Question about headlight correction

[sjs0433]

I'm definitely no pro at detailing but I've done a few cars as well as a few of my own using my porter cable and supplies.



I've found that I can get headlights back to full clarity just by using a compound and then polish and never really need to do any sanding. It seems like you always see the pros sand them...maybe those cars really need it to take off enough material to get back to clear? If I can achieve full clarity without sanding am I doing it right or should I still at least do a quick sand with high grit paper?



My only thought behind sanding is it helps really level the surface where as what I can do will achieve clarity but mild pitting from rocks and stuff will still kind of be there. I'm guessing that is the difference?

 

[bridgersmith]

if it works for you, keep doing it. if you can't get it the way you want it, break out the sandpaper. using sandpaper makes it easier to correct the lens and removes the oxidation so you don't have to polish it out.

 

[Spike73]

I think it also has to do with how old the lenses are, and how yellowed they have become. I have a 1999 camry, and I had to wet-sand first with 1500 grit sandpaper, then I used Megs 105 to polish the lenses to get them to look decent, then used Megs Plast-X, and sealed them up with Klasse AIO. I found that the wet-sanding did a way better job of removing the yellowing on the lenses than just using Megs 105. But if your lenses aren't too yellowed, then you won't have to wet-sand them.



Hope this helps!