Bringing LIGHT Back Into My Solar Lights & Cleaning Challenge
10 Materials
2 Hours
Easy
After watching endless videos on how to clean solar path lights that have quit working because the solar panels on top had turned white. I decided that put all of them to the test at once. Since I am a solar light junkie and have SO many, I decided to start with the ones I have the least amount of my decks post caps that also needed to be rejuvenated totally only after a year 😢
The Challenge of 5 of the most popular
I chose five of the most viewed YouTube videos on rejuvenating solar lights .
Vinegar and dish soap , Brasso, Finger nail polish remover , Toothpaste, and clear fingernail polish. The winner was hand down the toothpaste!
it was the easiest and fastest, and cut through the grunge using a greenie the best. I did however keep the pan of water with vinegar and dish soap around to clean everything up with as I continued on to my next step.
Before
This is a close up of the before
After
So I bought these copper solar post caps from Home Depot last year after we finished our deck they were so nice and pretty and shiny and went very well with our colors scheme but they did not hold up to the weather.
So after I got all the solar panels cleaned, on to the next step of cleaning them up . I taped up the solar square with painters tape and sprayed them with a nice new coat of color. I had leftover spray paint on hand from redoing my patio table and chairs , so I knew it matched. After all of them were dry , I removed the painters tape and gave them all a nice coat of spray with UV protected clear clear paint .
Work in progress
Lol, after getting them all done I realized I was missing one, oops
Like New if not better
So I end this with some new found insight , when you go out and buy ANY solar lights, be it pathway, or solar post caps, pretty yard stakes, solar light strings or whatever solar powered lighting you have! Invest and keep on hand a can or 2 of clear outdoor UV protectant spray paint and spray those babies down!
Then you will never need to worry about cleaning them or the solar panels turning white or yellow!
Onward I go now to clean and spray my gazillion solar lights I have everywhere, yard , flowerbeds, ceiling of my deck roof 😱😱
Have a Great Day Hometalkers!
Comments
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2 of 9 comments
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Clear coat spray (Rustoleum, etc.): Essential pre-coating for all metal outdoor (or bathroom) items labelled "made in China" ;)
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Awesome tip... I'll look for it.
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