Wet sanded + buffed my headlights
02-02-06, 09:59 PM
#17
Lexus Test Driver
I just bought 3M plastic polish and went to town with my porter cable with a yellow cutting pad and did it like 3 or 4 times and it got rid of the yellowness almost instantly and the little cracks. Then I applied autoshield headlight protectors that I had to have custom cut. Instaling the autoshield took some patience and a heat gun to avoid the the annoying little ripples and bubbles.
Looks good though.
Looks good though.
02-03-06, 02:10 AM
#18
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Originally Posted by Camshaft
What about starting at 400, then going higher and then finishing up with some Novus plastic windshield polish?
)
02-05-06, 08:08 AM
#22
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I did the drivers light the next day. Im pretty sure you can get away with a cheap walmart special buffer and some plastic cleaner to get the "cloudy" look out from the wet sanding. Ive never had moisture in mine, so thats not a problem for me. Ive pulled apart alot of headlights/taillights in the past and generally it is a pretty difficult task, although the lexus taillights seemed to be somewhat easier then my honda/acura ones.
02-05-06, 08:18 AM
#23
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Sorry, I didnt do this as a "how-to" because I thought it had been previously covered and just wanted to show my results and apparently several people have now wet sanded their headlights expecting crystal clear results which is not what you get from wet sanding. Thus, I added a big warning and I do stress that you should not wet sand your lights unless you know what you're doing (I previously practiced/screwed up a set of trashed civic headlights to get my technic down). Please do not try this if you are unsure about it.
02-05-06, 12:35 PM
#25
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i jus got my car back from the body show after an accident. they helped me polished my headlights and al my friends thought i had new lights. i think they used a heavy duty rubbing compund to clean it and some 3M polish to finish it off
02-06-06, 04:53 AM
#27
Originally Posted by Ibacksucka
I'm just going to buy a new drivers side HL . I followed all the steps minus the electric buffer and even if I do buy an electric buffer and clear the lens it will probaly still gather moisture. I bought my other Drivers side HL off Ebay for $100 and when i got it man it looked new and I installed it and wallah it rained and now has moisture!!--I bet one of you CL members pulled an "oven trick" on me and took me for a c-note 
So I decided to take my extra light and try this "oven trick" myself to no avail (probaly b/c no buffer) Does anyone know where to get the best deal on a brand new light besides the local dealer for $350 large? I wish someone could answer why these lights sometime collect moisture?? The seal was tight and there were no crack in the housing 
So I decided to take my extra light and try this "oven trick" myself to no avail (probaly b/c no buffer) Does anyone know where to get the best deal on a brand new light besides the local dealer for $350 large? I wish someone could answer why these lights sometime collect moisture?? The seal was tight and there were no crack in the housing
02-06-06, 09:12 AM
#28
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Originally Posted by Ibacksucka
I'm just going to buy a new drivers side HL . I followed all the steps minus the electric buffer and even if I do buy an electric buffer and clear the lens it will probaly still gather moisture. I bought my other Drivers side HL off Ebay for $100 and when i got it man it looked new and I installed it and wallah it rained and now has moisture!!--I bet one of you CL members pulled an "oven trick" on me and took me for a c-note So I decided to take my extra light and try this "oven trick" myself to no avail (probaly b/c no buffer) Does anyone know where to get the best deal on a brand new light besides the local dealer for $350 large? I wish someone could answer why these lights sometime collect moisture?? The seal was tight and there were no crack in the housing
So I decided to take my extra light and try this "oven trick" myself to no avail (probaly b/c no buffer) Does anyone know where to get the best deal on a brand new light besides the local dealer for $350 large? I wish someone could answer why these lights sometime collect moisture?? The seal was tight and there were no crack in the housing You have moisture probably due to a temperature change. At one point I "baked" my taillights and they had moisture in them because I was overly eager to go drop them in the car (all sealed up, still rather warm). Thus warm headlight/tail + cold air = moisture. Thus, take a hair dryer to your headlight with both headlights out, get all the moisture out (heat from the hair dryer will make it evaporate), then let them sit outside for 12+ hours (making sure to leave the actual lights out of it). That should fix the moisture problem.
02-06-06, 08:56 PM
#30
Originally Posted by 95 Integra
You have moisture probably due to a temperature change. At one point I "baked" my taillights and they had moisture in them because I was overly eager to go drop them in the car (all sealed up, still rather warm). Thus warm headlight/tail + cold air = moisture. Thus, take a hair dryer to your headlight with both headlights out, get all the moisture out (heat from the hair dryer will make it evaporate), then let them sit outside for 12+ hours (making sure to leave the actual lights out of it). That should fix the moisture problem.
