Headlight polishing - NOT GOOD

So since my headlights are pitted like crazy, I thought I'd try polishing them. After doing some research, I bought some stuff and did the following:

-wetsand with 400 for 30 seconds

-wetsand with 600 for a minute

-wetsand with 1000 for a minute

-wetsand with 1500 for 2 minutes

-wetsand with 2000 for 2 minutes

-wetsand with 2500 for 5 minutes

-polish with PlastX and a buffer disc attached to a cordless drill

-and redid this last step about 4 times.

I am left with a headlight that is way less pitted than before, but CLOUDIER than new!!! From a few feet away it looks OK, but up close you can see the horizontal and vertical scratch marks still. What gives? I've tried resanding from 1500 up and repolishing, but to no avail. My arms are about to fall off too. I thought this would make my headlights look like new!

Help! Any ideas?

You did ok sanding, the buffing needs to be done with an actual buffer. My buddy does them at his body shop all the time, they come out crystal clear.

You can buy new aftermarket lamps for about 125.00 bucks

3m makes a kit, or you can buy their components separately (i.e. polish)

but yeah, i think only a corded drill will get the rpm's needed

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_US/3MAutomotive/Aftermarket/Products/Featured_Products/Headlight/

I wet sand them with 1500 then 2000. After that I apply two coats of clear coat. Of course this is done with automotive clearcoat. I actually did a pair for a friend yesterday. He was amazed.

X

I wet sand them with 1500 then 2000. After that I apply two coats of clear coat. Of course this is done with automotive clearcoat. I actually did a pair for a friend yesterday. He was amazed.

 

X

You spray the clearcoat immediately after sanding with 2000 grit???

That would make it pretty easy to do.

Well technically no. After the 2000 grit I clean them with a degreaser, and then blown them out with air and wipe them with a tack cloth. After that I clear coat them and the result is *wow*!

I should start selling this service around here.

X

op: get some 800 grit, and hit em again till the deeper horiz/vert grooves are gone, then get at it with the 1500, 2000 (all wet of course -- btw, what are you using for the wet, just water or a soapy solution?). Finish up with 3m fine cut rubbing comp on terry/micro. If all you have is a cordless, you might shed an arm between batteries; but your lenses should turn out spanky. It can all conceivably be done by hand.

p.s. probably the 400 that did it to you. and forget that "minutes" stuff, you're going to be a while

Well technically no. After the 2000 grit I clean them with a degreaser, and then blown them out with air and wipe them with a tack cloth. After that I clear coat them and the result is *wow*!

 

I should start selling this service around here.

 

X

That is brilliant

I have some lights that I am working on this weekend and I might give this a try.

My sarcasm meter is off. I am not sure if you are being serious or not!

But the shit works great! And it lasts way longer than polishing.

X

My sarcasm meter is off. I am not sure if you are being serious or not!

 

But the shit works great! And it lasts way longer than polishing.

 

X

He is the king of sarcasm but he is serious. Anything more than one sentence usually means he is serious. We love you rao.

I am always serious; I don't understand why people don't understand this

I have a set of headlights that need to be polished and I really like the idea of using clearcoat over 2000 grit. I h ave the sandpaper and a can of auto clearcoat, so I may give it a try on one of the lights. It would make refurbishing them the next time a little more difficult, but if they turn out looking good it is a great idea.

When this thread turns to arguing about the best type of clearcoat, then I will stop reading it

When my headlights need to be refreshed, I'm going to try the clearcoat (in a manner of speaking) trick, too.

The reason for this is because I use LaserVEIL, and for anyone who has experience with the stuff, they'll know that it's rather non-homogeneous, and makes the final look of the headlamp somewhat "dirty." It was long thought that was an unavoidable shortcoming, given the purpose of the coating.

That's until one guy on the RadarDetector.net Forums decided to do the clearcoat trick, using VEIL. He left the headlamps slightly hazy after a 2000-grit "final" wet-sand, and then hit them with a coat of VEIL using a HVLP paint-gun. The result was crystal-clear VEIL, kinda like a very lightly tinted lens.

We tint back lights/marker lights as well with a little drop of black on the clear before it gets applied. Does VEIL make your headlights darker? If that is all it does then a drop of black paint makes the lens tinted. I use a HVLP for my applications, but do not be fooled it takes practice to make it come out crystal clear. Right preparation, and good technique when applying the clear coat are essential. If not you'll end up with a hazy looking headlight.

This is interesting. I would love to tint a headlight to see if it has the same effect of the VEIL stuff.

