How to restore ur headlight!
03-22-12, 08:33 PM
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How to restore ur headlight!
Here are the things you'll need.
1. buffer, or if u dont have the money for the buffer the 3m's kit shown in the picture will work as well with a drill gun. But for best result i recommend a buffer.
2.Rubbing compound, 3m's is best but since im out im using turtle wax.
3.wet sand paper, 3m's also (2000,3000,4000) depending how bad ur headlights are from 2000-4000. Im using 2000.
4.meguair wax
5.wiping cloth
1. buffer, or if u dont have the money for the buffer the 3m's kit shown in the picture will work as well with a drill gun. But for best result i recommend a buffer.
2.Rubbing compound, 3m's is best but since im out im using turtle wax.
3.wet sand paper, 3m's also (2000,3000,4000) depending how bad ur headlights are from 2000-4000. Im using 2000.
4.meguair wax
5.wiping cloth
03-22-12, 08:37 PM
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Get a buck with water and wet ur sand paper and ur headlight. U wanna do one side at a time. sand it down until u can see all these yellow stuff coming off of it. DO IT IN THE SHADE! AVOID SANDING UR PAINT! Keep wetting sand paper and headlight as needed.
Last edited by chaiyang7; 03-22-12 at 10:19 PM.
03-22-12, 08:44 PM
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Use the 3m's buff-pad and ur drill gun or buffer to buff it out Firmly. 4-5 minutes all around ur headlight. After wipe it down with a cloth, and wipe ur paint if it gets on it. Doing this will repair the scratches on it.
Last edited by chaiyang7; 03-22-12 at 10:20 PM.
03-22-12, 08:49 PM
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That all that u need to do and ur result after! I had to use my wife car because i did mine already. If ur not satisfy after do it one more time. Alot of the time people don't buff. You need to buff it to bring out the details.
Last edited by chaiyang7; 03-22-12 at 10:07 PM.
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03-22-12, 11:04 PM
#10
Looks pretty good chaiyang7. A few months ago I restored the headlights on my z4. I was afraid of using a buffer because I heard that if you leave it for too long that it will melt the plastic on the headlight and leave a permanent haze. Since it was my first time I just did it all by hand. Here's a before and after:
Before:
After
For a while I was just using a spray on cleaner that would make it look nice for a few weeks but it would return to the nasty mess that you see in the before picture. When i used the restoration kit from this site for $20 it worked wonders as you can see in the after picture. I pretty much just followed the instructions in the youtube video that they have up on their site. It's been a few months since I did it and it still looked great when I sold the car about a week ago. I haven't used the 3M kit so I can't really say which works better.
Before:
After
For a while I was just using a spray on cleaner that would make it look nice for a few weeks but it would return to the nasty mess that you see in the before picture. When i used the restoration kit from this site for $20 it worked wonders as you can see in the after picture. I pretty much just followed the instructions in the youtube video that they have up on their site. It's been a few months since I did it and it still looked great when I sold the car about a week ago. I haven't used the 3M kit so I can't really say which works better.
03-22-12, 11:37 PM
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Thank you OP. Although a "before" picture would have been nice, it's still pretty helpful! This might be a noob question, but where can you find such high grit wet-sanding sandpaper?
03-23-12, 12:15 AM
#13
Very nice little write up. I would add a couple things:
Make sure you tape off the area around your headlights. It's not to hard to slip during the wet sanding process and get the sand paper onto the paint!!! Better safe then sorry
Also, this is only a temporary solution really, wet sanding the lights removes whatever would be left of the protective layer applied to headlights to keep them looking like new for a while. Ideally, you want to apply some sort of sealer to the headlight or always make sure the headlights are nicely waxed after doing something like this to reduce the amount of the oxidation that will occur again.
That being said, on my old Prelude i did the wet sanding process and then waxed the headlights once every week or two afterwards and experienced minimal fade over the next year. I used Meguiars NXT 2.0 wax
Pepboys and i've even seen it at Walmart. I can't remember which one I got it from, but the one I bought actually had all the different grades required to do the headlights all in one package
Make sure you tape off the area around your headlights. It's not to hard to slip during the wet sanding process and get the sand paper onto the paint!!! Better safe then sorry
Also, this is only a temporary solution really, wet sanding the lights removes whatever would be left of the protective layer applied to headlights to keep them looking like new for a while. Ideally, you want to apply some sort of sealer to the headlight or always make sure the headlights are nicely waxed after doing something like this to reduce the amount of the oxidation that will occur again.
That being said, on my old Prelude i did the wet sanding process and then waxed the headlights once every week or two afterwards and experienced minimal fade over the next year. I used Meguiars NXT 2.0 wax
03-23-12, 07:34 AM
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U can find sand papers at Walmart, orchard supply etc. yes this will last u for a while If u wax it everytime u wash ur car or depending on how bad ur weather is. But if u want it to last take it to a shop after and have them shoot a clear coat over and it should last u a long time. I got this idea from a friend who use to own his own body shop. That's why 3mmm product is highly recommended.
03-23-12, 08:14 AM
#15
Not just any clear coat. I know one brand, Opti-coat. It is a permanent seal. It creates permanent seal on the plastic after you worked on it. Otherwise, they will oxidize again soon. Regular polishing compound is not enough. You can buy this at autogeek website I believe.
I had my headlights repaired recently by a professional detailer (he worked on Bugatti Veyron, Ferraris, etc. The detailer said this coat is, for sure, good for a year. If you wash your car regularly, it will stay there longer.
By professional detailer I meant a person (usually mobile) who works solely in detailing a car that includes restoring the color, removing swirl marks, etc. Not just any car wash joint, e.g. Mister Car Wash. They don't know what they are doing.
I had my headlights repaired recently by a professional detailer (he worked on Bugatti Veyron, Ferraris, etc. The detailer said this coat is, for sure, good for a year. If you wash your car regularly, it will stay there longer.
By professional detailer I meant a person (usually mobile) who works solely in detailing a car that includes restoring the color, removing swirl marks, etc. Not just any car wash joint, e.g. Mister Car Wash. They don't know what they are doing.