Agent☣Orange
04-01-2012, 10:03 PM
Just a 2-minute DIY but got a chance to help out a fellow Miater with an instrument cluster lens problem on his 2001. First off, I should have taken a before picture, my bad. I only started snapping a few photos after the process was nearly done.
This lens was not only dingy with age (11 years old) but also exhibited chemical burns that looked like Armor All had been sprayed on and then dried in a milky white spatter and dripping pattern. At first, we thought it was just dried vinyl cleaner that somehow got on the inside and that the biggest part of the job was just extracting the cluster in order to wash the lens which I did.
Turned out the spatter was on the outside and wouldn't come off with any washing with dish soap, GooGone or anything. Didn't want to use acetone because we figured it would really burn the plastic. Still no idea what was sprayed on that caused this as it was a long time ago but be careful what interior cleaners you use near the lens.
Anyway, broke out the 3M headlight polishing kit with the cool buffing wheel and along with some PlastX (really a fine compound) and commenced some wet compounding of the lens, him holding the lens and me applying the compound. It took about 15 minutes and a couple applications of the PlastiX and wiping and low and behold, the lens came out factory new which was way better than we had hoped.
Application note: *Do not crank down on this step. Just use the weight of the drill or even less. Use a little compound and be generous with the water. Do not let it dry up while you're compounding. Don't have anything nearby that you don't want spattered.
Holding the lens this way for support and not to break the plastic tabs.
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/c0ac1dc5.jpg
This is everything involved: PlastX, headlight lens buffing wheel and carnauba wax for the final step
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/4e186872.jpg
Finished wet compounding and although the lens came out like factory new as in crystal clear! Woohoo. I put on a coat of carnauba wax (no abrasives) to seal any microfissures although I doubt there were any at this point
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/84bda193.jpg
The hardest thing about taking photos of the final outcome is that the lens is so clear, it looks like it's not there so I tilted it a little to reflect the light and give a better idea
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/f0c57a62.jpg
Again, I wish I had taken a before picture because the chemical spatter was pretty bad. Nevertheless, if your own lens is dingy with age and scratched, you know...when the sun hits it just right and it looks like a hopeless beater that should be replaced, give this process a shot.
###
This lens was not only dingy with age (11 years old) but also exhibited chemical burns that looked like Armor All had been sprayed on and then dried in a milky white spatter and dripping pattern. At first, we thought it was just dried vinyl cleaner that somehow got on the inside and that the biggest part of the job was just extracting the cluster in order to wash the lens which I did.
Turned out the spatter was on the outside and wouldn't come off with any washing with dish soap, GooGone or anything. Didn't want to use acetone because we figured it would really burn the plastic. Still no idea what was sprayed on that caused this as it was a long time ago but be careful what interior cleaners you use near the lens.
Anyway, broke out the 3M headlight polishing kit with the cool buffing wheel and along with some PlastX (really a fine compound) and commenced some wet compounding of the lens, him holding the lens and me applying the compound. It took about 15 minutes and a couple applications of the PlastiX and wiping and low and behold, the lens came out factory new which was way better than we had hoped.
Application note: *Do not crank down on this step. Just use the weight of the drill or even less. Use a little compound and be generous with the water. Do not let it dry up while you're compounding. Don't have anything nearby that you don't want spattered.
Holding the lens this way for support and not to break the plastic tabs.
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/c0ac1dc5.jpg
This is everything involved: PlastX, headlight lens buffing wheel and carnauba wax for the final step
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/4e186872.jpg
Finished wet compounding and although the lens came out like factory new as in crystal clear! Woohoo. I put on a coat of carnauba wax (no abrasives) to seal any microfissures although I doubt there were any at this point
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/84bda193.jpg
The hardest thing about taking photos of the final outcome is that the lens is so clear, it looks like it's not there so I tilted it a little to reflect the light and give a better idea
http://i1194.photobucket.com/albums/aa375/YellowYata/Misc/DIY%20instrument%20cluster%20lens%20polishing/f0c57a62.jpg
Again, I wish I had taken a before picture because the chemical spatter was pretty bad. Nevertheless, if your own lens is dingy with age and scratched, you know...when the sun hits it just right and it looks like a hopeless beater that should be replaced, give this process a shot.
###