Sust Man

Ok, so I decided to restore my headlights and remove some oxidation. I wetsanded them using 1000 grit sandpaper, followed by 1500, and the ending with 2000. I sanded different directions each time I swithched sandpaper. I finished off with some rubbing compound and then some meguiar's plastx polish. The oxidation is gone, but now the whole headlight is fogged up with the tiny scratches the wetsanding left behind. Did I do something wrong? Any suggestions?

mr.motoring

Patience... It can take several hours to do this.

mr.motoring

What you are seeing is the coating that manufacturers apply to the exterior of the housing. Because it gets pitted over years, you want to remove all of it to get down to the plastic. The coating gets easily scratched, that's why it appears fogged up. If you continue, you'll see the boundaries between the pure plastic and the coating that still remains. Once you remove all the coating, then you can polish the plastic and the scratches will be gone. Wetsand for several minutes, rinse, polish, and keep repeating.

Sust Man

So should I use the 1000 grit and rub it harder too? I have been rubbing it with about light/medium pressure.

fsttyms1

You should also just go 1 direction sanding. It will be Far easier to remove and mask the sanding scratches if they are just going 1 direction. Buff with the scratch X harder/more till there isnt any scratches left

Lawaia

Simple factoids.....
1. ALWAYS use lots of water when sanding plastics. Keep the surface/paper wet at all times.

2. Alternate sanding directions between paper grits. (Horizontal vs. Vertical) NEVER in a circular motion.

3. DON'T use too much pressure. Take your time and let the sandpaper do the work.

600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000 grit is what I used in that order, with excellent results.

Sust Man

I went ahead and ordered the crystal view headlight restore online. On their video, they show the guy using it with some kind of solution on the sandpaper without using water. I figure I will give this stuff a shot as a last resort.

fahoumh

I can't remember who posted about this product, or even which forum...but there are 3 different products by a company called Novus.