been trying to cleanup the headlight lenses...used wet sanding paper from 600 to 2000...then followed up with mothers...lenses feel very smooth but still are cloudy...not to experienced with this sort of sanding...do I go back to a lower grit and gradually work upwards or stay with the 2000 and keep sanding with that?...any info is appreciated

 

i did mine with 400 grit lightly then went to 1500 grit and sanded them till i can see no cloudiness. then buffed it and sealed it, well my friend did the buffing and sealing.

 

In my experience, I don't believe you have completely removed the factory coating (which had degraded and yellowed).

I suggest that you go back and resand with the 600 grit - wet! Sand it down, wipe it down and dry and look carefully - especially at the perimeter of the lens - and see if you detect a coating.

Once done with the 600 grit, go to the 1500 and sand it wet. When you think you're done, wipe and dry it down and inspect.

When you're happy with the 1500 grit, move to a polishing agent. Personally I've had good results with Mother's Mag polish (I know it has a more complete name than this, but I don't recall it). Yes, it's made for metal polishing, but works well on plastic too. I've also used some GE polish made for Lexan that I picked up at Home Depot, but I think that would be better after the Mother's. It does not seem to be as aggressive as Mother's which translates into more work on your part.

After polishing, I suggest some kind of coating - at least car wax or sealer. The original factory UV resistant coating has now been removed, which will allow the sun's UV rays to attack the plastic even faster. I've seen suggestions of using a paint protection film (e.g. 3M clear bra material) but nothing inexpensive. I've tried Future acrylic (yes, the floor finish stuff) on my daughters Accord, but unfortunately she's now living 500 miles away so I know how well it's holding up.

Good luck, this is something that is very doable by almost anyone with some patience.

If anyone has suggestions on a UV blocking coating, please share the info!

Steve

 

thanx guys for the info...my feeling was to drop down to a lower grit (600) and start over with the process...I think patience and time are a key also...I don't think I sanded long enough with each grit, afraid that I would do more damage instead of repair...guess I know what I'll be doing (again) this coming weekend...