Headlight restoration- How do you guys make it look so easy?

i once wet sanded a cars wing that i spray painted. It came out pretty good. That was last summer and it was my 1st. This is only the 2nd.
The Cross hatch makes alot of sense. I'll be able to see what Im doing much better with that technique. I dont own a wool pad as of yet.

There are a lot of good suggestions here and i appreciate them all. But lets be practical. I don't want to spend $200 just to finish restoring my headlights. Sand paper is cheap. Ill get some 2000 for $4.00 I'll get a wool pad as I can use that in other areas. Hopefully this will get the results Im looking for.

I would like to avoid buying another kit. I'm not too happy with the turtle wax but I've come so far. at this point a whole new kit would be a bit of a waste.
 
I just did this for the first time about a month ago. I used the 3M kit. The lights came out great. You must get all the film removed until the lenses are crystal clear. I sealed them with 2 coats of FK1000P but I've read in some thread that helmsman spar varnish in a 50/50 mix with odorless mineral spirits is a much longer lasting sealer for the lenses. Good luck and go for crystal clarity.
 
I don't trust turtle wax? Most of the times the results wasn't what I expected to be.

Well you don't have to spend lots of money do you have a power drill that will work, just get the attachment to add a pad. Some one told me when I was learning how to Wetsand "its easy to put scratches in but its hard to take them out"
 
Like someone else said, you didn't go down far enough on the lens. You may have done all of the other wetsanding and polishing correctly but it will still leave a haze. When I do my jobs, I go down to 220, regardless how what condition they're in. The ensures you get all of the failed coating off. If you were left with sanding marks as well, use the crosshatch pattern whenever possible. Look closely at the lens when you "think" you're done with that grit and about ready to move onto the next one. Your lubricant used in wet sanding hides a lot of imperfections. Dry the lens after each grit if necessary. This will make all of the sanding marks detectable. By the time you realize you've got sanding marks that you missed from a previous grit, you're probably 2 or 3 different grits further into the job (time that is 100% wasted if you decide to go back and do it right). I go 220, 400, 1000, one grade of Micromesh, 2 or 3 compounds, and finally the spar urethane mix. Good luck.
 
g35_coupe said:
I go 220, 400, 1000, one grade of Micromesh, 2 or 3 compounds, and finally the spar urethane mix. Good luck.
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Thanks. I guess like everything else there's more then one way to attack this. Your saying my problem is I didn't start low enough (Start at 220 not 600). Others are saying I didn't go high enough (end at 3000).

One thing I'm sure your all right on is that I didn't remove all of the orig sealant. I'm going to look into the drill pad as well. I'll be attacking this again on Sat. I have no time till then. Thanks for all the assistance.
 
Rhudeboye said:
Thanks. I guess like everything else there's more then one way to attack this. Your saying my problem is I didn't start low enough (Start at 220 not 600). Others are saying I didn't go high enough (end at 3000).

One thing I'm sure your all right on is that I didn't remove all of the orig sealant. I'm going to look into the drill pad as well. I'll be attacking this again on Sat. I have no time till then. Thanks for all the assistance.
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Go with a lower grit first. We can all agree that you still have some old oxidation there but to save time and money, start the process of elimination. It's difficult to differentiate any haze from the oxidation left behind. One of the Micromesh grits I uses is equivalent to about 1200. The other is not much higher than that so you're in the ballpark as far as the higher grits go (and once that high, the difference among them is almost negligible). Once you get a good foundation with the 220, finish up with the same grits and compounds you previously did.

If you still have a haze, then follow up with a higher grit and see what kind of results that gets you. That can be your trial and error to see if you even needed to go higher than 1200. I've practiced alot with dozens of grits and have narrowed quite a bit maximize my cost and time efficiency doing restorations. If you have anymore questions, shoot me a PM.
 
Will do thanks for the info.

Had a friend drop by yesterday to use my garage. He needed to change his oil and seems to like my tools :confused: So he took note of my headlights and asked "what did you do". I explained that its a work in progress then took a look at his 07 Toyota Tundra with 115000 miles on it. Looking at his lights next to mine showed me how far they had come. We took a close look and I explained the many things you guys educated me on to him. I sounded like a pro and took all the credit :bolt: Sorry, I'll be sure to mention my "geeky friends from the stupid website tomorrow" So now he wants his done as well. So you may get that PM from me.
 
Rhudeboye said:
Will do thanks for the info.

Had a friend drop by yesterday to use my garage. He needed to change his oil and seems to like my tools :confused: So he took note of my headlights and asked "what did you do". I explained that its a work in progress then took a look at his 07 Toyota Tundra with 115000 miles on it. Looking at his lights next to mine showed me how far they had come. We took a close look and I explained the many things you guys educated me on to him. I sounded like a pro and took all the credit :bolt: Sorry, I'll be sure to mention my "geeky friends from the stupid website tomorrow" So now he wants his done as well. So you may get that PM from me.
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I am sure like most who commented I glad to help
 
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