3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

hey all. what sander have some of you used to wetsand the headlights?

i have an option to pick up the Dewalt 5" random orbit palm sander. but i want to make sure i can find the right series of grits from 600-2500 for taking small nicks and such out of my headlights and polishing them up to their former pristine condition.


should i be looking for an orbital sander like the dewalt? a smaller black-n-decker mouse? or what exactly have you all used?

also my local home depot doesnt seem to carry anything higher than 1000 grit wetsanding paper. where do you get yours from?

datsetup

ok heres what i used and were i went... i would go with a mouse i used a sander block tho, i feel its much better but much harder, i tryed a elect sander and went all over the place and was wetting me up lol, for the sand paper i went to pep boys thats where i got the block from to there pretty cheap there to like each set of 5 what 2.30 or sumthing like that...but its very easy to complete just have to spend a whole day on each lense...about 1 hour per grade more if your hand gets tired lol....pm me if you need more info glade to share....

ACleanSC4

iTrader: (7)

the delining looks great, however I think you can make it a bit clearer...

I'm sure you've seen TiGuy's job on LexAnt's car...those are

datsetup

clear?? haha!!!!!

YellowZ06

i bought a headlight cleaner kit from advance auto today, it was like 10 bucks, works with your drill, did wonders on the ls430s headlights

tiguy99

When I did LexAnt's I did it the longer/harder way. I've recently got some tips on how to make it quicker in the sanding dept. (thanks Bill aka 96_sc). There's this auto shop sander he uses. Looks like a dremmel but it has an end that looks like how a frisbe is all curved like that but it takes grits from 100 all the way to 3000. I'm currently locating one (Bill please check your PM or call me again! I recently got a new phone and misplaced your #)

When I did Anthony's I basically used the mouse like Jermaine (datsetup) said. The only thing is that the mouse only features 3 grits, 80, 120 and 240. So after the 240, you need to wetsand it with the tool Bill talked about or by hand from here on out. First up is the 320grit. Follow that up with the 400, next hit it with the 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 and 3000 if you can find that.

I didn't use the 3000 because I was unaware of that when I did his so I ended up using rubbing compound and then followed up with a plastic polish to bring out the clarity. Feel free to use 3m or Meguires compound and then the polish if you can find them and you should be all set.

Hit Jermaine and or me by PM and we'll gladly help! And beware...Jermaine was right prepare to be wet a coulple times lol. Actually a nice small pool of water should suffice.. Just enough to accomodate the already soaked sandpaper and the area to be sanded.

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

excellent! thanks for all the help guys....and the writup tig. I have 2 options, one is pneumatic(air compressor) tool the other is i can get that dewalt for real cheap just have to find the grit sand paper i want and find a way to attach it to the sander.

but now i know the process to go through. Thanks for all the help!
~R

tiguy99

How much is that Dewalt? It might be the same thing Bill was talking about. IF so I'll get one today I need to wetsand my other ES300 lights I'm retroing my TSX into. Too many sandlike rock pits on the surface

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

its the dw421 i can get it for 40-50

its a handheld orbital sander. and the nicks and scratches are exactly why i want to sand mine.

btw good luck on the tsx retrofit and where do you get your high grit paper from?

tiguy99

I got the lower grits from Ace Hardware and Home depot. Everything up to 600. THen I hit up Murrays and got 800-2000. I'm still on the hunt for 3000. Waiting on Bill to get back with me. I've heard about Hobby Shops having high grit paper too. You can find the high grits at Auto zone as well

3rdelement

iTrader: (1)

amazon.com had 2500 grit. just fyi

O. L. T.

iTrader: (17)

You can overheat the plastic using an electric sander, even wet sanding. The only way to do it and assure no screw ups is by hand.

datsetup

yea what he said^^^^^^^^ but it wont hurt 2 do 60-230 like mike told me

djeffers

What grit do you use by hand?

datsetup

well me like i said i did 120-2000 by hand took most of the day 2 do just 1 lense at a time, but if you want you can start from 320 by hand