After being unsuccessful at finding a set of replacement tail lights for my '94 GT, I found myself with two options: do the 96-98 swap or attempt to refinish the original lenses. Since I would like to remain loyal to the horizontal tail lights, and since the 3M restoration kit was on sale for $20, I decided to try this first. While this is a relatively small project, I wanted to share my results in the hopes that it might help someone out.
I opted to remove the tail light from the vehicle to prep the tail light, which consisted of cleaning with soap and water and taping the bezel. This also allowed me to clean all of the gunk that has been accumulating behind the tail light since 1994. You could probably get away without removing the tail light, but it's really simple to remove and this way allows you to work on a bench/couch/etc.
The kit consists of three sanding stages followed by a polishing stage.
This is after the P500 (coarse) sanding:
After the P800 (fine) sanding:
The third sanding step was conducted with a P3000 Trizact disc. According to the 3M website, this is a proprietary abrasive product that produces more consistent cuts compared to conventional sand paper. This is because it is manufactured in layers, so that as abrasive is worn off of the disc, new abrasive is exposed. That's what I read, anyhow. The Trizact disc is used wet:
The last step is polishing. This is done with a foam pad and compound which come in the kit:
I took a side-by-side picture of the finished drivers side and unfinished passenger side for comparison purposes:
The contour of the tail light where the lens meets the bezel made it difficult to sand the 1/8" or so near the bezel. If you attempt to finish your own tail lights, I would also recommend doubling up the tape on the angled portion of the bezel between the individual lenses. The most time consuming part of the entire process was prepping the tail light.
Overall, I'm really satisfied with the kit. The included directions are straightforward and there are multiple videos available online that show how to use it. While the lenses aren't perfect, neither is my car.
I'm still trying to decide what to do about the bezel. It looks as though the bezel and lens are the same material and that the bezel is just painted or coated with something. I am hoping to have my car painted within the next year and will probably just have the bezel painted to match. For now, I am considering sanding it down with the Trizac disc and/or polishing. Any thoughts? Also, if anyone knows where to buy replacement tail lights, please let me know!
I opted to remove the tail light from the vehicle to prep the tail light, which consisted of cleaning with soap and water and taping the bezel. This also allowed me to clean all of the gunk that has been accumulating behind the tail light since 1994. You could probably get away without removing the tail light, but it's really simple to remove and this way allows you to work on a bench/couch/etc.
The kit consists of three sanding stages followed by a polishing stage.
This is after the P500 (coarse) sanding:
After the P800 (fine) sanding:
The third sanding step was conducted with a P3000 Trizact disc. According to the 3M website, this is a proprietary abrasive product that produces more consistent cuts compared to conventional sand paper. This is because it is manufactured in layers, so that as abrasive is worn off of the disc, new abrasive is exposed. That's what I read, anyhow. The Trizact disc is used wet:
The last step is polishing. This is done with a foam pad and compound which come in the kit:
I took a side-by-side picture of the finished drivers side and unfinished passenger side for comparison purposes:
The contour of the tail light where the lens meets the bezel made it difficult to sand the 1/8" or so near the bezel. If you attempt to finish your own tail lights, I would also recommend doubling up the tape on the angled portion of the bezel between the individual lenses. The most time consuming part of the entire process was prepping the tail light.
Overall, I'm really satisfied with the kit. The included directions are straightforward and there are multiple videos available online that show how to use it. While the lenses aren't perfect, neither is my car.
I'm still trying to decide what to do about the bezel. It looks as though the bezel and lens are the same material and that the bezel is just painted or coated with something. I am hoping to have my car painted within the next year and will probably just have the bezel painted to match. For now, I am considering sanding it down with the Trizac disc and/or polishing. Any thoughts? Also, if anyone knows where to buy replacement tail lights, please let me know!
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