siaxazn

I decided to repair my leaky headlight today and sand out the ugly lines as well. I think it looks alot cleaner and perhaps it gives off a nicer beam pattern. I was thinking about sanding out all the lines on the headlight but thats alot more work. I just sanded out the thin lines by the projector. I know someone else has done this before and thats what inspired me. It came out better than i thought. I didnt paint the housing black since i figured i'd loose lighting quality with out the silver reflective surface and i think it looks better stock.

I threw it in the oven for 7 minutes on 175 degrees. then i pryed it apart with a putty knife. came apart easily as i've done this numerous times before in my previous attemps to clean out the condensation. But this time I bought novus 3 stage plastic polish and it did wonders compared to my previous jobs with scratch x.

I used a 400 600 800 1000 and 1500 grit wetodry sand paper. I let it soak in a bowl of water and dishwashing soap. Then i started sanding away with the 400 grit. took alot of effort and time to get the lines out. After that i increased the grit in that area and did the rest of the headlight with 1000 and 1500 grit.

heres some pictures for your viewing pleasure.

this is after I sanded out all the lines and before the novus plastic polish

a close up of the scratches and dullness after sanding

after applying #3 novus heavy scratch remover

after applying #2 novus fine scratch remover and #1 plastic clean and shine
outside shot

inside shot

and the finished product

siaxazn

a shot of back on the car with my hid's on

a closer shot

a close up of the drivers side

and another

and a shot of the passenger side which i havent done yet

a side by side view of a headlight with lines and one with out


next up im probably going to get some x5 projectors and hid's as im not that satisfied with the range and beam pattern of my current setup.

SC400_2nV

iTrader: (1)

I was thinking of doing the same thing but I wasnt sure how deep those grooves were on the inside of the headlight. Im guessing since its so rounded you did it by hand but how long would you guess it might take to do the entire lens (lineless)? I need a little inside project with all this snow!

indypwr

nice mod but time consuming........how long did that sanding take before removing the scratches?

good job!!

L. L. S.

looks great, but keep sanding, there is lot's of work to go to be done. It is very nicely coming along, but i did this to mine and was able to remove all scratches with 2000 grit and Meguiars cleaner wax.

siaxazn

it was quite diffucult removing the thin lines it maybe have take me close to an hour or so to fully remove the thin lines with the 400 grit by hand. It took me 3 hours to complete the whole project. I dont think u can sand out the thick groves with 400 grit by hand easily. maybe try something rougher. I know someone on here has done the whole thing but not sure what he used. My guess he used a power sander or some sort. It sure would be alot easier on the hands.

siaxazn

unfortuneatly my local auto parts store didnt have 2000 grit. theres still some very light scratches but i guess i can live with that for now. I'm sure the 2000 grit would of made it look like new. I plan on installing hid projectors in the near future so i guess i will finish it off with 2000 grit then. But right now in satisfied as its still looks great, just not as good as a brand new headlight. Its quite cold out there and i still havent done the other side yet.

Fiya

I remember you asked about this before and I was skeptical of the final product. Now after seeing it I wish I had the time to do it myself. Very cool.

abboushi

good job how much did the novus polish cost you and where did you get

pilip99

yeah great job with those headlights, I had the same question as abboushi

One HoT

iTrader: (5)

I'm glad your vacation time has become so productive.. ..If you get 97+ headlights you'll get more light out of your current HIDs...Mccolloch is CRAP...My passenger side HID stopped working....!!

siaxazn

I bought the 8 ounce bottles on ebay for 22 shipped but you can opt for the 2 ounce bottles for 12.50 shipped if you only plan on using it for this project. you can always google up a few sites that sell this its about the same price as flea bay i think. This stuff is very usefull so gotta get the bigger bottle. I've already used it for many applications like cleaning the rear of my friends convertible top. good stuff

SC300Es

Great job. How about a side shot of the car with the tt wheels?

Ed

SC400Chinx

Hmm.... question. I bet its just the flash, but the headlights dont look crystal clear?

Just observation

siaxazn

its a little less than crystal clear as i guess i didnt do such a great job but it still looks great. and as another member stated i should have finished it off with 2000 grit. But it wasnt available to me at the time. I'll let guys know how the 2nd one turns out though. I'll try the 2000 grit this time.