Wetsanding Headlights
#1
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Wetsanding Headlights
1st. 1500 grit- 10 minutes wet sanding
2nd. 2000 grit- 20 minutes wet sanding
(after the sanding you wont be able to see through the light at all, so dont worry)
3rd. 3M rubbing compound (rub it in hard, or use a buffer)
4th. Meg's Polish
5th. Meg's carnuba wax
Was what the Diy said to use. After the sanding, it becomes foggy and stays that way? Is this normal, cuz thats what happened to my lights? What product gets rid of this fogginess? 3M rubbing cpd, polish or wax?
I used 400 wetsand so far.... going to get some higher grit soon so I think I'll pick up some of these items on the way.
2nd. 2000 grit- 20 minutes wet sanding
(after the sanding you wont be able to see through the light at all, so dont worry)
3rd. 3M rubbing compound (rub it in hard, or use a buffer)
4th. Meg's Polish
5th. Meg's carnuba wax
Was what the Diy said to use. After the sanding, it becomes foggy and stays that way? Is this normal, cuz thats what happened to my lights? What product gets rid of this fogginess? 3M rubbing cpd, polish or wax?
I used 400 wetsand so far.... going to get some higher grit soon so I think I'll pick up some of these items on the way.
#2
Moderator Alumnus
I restored my headlight plastic covers using 600, 800, 1000, 1500 then 2000 grit paper. Always use water and ALWAYS alternate sanding direction between grits. NEVER sand in a circular motion.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
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Originally Posted by Lawaia
I restored my headlight plastic covers using 600, 800, 1000, 1500 then 2000 grit paper. Always use water and ALWAYS alternate sanding direction between grits. NEVER sand in a circular motion.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
Glaze to remove swirl marks = polish? Oh and alternate sanding directions.. 1500 use vertical sanding and 2000 use horizontal sanding? And where can I find the compound at? Home depot next to the sandpaper?
#5
Something is missing...my
Also, they say to use clean water for each grit (every time you rinse your paper, plastic particles get into the water, the next grit paper will pick them up and scratch them into lens). long time sanding seems helpful.
I just buy some restoration kit from the auto store(permatex is the brand), 4 grits of paper, a cloth, and a little bottle of polisher that clears the lens after the sanding.
After a while of redoing all this (over and over), maybe easier to purchase new lenses or headlight assy's. My sand and polish went about 6 - 8 months and is starting to haze again. I am going to purchase new assy's, and use the old ones as a Retro experiment. If I like the outcome, I will put the lenses from the new assy's on the retrofit assy's and have a nice day (but talk is cheap. We'll see).
I just buy some restoration kit from the auto store(permatex is the brand), 4 grits of paper, a cloth, and a little bottle of polisher that clears the lens after the sanding.
After a while of redoing all this (over and over), maybe easier to purchase new lenses or headlight assy's. My sand and polish went about 6 - 8 months and is starting to haze again. I am going to purchase new assy's, and use the old ones as a Retro experiment. If I like the outcome, I will put the lenses from the new assy's on the retrofit assy's and have a nice day (but talk is cheap. We'll see).
#6
Senior Moderator
When wetsanding you ALWAYS want to sand in one direction. It will make it easier to polish out and hid the scratches
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#8
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It is a great thing to do to your headlights.... I did it to my headlights before I bought the blacked out ones on eBay. Ever since I did it to my stock headlights and saw how good of a job it did whenever I am out and about and see cars (a lot of mercedes) with the yellowish headlights it makes me want to tell the driver about this method. It just makes such a difference.
#9
sanding headlights oops
I restored my headlight plastic covers using 600, 800, 1000, 1500 then 2000 grit paper. Always use water and ALWAYS alternate sanding direction between grits. NEVER sand in a circular motion.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
The light duty compound is used to get rid of all the haziness. You also need to use a glaze to remove swirl marks left behind by the compound/pad. Then finish off with some wax.
#11
Unregistered Member
I did the wetsand then polish then seal with wax/sealant and after a few months the headlights went back to being yellow/hazy. Since I had to do them again, this time I clear coated them, should last much longer than wax/sealant.
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