What is better to be used on the headlight len's of a W140 or mercedes in general, i thought its some kind of plastic not real glass but a member on here was very helpful w/ wetsanding tips but recommended using ScratchX...everywhere else i've seen PlastX used.
Whats the overall consensus...i just bought plastX but now i'm not sure which one to use.
Vehicle: Opal Black 1998 MB E320 - Signs of Life- Pearl White 1994 Q45T
Location: S.D. Cali
Posts: 1,701
Whats up again. I used PlastX with great results. I will never ever ever support a product with out having had tested several times over. I am a results orientated person, and recommended it. I actualy used both products with great results. With out wetsanding, I was able to use PlastX on the head lights with normal microfiber towel use. I then used Meguiars ScratchX to handle the scratches.
They, in my opinion are two seperate products. PlastX is designed for such use on headlights, where as M's ScratchX can be used on your car with several applications to handle swirl marks, with I would rather use Mgrs Diamond Cut Compound # 85 and an Rotary Buffer for these kind of clearcoat scratches on the body. I would use a buffer and wool head for the polishing after your applications.
Believe it or not, I proceeded to use Mgrs ScratchX after PlastX so using both in that order wont hurt. Its realy about the wetsanding process and the buffer tools you use.
Definatly use PlasticX on your lights, that is one of the main parts on a car that PlasticX is designed for. Use ScratchX on your paint to remove scratches and swirl marks.
When I asked Meguiars about PlastX they said it depends on the headlights. Some are softter acrylic and some are harder polycarbonate/lexan. The PlastX works great on the softer lenses (I don't know what your car has) but the ScratchX was better on lexan. He always recommends using the mildest abbrasive possible that will do the job so if PlastX works, that's what you should use.
W140's have a big fat peice of glass, no thin plastic, and even if it is plastic then they have me fooled...i tried wet sanding it today and i didn't realize how much work i'm in for. I barely even was able to work in the 600 grit by hand in to the point where i could tell it was doing something. I think i might have to go buy that foam sandpaper aplicator to do the job nice and evenly....my hands arent up to it alone lol.
Vehicle: Opal Black 1998 MB E320 - Signs of Life- Pearl White 1994 Q45T
Location: S.D. Cali
Posts: 1,701
MaximRick, I feel you. My hand did hurt a little afterwards. Your using 600????? I guess if it works for you, but I used 1000, then 2000 as suggested by other professionals. I also palmed the paper and didnt bend my risk or use just the tips of my four fingers. I leaned in to the easiest angle of the lamps and proceeded to move with the grain. I think you will get it anyway, it all starts with taking a chance then seeing what works for you best.
thing is my 1995 S320 has nearly 260,000, and everything on the body itself is practically original for the most part....so that means those len's took 260,000miles of chipping abuse a lot of it highway i'm sure.
to this day i'm still shocked by how good the original paintjob looks....
but after seeing my mother new lens's on her 99S500, i realized how foggy and damaged my headlights look in comparison so i need to take a nice layer off to get rid of most of the chipping on the outside from w/e. Its all very much on the surface but so much work to be done though just to get that surface layer off :/ lol.
Vehicle: Opal Black 1998 MB E320 - Signs of Life- Pearl White 1994 Q45T
Location: S.D. Cali
Posts: 1,701
I feel u on that. I will say this much, I was sitting at starbizzles a couple of weeks ago and saw your make model drive by with upgraded head lights, that looked super sweet. I remember being impressed with the fact that the owner took the time and invested in the headlights to upgrade the look to a old school but great looking car.
The option to upgrade the head lights may be something you might want to investigate. After cleaning my head lights, I am still confident in knowing that when I have extra cash I will perchase the best looking projector clear lenses I can buy.
o yea... as i'm sure we can all agree on this... love upgrades and mods....right now my list is corner lights which are coming, after def. LED tail lights by the end of the summer, and then work on finding the perfect set of wheels i like. The headlights i think i can keep if i make look like new for a nice while.
Thanks for the compliment. I really love this car. It was a hand me down that i got 3 years ago. before even driving it had it in the shop for nearly a month, $6000 later, returned and revamped everything from suspension to taking apart hte engine and resharpening the cylinders. And honest to god its the smoothest ride i've ever been in all my life since. Now that everything works great mechanicallly i'm working on the looks little by a little. The paint job is the one thing that was a sleeper. All i had to do was wash it and wax it a few times after i got it and it looked like a whole different car. (my mom like most women didn't do anything for it (and somehow the paint toughed it out), and my dad didn't care to much as long as his S500 was taken care of.
Last edited by MaximRick : 07-03-2007 at 01:01 PM.
Meguiars PlastX vs. ScratchX 
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