Plain Jane OEM nothing to see here rebuild

[JustJeff]

Got some JDM fogs for pretty cheap. Bought them off somebody who was parting out a front clip. They were pretty scratched up. I followed an online guide for restoration. I wet sanded with 400, 800, 1000, and 2000 grit. Then polished with some Plastix. The guide actually called for 1500 grit mixed in there. I thought I had some but didn't and didn't want to go back out to the store. The guide called for doing one pass horizontal and another vertical for each grit.

The results are a good start but not good enough. From a distance they look pretty alright. But up close you can see light scratches from the sanding. I'm gonna do them over. Any advice would be appreciated.

I wish I had taken a before shot or two, but all I have are the afters.




One deep scratch that was missed. I may go back and start with 320 grit. You can also see the sanding marks.


Sanding marks really show with them lit up






Anyone have advice on how to do this better? My plan next time around is to start with 320 for the deep scratchs and make sure I have some 1500 grit. Probably use more pressure. Also, I wasn't using a sanding pad or block, just hands. I'll use something next time.

[RETed]

Are you doing this by hand?
Power buffers would help a LOT.

I'm not a pro at this, but we used to mess around with plastics and rubbing compounds and *Brasso*.
I'm sure the dedicated plastic polishes work, but Brasso was something that was always around, and we had to take care of a lot of brass when I used to do the ROTC thing back in high school.


-Ted