Recently picked up a neglected 2005 NBP 6MT for a pretty good price. It needed paint correction as well as some serious work to the headlights.
Here is what I began with.





Opened them up and layed down some satin black krylon fusion. Once back together I wet sanded from 220-2000 grit. Then applied a mixture of spar urethane and mineral spirits with a paper towel. I couldn't be more happy with the results.

 

Great work! Those things are day and night to what they use to be.

 

jesus

 

^^^^lol

 

Excellent work! What do you think the life span will be?

 

Nice job OP

 

Whoa, I have never seen TL headlights in that bad of shape. That thing must have been parked outside its entire life with its headlights into the sun lol. You really brought those things back to life. I always love to hear stories of when cars go to good owners that revive them and give them the attention they deserve. Nice job! I would love to see some other shots of the car.

 

I had some experience with wet sanding headlight and the haze/fog will most likely come back. Idk if someone already tried wrapping the exterior of the lens with clear vinyl wrap to protect it, but I think it could be a good idea.

 

Thanks. Not entirely sure. There are guys on autogeek who have used this method and are still haze free after several years. The car is garaged, so I'm not too worried.

This is true anytime you remove the factory UV protection and don't re-apply. This is where the spar urethane comes in. It's very UV resistant.

 

While you have them out I would take them to your local body shop and have them shoot them with some clear coat. Don't try using krylon clear because it has no UV protection and will yellow in a couple months

 

I used spar urethane in lieu of a 1 or 2k clear coat.

 

Very good sir, they look outstanding

 

Nicely done!

 

Well done OP. I did a pair of UA2 lights almost a year ago and so far so good.

 

Glad to hear!

Thanks everyone. Can't wait to get them on the car. Paired with a freshly plastidipped grill, the front end will look a hell of a lot nicer.

 

good job!!

 

Optimum has a lens coating that does have UV protection called Optimum Lens Coating. Not cheap though, about $60. But you can make it back on your friend's headlights. 1 tube is enough for probably 20-25 pairs of headlights. Charge your friends $50 to polish and coat, make some decent money back.

 

They sure do. And from what I gather, it is superior to spar urethane as far as clarity and longevity is concerned. But since I already had the spar, it was a no brainer for me. I have 4 friends who now want their headlights refinished after seeing my results. Should cost me a whopping $.05-$.10 in product.

 

What finish did you use on your urethane,satin,semi gloss or gloss and did you polish them or leave them hazy after you did your wet sanding?

 

Looks awesome!

 

Clear gloss. Pic of the product below. I finished with 2000grit. No polish. I wanted something for the spar to adhere to. Wiped it on with a Scotts blue shop towel. Less is more or you will get streaking.

edit: I noticed they look hazy in the pics, that is cameras fault. They are so clear I can unfortunately see the scratches on the inside of the lens now. Kicking myself for not noticing those while I had the housings open. lol.

 

damn those lights were in bad shape

 

nice job!

i tried the spar/urethane mix too..unfortunately it's not lasting me very long, maybe 8 months or so and my car spent most of its time in a garage or parking structure. I guess it's cheaper still to reapply than off the shelf products.

 

Wow, that's a bummer. Yup, I feel the same way.

 

dam u brought those things back from the dead.

 

Nice work!

 

Thread hack...lol.. Do I spay a satin silver r6? possibly 2003?