Headlight Restoring: What am I doing wrong?

X

XRL

New member
So lately I've been trying to wetsand my headlights. They weren't oxidized or anything before really, but they had the scratches and such you would expect out of a vehicle with 80k+ on it. But I'm just not getting the results I wanted, am I expecting too much from this?



First try I wetsanded them with 1500 grit sandpaper, then polished them with some scratchX 1.0 They looked OK, but it didn't get the scratches and such out what I wanted out. Something about them just didn't look right, I couldn't put my finger on it though.



Second try I started wetsanding with 800 grit, then moved on to the 1500 grit, and polished with ScratchX 1.0 They still don't look right, it took a lot of the scratches and marks out, but they almost look a little hazed now. Is this because I'm using scratchX as opposed to something like PlastiX? The lenses are definitely plastic. I've been doing this all by hand, do you think I should bust out the G110 on them?



My biggest questions are what am I doing wrong, or did I just have too high of expectations for this procedure. I'm probably going to pick up some PlastiX from walmart later tonight(I want to get some UC anyways) to see if that will make a difference.



Thanks.:buffing:
 
With the headlights I've done I've always followed 1500 grit paper with 2000 grit. It makes compounding the scratches out a lot easier. You'll probably need something more aggressive than ScratchX. Ulitmate Compound would probably work if you need to get something OTC.
 
Might not be the best idea going from 1500 grit to scratchX by hand.



Try following the 1500 with 2000 (and maybe even 3000 after that) and use your G110 with a 4 in. cutting pad and UC (if you are planning on buying it) to remove sanding marks. Then use PlastX last with a 4 in. polishing pad. Should be set after that
 
I used a headlight restoration kit by 3m. It worked very well on my Chrysler 300m's headlights where the clear coat had failed and I knew I was going to be in for some wet sanding. I bought it for ~$20 with tax at my local Napa.



The kit comes with 500, 800, and 2000 grit sanding discs, polish compound, and a foam polishing pad. You use it with a cordless or electric drill.



Info on the Kit



Youtube Video
 
I haven't done any headlights yet, but I will soon so I've been doing reading whenever I see the topic pop up. It seems like a lot of people use 1500 followed by 3000 grit and then using a compound like M105. Thats the combo I'll try when I get around to doing it. The headlights I'll be doing are horrible looking, so I figured I can't make them any worse.
 
Yeah I'd go up to at least 2k grit sandpaper if I were you. Then for the polishing, I'd grab a polish actually meant to take out 2k grit marks and hit it with that on your G110 with a cutting pad. Follow that up with something better on a polishing pad. I've never used it, but PlastiX might be a good call.
 
what you are doing wrong is trying to remove 1500 grit scratch with a "finishing" polish by hand



you need a higher grit paper and/or a stronger polish/compound

also use the your G110
 
What has worked for me is 1500, 2000 followed by 3000 grit. Then compound and polish with the rotary. If you are doing this by hand, I think its imperative that you work thru all three levels of grit before compound.
 
Everyone has already said it but that won't stop me... the 1500 being your finest grit is your problem. go to a 2k, 2500, or 3k at least before trying the polish.

Once my post count is up and I can post pictures more readily, I'll post what I did to my Supra.
 
When you guys finish restoring headlights, do you have a finish as smooth as well polished paint or are there some swirl lines that can be seen in them?
 
Well, I decided to bust out the G110 and some UC on them. That worked pretty well, so then I advanced to SwirlX and finally some scratchX. Turned out pretty good. I think I need some more aggressive grit sandpaper though, they're not as clean as I'd like, and it almost looks like some of the marks are inside the housings.
 
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