Need Advice: Tail Lights Interior Residue

[dwoo0418]

Hello community. Dealing with an issue, mainly cosmetic with my tail lights. After washing my car, I sprayed a liquid ceramic wax and it seems to have seeped into the tail lights. My guess is that there are cracks which allowed the spray to enter the tail light chamber. Any advice? Is it possible to remove the tail lights and clean the interior? I want to avoid bringing it into the service center (???). If I need to, any idea on cost to replace the tail lights?

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[Doanster1]

That all looks topical to me based on the splatter over much of the plastic pieces, including the charge port door. If only one tail light looked like that, then seepage would be more likely.
Have you tried a polish to see if you they are actually topical and can buff out?

 

[drift]

That all looks topical to me based on the splatter over much of the plastic pieces, including the charge port door. If only one tail light looked like that, then seepage would be more likely.
Have you tried a polish to see if you they are actually topical and can buff out?

I agree with Doanster1, use a good plastic cleaner/polish and see if you can polish it out. Good luck.

 

[beatle]

FWIW, when bugs get in these lights (and they often do) Tesla just replaces them. They're not really serviceable. I suppose you could heat them in the oven, pry them apart and clean out the inside. Tail lights on ebay are around $100 a pop.

 

[dwoo0418]

I wish it was exterior. Used a cleaner and windex, still there. Anyone have any experience taking off the tail light themselves?

 

[Doanster1]

I wish it was exterior. Used a cleaner and windex, still there. Anyone have any experience taking off the tail light themselves?

Windex ain’t gonna do nothing for you. You need an abrasive, hence the polish recommendation.
Either way, if you want to take the light assemblies off the car, you’ll need to peel back the carpet/panels to expose the retaining nuts/screws. Be forewarned, however, because just like headlights, they are sealed units so you’d have to bake them and slice the adhesive to separate the parts. So unless you’re willing to spend a significant amt of time on this, replacement is your best option, but again, I’d personally try polishing first, especially on the charge port door/other areas with minimal spotting vs the left light.

 

[dwoo0418]

Gotcha, do you have a polish that you recommend? I will go that route.

 

[Doanster1]

Gotcha, do you have a polish that you recommend? I will go that route.

Always start with least aggressive and work your way up. Start with your basic headlight restorer kit or Plasti-X. Then if you see some results, but there’s still more to be done, move up to actual paint correcting compounds - Meg’s, Chemical Guys, Adam’s, the usual suspects.