal with ALL of the oxidation on the lens rather than just the visible problem.

Further, I don't think anyone here is advocating removing all of your headlights, tail lights, fog lights, underwater basket weaving lights, and curb feelers every time you detail... I think it was implied to prevent a problem that he should remove them -- which is good advice for just about anything that you're doing to your truck/boat/SUV/tricycle... prevention goes a long way. A glob can go out of reach around the tiny space around the perimeter and the valence... it could get on the plastic and into the texture...

Who mentioned painted plastic being a problem? It's not even said in the thread until you mentioned it? I think you're getting the gooey residue thread mixed up with this one...

Oh yeah... can't do it for a full day? LOL... lightweight...

 

Twas I who suggested removing the housing for exactly the reasons RP mentioned. It's way too easy to slip and get the polish into the textured surface of the valence - and waaay too hard to get it out. On top of that, if you're using a buffer, you can actually melt into the surface too. Headlights are a different issue because the trim around them doesn't actually overlap the lens surface.