Mine are very nasty looking from all the highway miles I drive. The rest orf the car looks great, but the headlights are horrible. Are there any secrects to clean these up?
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12-06-2008
Mine are very nasty looking from all the highway miles I drive. The rest orf the car looks great, but the headlights are horrible. Are there any secrects to clean these up?
12-06-2008
i have a small trick that i have done for a few years now. i have been reconing cars for over 10 years (also work at a body shop). take you headlights out (2, 10mm bolts), you can leave them in the pods. take some wet/dry sand paper and wet sand your headlights down untill they're an even haze all the way across. use 320-400 grit sand paper. then take clear coat spray can (use quality clear) and spray your head lights. it will bring them back clear. if you need any info, let me know. i can take pics of the process too and post them for you.
12-06-2008
Thanks for the info. I figured it would be something along those lines, but wasn't quite sure.
12-06-2008
pski920 can you post pics or a video of that. i need to do it to my truck but want to see it done first.
12-07-2008
I did a write up on restoring headlights that is in the How To area. Link is at the top of the page.
12-07-2008
great write up synthetic shield. it's pretty close to how i do it. i started the way you did with the grits, but found out that anything above 600 grit won't show when you clear them. i used to go up to 3000 grit (tri zact pads). if anyone wants more pics or anything i can help with, let me know. otherwise, syn sheild has done a great job!
12-07-2008
The reason I go up in grits like that is to get as close to optical clarity as I can because that then gives me two options. I can either clear it or I can use a plastic polish and restore it.
Once I hit it with the highest grit paper I can then hit it with the Novus three step plastic polish and you can hardly tell the difference from OEM to the restored when I do that.
However, if you do use the clear, you are probably correct that you dont have to go up so high in grit but Id probably still hit it with 1000 - 1500 just to make sure it was smoothed out enough for the clear.
12-08-2008
yeah, i used to polish them out after sanding them with a 3 step compound i use for car paint. the first compound is agressive enough to polish out the 600 grit scratches (even though my last grit while polishing was 1000). i agree you can under do it and it doesn't hurt to over do it on progressively using finer sandpaper. but i clear them now, it seems to hold up better. most factory headlights have a UV coating on their headlights, but it never seems to hold up. the clears i use have a UV protector in them and seem to last at least 2-3 years now (that's when i did my first one, and its still holding up). do you use some kind of protection after buffing them?
12-08-2008
The one think I really like about clearing the headlights over polishing them out is the fact you have created a barrier between the environment and the plastic of the headlight. So any future restoration just needs some sanding and polishing because once its cleared, all you are sanding and polishing is the clear coat much in the way you would do on a normal paint job.
I dont use any special protection on them for this reason. Additionally I apply several coats of clear just to build up that protection a little. I would rather use a clear with a UV protection in them because it be more protection overall.
When I buff them I dont use any protection either. But most people I restore headlights for prefer to have them cleared anyway after I explain the pros and cons. The clear method is a bit more involved but offers better overall protection in my opinion.
12-08-2008
hey i can not find that write up on how you did it synthiticshield. can you post a link please.
12-08-2008
yes, it's the same reason why i started to clear them. i used a nice wax after polishing before, but you're right, it never held up. and to maintain an already cleared headlight is a very easy process. do you use spray out of a can? i use actual 2 part clear with a reducer, but haven't heard how the can will hold up.
12-08-2008
yeah, just a high temp rattle can clear. Though, I suppose that a true automotive clear and reducer would perhaps work better but I have yet to try it. The spray can stuff seems to hold up very well at least in my experience.
12-09-2008
cool, i may try a can method next time. it's a little easier (don't have to mix, use compressed air, etc.). thanks for all the info.
12-09-2008
mike and reinke, good luck. the link syn. sent will help you (i don't want to post pics if he's already done it). if not, let me know and i'll send some pics if you're still not clear (NO PUN INTENDED) just came out that way.
12-09-2008
I got the link. I'm going to give it a try this weekend. Thanks again.
12-21-2008
i took mine off and sanded them with 1000 grit paper, then used some Turtle Wax rubbing compound to clean them and help remove any scratches left. then use some Meguiar's PlastiX polish. came out verry nice. got some before and after pics too
before
after
side by side, you can really see how bad they where
and the side by side on the car
Last edited by 99gpse; 12-21-2008 at 01:16 AM.
12-21-2008
That did come out rather well, nice job.
12-21-2008
yeah one of the covers came off. so we have some 93 Park Sabre lights on it now... till early nxt year, we are going to get some brand new ones... but the resto did go well. but took a while. i would suggest using a rougher grit paper first. like maybe a 600 or something. then go to the 1000. works fine with just the 1k but takes like an hour each light, mostly because of the little aim bumps on the lenses...
12-22-2008
looks good for doing it by hand! man your arm must be sore. yeah, using a little bit rougher sandpaper may save a little time. looks great, 100% improvement.
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