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320 Taillight restoration

Rather that write an long winded article. I documented the process of restoring the tail lights on a N320 / U320 / V320 in a handfull of images. The original rubber bulb holders and wiring connectors are usually well past thier useby date so the first part of the project was to work out a solution for the bulb holders. It turns out old Toyota Celicas have just the right sized bulb holder :)

The taillights on my U320 were intact but badly faded with many scratches, one had been gouged by a grinder or sander at some stage of its life. Most of the scratches and a grinder mark were sanded out with 400 grit wet and dry paper then finshed off with some 1000 get wet and dry paper then buffed up using a cloth buf, rouge and metal polish.

The faded amber sections were then treated to 3 coats of transparent amber paint that is designed for faded tail lights. After 48hrs this was buffed up to a reasonable shine. When applied it often looks a bit too dark and flat but it thins out a lot as it drys.

The end result is not perfect but it looks a lot better without the faded and scratched lens plus the bulb holders and wiring is a lot more reliable.

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