Rekindling Side Marker Lights

While the restoration parts industry is booming for Chevy parts, the other three GM brands (Buick, Olds and Pontiac) sometimes suffer due to the small number of vehicles originally manufactured. Tooling to make repro parts is expensive, and if the sales numbers don't justify the expense, owners of these vehicles are simply out of luck for replacements. These side marker lights from a 1969 Buick GS convertible are original and in salvageable condition. The bare metal retaining brackets are covered in surface rust, but after light sandblasting, they'll be as good as new. The plastic lenses are mildly cracked and will polish out with a little elbow grease. The biggest problem is the surround bezels on the plastic lenses. Sometime in the dim past, probably during a repaint, some cretin with a sanding block scuffed the metal trim pieces. We'll attempt to restore all these items—no replacements are available from the restoration aftermarket. While we are dealing here with Buick lights, the basic resto techniques will work for most manufacturers.

Sandblasting
What a difference a little sandblasting makes. The fresh metal is now ready for a shot of primer and a squirt of cast-gray paint. Even if you're not going to finish the surface immediately, be sure to coat the metal with primer, particularly if you live in a moist climate. The marker light is installed through the fender from the outside, and the bracket is installed from inside the trunk. Two 3/8-inch hex nuts secure the lens housing to the bracket and pull it tightly to the outside body panel. Replace the old nuts for a factory-looking resto.

Polishing
Plastic can be brought back to life with a fine-grit metal polish without damaging the surface. In fact, fine polish will remove the years of scratches that result from wiping and cleaning the lens surface while washing the vehicle. We removed the metal trim bezel in order to clean the entire lens and remove any accumulated dirt or old polish from under the trim piece. Be sure the plastic is clean before starting, then apply and wipe the polish several times to remove scratches and add a surface shine. Most large auto-supply or paint stores will carry a quality-brand fine metal polish—ask a salesperson for their recommendation.

Trim Finish
Unlike the fine polish used on the plastic lenses, we now switch to the aggressive stuff to cut oxidation and to hopefully remove some sanding scratches on the trim bezel. This is typical damage caused by a body shop that didn't take the time to remove the emblems and other trim before sanding the body. One slip with 60-grit paper and the damage is done. If your trim is stainless steel, you can sometimes remove scratches by sanding with 1500-grit paper, then hand-polishing the surface. In our case, we salvaged the metal with handwork.

Like New
While not concours-quality, the restoration of this light looks just fine for a regular driver. Removal and replacement of these markers is so easy that the owner can continue to look for replacement parts at swap meets and through Buick parts sources. Sometimes the combination of parts from several lights will produce one perfect specimen. The hunt is always on!