X

^ LaserVEIL does carry a tint (G2 carried a grayish tone, while the first batches of G4 carried a blue hue, with later batches being somewhat slightly more gray-biased), but upon close inspection, you'll also see that it's not homogeneous. It's exact composition is something that's closely guarded, but it's been shown via independent hobbyist IR photography and videography to actually target the IR end of the spectrum more than the visual end (the effect is proportional, but non-linear: the initial coat is the most effective against IR, and subsequent coats, will killing more IR, more significantly darkens the lens; typically, VEIL Guy recommends no more than two coats).

A part of the LIDAR equation does relate to just how much light passes through, regardless of if it's visual-spectrum or IR. But what makes VEIL so effective is, without a doubt, its IR-specific capabilities.

I totally know that I'm gonna screw up the first few times I try it. I carry no illusions that I am no artist - my mother sucked up that part of the genepool for quite a few generations. The guy who showed us his prep, you could tell by his videos, had done things like that more than a few times.

op: get some 800 grit, and hit em again till the deeper horiz/vert grooves are gone, then get at it with the 1500, 2000 (all wet of course -- btw, what are you using for the wet, just water or a soapy solution?). Finish up with 3m fine cut rubbing comp on terry/micro. If all you have is a cordless, you might shed an arm between batteries; but your lenses should turn out spanky. It can all conceivably be done by hand.

 

p.s. probably the 400 that did it to you. and forget that "minutes" stuff, you're going to be a while

Damn, that is not worth it. I think it'd be easier to buy a can of clearcoat heh.

Or maybe those aftermarket lamps. Link me someone?

http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=11736+4294962486+1719+11921+9217

I've seen some, same manufacturer (TYC), for 124.00 each. E-bay has them all over the place too.

 

I am always serious; I don't understand why people don't understand this

 

When this thread turns to arguing about the best type of clearcoat, then I will stop reading it

:lol: Agreed!

http://www.car-stuff.com/store/?N=11736+4294962486+1719+11921+9217

 

I've seen some, same manufacturer (TYC), for 124.00 each. E-bay has them all over the place too.

How is the beam pattern on these knockoffs? I really like the beam pattern of OEM...(except for the squirrel finders)

So since my headlights are pitted like crazy, I thought I'd try polishing them. After doing some research, I bought some stuff and did the following:

 

-wetsand with 400 for 30 seconds

-wetsand with 600 for a minute

-wetsand with 1000 for a minute

-wetsand with 1500 for 2 minutes

-wetsand with 2000 for 2 minutes

-wetsand with 2500 for 5 minutes

-polish with PlastX and a buffer disc attached to a cordless drill

-and redid this last step about 4 times.

 

I am left with a headlight that is way less pitted than before, but CLOUDIER than new!!! From a few feet away it looks OK, but up close you can see the horizontal and vertical scratch marks still. What gives? I've tried resanding from 1500 up and repolishing, but to no avail. My arms are about to fall off too. I thought this would make my headlights look like new!

 

Help! Any ideas?

You need to re-sand to get the scratches down. The sanding motion should be horizontal until you see light scratches throughout the lens and then up and down to counter those. Then use the 2000 grit wet (2500 is not needed) and do the same thing sanding them horizontally then up and down. You also have to be careful not to stay in the same place for to long with the drill as you will "burn" the lens with the heat generated by the friction. I have hand buffing pad and just do it all by hand but a drill does make it far faster to do if you know how to do it correctly with it.

I would say start again with 600 wet then use 1200 then 2000 and remember that its not about "minutes" its about just paying attention and seeing whats going on. There is no set time schedule on anything so just pay attention to your work and it will come out great.

You need to re-sand to get the scratches down. The sanding motion should be horizontal until you see light scratches throughout the lens and then up and down to counter those. Then use the 2000 grit wet (2500 is not needed) and do the same thing sanding them horizontally then up and down. You also have to be careful not to stay in the same place for to long with the drill as you will "burn" the lens with the heat generated by the friction. I have hand buffing pad and just do it all by hand but a drill does make it far faster to do if you know how to do it correctly with it.

 

I would say start again with 600 wet then use 1200 then 2000 and remember that its not about "minutes" its about just paying attention and seeing whats going on. There is no set time schedule on anything so just pay attention to your work and it will come out great.

That's the weird thing...at every step I go until I can no longer see the scratches from the step before...and by 2500 everything is just cloudy.

Anyway, I went at it again with the polish and the drill and it's more clear, although some scratches are still present. I think I'll just leave it alone and crawl away in defeat. Or clearcoat it sometime...