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Subject: Your yellowed taillights can look new again for $8 and some elbow grease. Author: DavidC (moderator) : member since December, 2003 : 12424 posts Posted on: 2009-07-09 21:17:44

The upper inside areas of the "crystal clear 2001" taillights in my '97 740iL were starting to yellow, making the car look old before it's time. I installed these taillights about five years ago. So, after 10 minutes with a random orbit polisher and a bottle of PlastX, this e38 is looking younger again...


Tools of the trade. A random orbit polisher (in this case, a 6" one from Griot's Garage, but they have another 3" polisher that would be better suited for the tight curves of the taillights ), a foam buffing pad and a bottle of Mequiar's PlastX Clear Plastic Cleaner and Polish ($7.80 on Amazon).

If you don't have a polisher, just use a good cotton cloth and rub in a circular motion. It will take about 10-15 minutes of hand rubbing to do what the machine does in less than five minutes, but it's certainly do-able.


The left side has been polished. The right side has not been polished. A close look at the right side reveals that the "crystal clear" area of the upper part of the taillight is severely yellowed. Yes, green really is my favorite color


The right side before polishing. The yellowing of the plastic was more evident in person than in this photo.


Another view of the left after polishing but with the right side not yet polished.


A closeup of the left side after polishing.


Here's a better view of the yellowed right side before polishing.


And, the right side after after polishing.


The full effect, with both taillights polished. It looks even better in person.

David Cecil
Lexington, KY
Titanium silver '01 750iL, 92k miles
Oxford green '97 740iL, 184k miles
Alpine white '92 750iL, 95k miles (for sale)
Charcoal gray '86 735i, 101k miles (for sale)

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E38 mods: Factory nav retrofit, widescreen display, XM satellite receiver in place of CD changer, custom Valentine1 stealth interface to instrument cluster, BimmerNav bluetooth, factory xenon headlights retrofit, heated seats x4 retrofit, StrongStrut tower brace, crystal clear taillights and corners, M aluminum pedals, stainless steel brake lines, billet aluminum throttle bushings, staggered 18'' M-parallel wheels with Kumho Ecsta LX rubber, quad brake lights conversion

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The Detailing Forum | Message Thread:

• Your yellowed taillights can look new again for $8 and some elbow grease. (pic) (url) - DavidC 2009-07-09 21:17:44 (13185 views)
  • Question RE: Different styles of E38 OE tail lights - acess 2009-12-01 09:13:01 (2179 views)
  • Not to derail this, but has anyone used the stuff at Walmart? (url) - eaglecomm 2009-07-10 13:19:54 (483 views)
    • I used it on my wife's Jeep Grand Cherokee headlights which were very cloudy.... - Sarasota 2009-07-10 20:03:40 (433 views)
  • looks great david, i will have to do it on my car again soon. (nt) - rg0115 2009-07-10 10:38:37 (334 views)
  • We need a chemical engineer now - whiteil 2009-07-10 09:29:36 (364 views)
    • I blame it on the UV radiation her in in CA. But then why does it happen in PA - Wiggi 2009-07-10 12:19:32 (320 views)
      • The bigger question is why is it only on the reverse light side? - bghark 2009-07-10 12:40:07 (347 views)
        • I've been wondering the same thing. (nt) - DavidC 2009-07-10 15:09:52 (339 views)
    • I think heat and pollution combo. Doesn't seem to happen in Ireland.... - RobinK 2009-07-10 10:15:51 (323 views)
    • I tink it is the heat generated by the reverse lights. It is the only... - bghark 2009-07-10 09:58:47 (372 views)
      • Them bulbs must get hot in there .. - whiteil 2009-07-10 10:10:49 (343 views)
        • Hmm...maybe we should get LED bulbs for that light only... - kapone 2009-07-10 15:47:09 (352 views)
          • Now that is a very cool idea! .....Literally..... That is a great way.... - bghark 2009-07-10 16:07:06 (314 views)
            • Hell...let's put an HID kit in there! They are only 35w bulbs... - kapone 2009-07-10 16:18:06 (331 views)
              • hahahahaa (nt) - sdmike 2009-07-10 17:11:03 (312 views)
              • You know..I was kidding....right?? :-) (nt) - kapone 2009-07-10 16:25:46 (297 views)
        • A small test, get a socket and reverse light bulb.......... - bghark 2009-07-10 10:25:48 (329 views)
  • Great job D! these are the simple things that make the car look great again! (nt) - Edwin™ 2009-07-10 05:45:19 (336 views)
    • E38 /728i/1998 cd not working - cvorias 2009-12-21 01:29:11 (188 views)
  • nice! on my to-do list (nt) - thesteve™ 2009-07-09 22:35:28 (314 views)
  • Looks good thanks for the photos. (nt) - subspd 2009-07-09 21:20:05 (346 views)

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