Help restoring etched headlamp lenses

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07Titan

New member
Just bought an '05 Jetta for my kid and we are in the midst of detailing it.  Overall the vehicle is in great shape but the headlight lenses are really bad - yellowed, unevenly etched, etc.  I wet-sanded one of them with 500 grit, followed by 1000 grit, followed by polishing compound, followed by buffing with Meguiar's PlastX polish.  I spent about 30 minutes on it - all by hand.  It helped - got rid of the yellowing and reduced the etching but it still looks fogged.  What products or techniques can I use to polish the fog to crystal clear?  PlastX doesn't seem to be aggressive enough for ones that are this far gone.


 


Or is the fogging internal?  If so I should probably just replace them with glass although that looks like quite a bit of a project to remove the bumper, cut the old ones off with a heat gun and putty knife, carefully move the reflector trim to the new lenses, install them and the lenses with silicone, etc.   But that would solve it permanently.


 


Thanks in advance!
 
Several things may have happened, in order from least likely to most likely:


 


1. The Plast-X was more agressive than the polish you used causing you to induce marring back into the headlight.


2. You didn't fully remove the defects with the 500 grit paper.


3. You didn't fully remove the 500 grit scratches with the 1000 grit paper.


4. You used a polishing compound that isn't strong enough to remove 1000 grit scratches.


 


I had a 2006 Jetta that I owned for several years in Texas.  When the headlights got bad I used 800 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit followed by a medium/heavy cut polish like Menzerna SIP and a rotary buffer. Then I finished down with a Porter Cable polisher and a polishing compound.  Are you using a "buff ball" or similar Auto-Zone type polishing device or do you have a real buffer?


 


- Patrick
 
pmnewton said:
Several things may have happened, in order from least likely to most likely:


 


1. The Plast-X was more agressive than the polish you used causing you to induce marring back into the headlight.


2. You didn't fully remove the defects with the 500 grit paper.


3. You didn't fully remove the 500 grit scratches with the 1000 grit paper.


4. You used a polishing compound that isn't strong enough to remove 1000 grit scratches.


 


I had a 2006 Jetta that I owned for several years in Texas.  When the headlights got bad I used 800 grit, 1500 grit, 2000 grit followed by a medium/heavy cut polish like Menzerna SIP and a rotary buffer. Then I finished down with a Porter Cable polisher and a polishing compound.  Are you using a "buff ball" or similar Auto-Zone type polishing device or do you have a real buffer?


 


- Patrick
Click to expand...


Thanks - probably 3 or 4.  I'll try to find some in-between grits, and something finer than 1000 grit, and experiment with that.  As far as devices go, I was just using old fashioned elbow grease. I do have a 6" rotary buffer I could use for this (but then I'd miss the corners).
 
07Titan said:
Thanks - probably 3 or 4.  I'll try to find some in-between grits, and something finer than 1000 grit, and experiment with that.  As far as devices go, I was just using old fashioned elbow grease. I do have a 6" rotary buffer I could use for this (but then I'd miss the corners).
Click to expand...


 Yep, taking out 1000 grit scratches by hand on two full headlights is going to be difficult.  For your rotary, you could order a 3 inch backing plate and a 3 inch foam polishing pad from detailedimage and re-attack once properly equipped.


 


- Patrick
 
If you have access to a cordless 16V (or higher) drill and the Mother's ball for polishing headlight lenses, this may allow you to "reach" into the corners of the headlight lens without having to buy a DA polisher and 3" pads.


 


 Trying to polish out grit marks by hand is like trying to cut a large diameter tree with a cross-cut saw. It can be done, but it may take a long time and require a lot of physical exertion to do so.
 
Inspect the headlight closely, do you see sanding marks? 1000gr is very difficult to completely remove 500gr sanding marks.


 


-Jeremy
 
I have had really good luck with the 3m system for a hand drill. it comes with sandpaper and a foam pad (and a little sachet of compound). I would top it with some sort of sealant/wax to help prevent future fading.
 
To be honest with you it only takes about 30 minutes and about 20 bolts and you can remove the front fascia and it makes everything a piece of cake.  At that point you will have tons of room and nothing to really worry about it.  If it still worries you, then you can throw them up on a bench and take care of them that way.


 


Here is a link where to show you the steps of taking off the fascia.


http://pccoder.wordpress.com/2012/07/21/replace-headlamp-assembly-on-2005-vw-jetta/


 


Good luck.
 
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