Laquered lights?know if anyone can help.

[PoleDriver]

Don't know if anyone can help. I've got some Fiat coupe headlights which are covered in some sort of varnish/laquer which has started peeling. How can I strip this off without damaging the (plastic) headlight units?
Should I then recoat them with something, or just a good layer of wax?

[snuffle]

Sand it off,
start with something like 1200 grit
finish with 3000
polish until scratches are gone
the finer the grit you finish with, the less effort needed to achieve full gloss

if you haven't got any sand paper or cutting polish, most bodyshops will swap some for a jar of coffee

[TallPaul]

It could be a factory coating. A lot of plastic lenses have an optically clear scratch resistant coating to help protect them. I've polished through this before and it does indeed look like they're coated in lacquer. If this is the case, once the coating is removed, you'll find the lenses scratch very easily and quickly become opaque. Its no big problem, you'll just need to buff them up every couple of months with a light cutting compound.
If it is lacquer, from a badly/ ineffectively masked paintjob, then yes you can sand and polish it off, but dont go too far! I think I'd try a pressure washer first to try & blast it off.

Edited by TallPaul on Monday 3rd January 22:25

[cartoons]

you can get a kit now that allows you to sand them off and re-lacquer them.a company called barnes sells it and their rep says it works a treat. it might be worth a ring round local bodyshops to see if anyone`s got one