so i wanted to clean up my foggy headlight and i read that some used sandpaper 1000 grit and 2000 grit and some plastic polish and it cleared them up, so i go to try it and i wet sanded with both sandpapers with a mixture of dawn and water, when i started the light fogged up alot but i figured it was the dirt and film build up coming off, but i tried to dry it but it wont come off it looks even worse than when i started, but the funny thing is when i was washing my car i sprayed the light with a strong spped of water and it seems to look very clear then the water sheets off ans its cloudy agian..oo and i treid blue magic plastic cleaner and metal polish but i wont come offf, if any one has any idea wat i can do please let me now thanks
plastic head lights again but worse
- Thread starter waxedmax
- Start date
stainbuster
Professional Rookie
Waxedmax:
Soak the wet-sand paper for a good 30 minutes in a bucket of clean water.
Starting with 600 or 1000 grit, sand laterally spraying with water the whole time until you see no more yellow or white water coming off the lens. The plastizers have migrated to the surface of the lens and you are basically sanding off the top layer, this is the milky stuff.
Move to 1500 grit and repeat the step.
Move to 2000 grit and repeat. By now, the surface should look like the water is "sheeting".
If you have 2500 grit, give it a go.
Prep/Clean the lens using Isopropyl alcohol mixed with d-limone 50/50, then cut with water 50/0. Or you can buy pretreatment from here:
http://www.superiorrestoration.com/products/bright_lights_headlight.htm
This will evaporate very quickly, but will give you a good idea if you've removed all the problem.
Next, apply a liberal amount of 2000 grit compound to the surface of the lens with a lint-free paper towel. The above link has a special plastic polish, but either will work fine.
Using a rotary buffer and a wool pad, buff until the product is gone. Be very careful to run below 2000 rpm, and don't let the lens get too hot. I like to mask the lens off to prevent wet-sanding marks in the surrounding paint, and to make buffing easier.
After this step, reapply PreTreatment using a lint free paper towel to remove any waxes or fillers from the lens, and to open up the pores of the plastic.
Now apply, in several light coats, a plastic protectant like Superior's Shine Restorer, Meg's plastic protectant, Plexus, or the like.
Hope that helps! Good luck
Regards,
Mike R
Before you start, they may look like this:
Soak the wet-sand paper for a good 30 minutes in a bucket of clean water.
Starting with 600 or 1000 grit, sand laterally spraying with water the whole time until you see no more yellow or white water coming off the lens. The plastizers have migrated to the surface of the lens and you are basically sanding off the top layer, this is the milky stuff.
Move to 1500 grit and repeat the step.
Move to 2000 grit and repeat. By now, the surface should look like the water is "sheeting".
If you have 2500 grit, give it a go.
Prep/Clean the lens using Isopropyl alcohol mixed with d-limone 50/50, then cut with water 50/0. Or you can buy pretreatment from here:
http://www.superiorrestoration.com/products/bright_lights_headlight.htm
This will evaporate very quickly, but will give you a good idea if you've removed all the problem.
Next, apply a liberal amount of 2000 grit compound to the surface of the lens with a lint-free paper towel. The above link has a special plastic polish, but either will work fine.
Using a rotary buffer and a wool pad, buff until the product is gone. Be very careful to run below 2000 rpm, and don't let the lens get too hot. I like to mask the lens off to prevent wet-sanding marks in the surrounding paint, and to make buffing easier.
After this step, reapply PreTreatment using a lint free paper towel to remove any waxes or fillers from the lens, and to open up the pores of the plastic.
Now apply, in several light coats, a plastic protectant like Superior's Shine Restorer, Meg's plastic protectant, Plexus, or the like.
Hope that helps! Good luck
Regards,
Mike R
Before you start, they may look like this:
stainbuster
Professional Rookie
When you're done, they should look like this:
Don
Darth Camaro 12/27/15
:yeah
Stairbuster's right, you can't finish with the sandpaper, you only use it to remove the heavy damage. You still have to polish the lenses out. Just like you can't wet sand a car's paint and expect it to be show car glossy & clear without polishing...you just forgot a step that's all.
Stairbuster's right, you can't finish with the sandpaper, you only use it to remove the heavy damage. You still have to polish the lenses out. Just like you can't wet sand a car's paint and expect it to be show car glossy & clear without polishing...you just forgot a step that's all.