Hi from New England.

Murph

Murph

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Hello all. I am new to detailing. I am going to start a headlight restoration business. I am currently reading up as much as I can about the business. I have bought some things but not everything. If anyone has information about pad usage or anything it would be great to read about it

Thanks

"Murph"
 
Hey Murph...where about in New England are you?

Billerica, MA here.

As far as headlight restorations....you'll need the following

Multiple grits of sand paper - 600, 800, 1000, 1500, 2000, 3000 is what I usually recommend. Never know what your going to need.

Going to be using a DA or a rotary for polishing? Both will work. I picked up a spot buffing kit from Chemical guys that comes with adapters for the DA (not the Flex 3401) and rotary.. Comes with the backing plate and 4 pads. 2 wool and 2 foam. Works great for headlights.

Also going to need a UV protectant. I'd suggest something like opti-coat 2.0 or cquartz. This will help ensure after your polish the headlight to perfection it doesn't haze up again in a few months.
 
:welcome: To Autogeek Online!

Like Jason, I'm from MA too!!
 
I got some samples from poor boys. I got 2 polishing compounds and a sealant. They were cheap. I am going to invest in a dewalt 849x. I am a little confused about pads. I'm not sure if I have to use a 3rd pad to apply the sealant.
 
I am in the seacoast on NH
 
Murph said:
I got some samples from poor boys. I got 2 polishing compounds and a sealant. They were cheap. I am going to invest in a dewalt 849x. I am a little confused about pads. I'm not sure if I have to use a 3rd pad to apply the sealant.
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I'd suggest you get something a little more durable than a standard sealant. Just because you don't want to have to have the customer worry about re-applying a sealant every 5-6 months to ensure that the headlight stay clear.

You do not need a 3rd pad to apply a sealant. You can use a standard applicator pad and apply it by hand if you prefer. I use the Pinnacle foam applicators.

I'd suggest you go with some small pads. The cyclo pads are very good and durable. I'd suggest picking up a yellow, orange, green, and white pads.

I typically use M105 or D300 then followed up by M205, then a IPA or Eraser wipe down then apply the opti-coat.
 
I have never done a restoration before. I have some cars lined up that I can do it on for free, friends of mine. I am a very detail oriented person and I hate cutting corners.

I was wondering about pads.

After wet sanding...

use a medium cut orange 4 inch pad with compound

then use a 4 inch polishing pad with compound

then when I apply the sealant, should I use a third pad just for the sealant?

I also have to read up on cleaning the pads as well. I am very green about all of this, I would eventually like to go into full detailing, but my finances limit me on how far I can go.
 
SeeJay, that makes sense about the UV sealant.
 
Murph said:
I have never done a restoration before. I have some cars lined up that I can do it on for free, friends of mine. I am a very detail oriented person and I hate cutting corners.


I also have to read up on cleaning the pads as well. I am very green about all of this, I would eventually like to go into full detailing, but my finances limit me on how far I can go.
Click to expand...

Before you go full bore with this headlight restoring business, maybe you should do some and get some hands on experience.

Not trying to be rude or anything, just think you should be giving it a go and getting a method down before you go deciding you want to do it for money. That way you actually have a process down and when a customer asks exactly what you do, you can give them the answer knowing and not just repeating things you've read.

I'd do a search on the forum here for headlight restoration. You'll find a lot of information and different methods in which you can give a try and find one that works for you. There is tons of info here and I'm sure you'll find all the answers your looking for.
 
SeaJay's said:
Before you go full bore with this headlight restoring business, maybe you should do some and get some hands on experience.

Not trying to be rude or anything, just think you should be giving it a go and getting a method down before you go deciding you want to do it for money. That way you actually have a process down and when a customer asks exactly what you do, you can give them the answer knowing and not just repeating things you've read.

I'd do a search on the forum here for headlight restoration. You'll find a lot of information and different methods in which you can give a try and find one that works for you. There is tons of info here and I'm sure you'll find all the answers your looking for.
Click to expand...


This is exactly what I am going to do. Thanks for the heads up. I want to start this business in the future, but I want to feel comfortable and confident about what I am doing. I do not want to ruin my reputation even before I start to get one!
 
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...eadlight-restoration-new-uv-sealant-idea.html

Check out that. I did the spar urethane on 3 vehicles and it is the best way to go. It definitely acts like a clear coat so they don't yellow or haze. I used 320, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2500 grit sandpaper. You can pick these up at a Pepboys or Autozone, or whatever auto parts store you have near you. Then, soak them in a soapy water mix, then splash some on the headlights and sand away. Make sure that there is enough water on the headlight to keep it wet.

The key is to remove any oxidation or yellowing from the light. After you went through these steps for the sanding, I took out the PC7424xp with some old Turtle Wax rubbing compound and a Lake Country CCS Orange pad. After compounding, clean the headlights with alcohol then use the Spar urethane/mineral spirits with the blue scott shop rags and just wipe it on. The lines you see will disappear when it dries.

Thats my method, yours can be different. Hope it helps!
 
rddmxmeth10 said:
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...eadlight-restoration-new-uv-sealant-idea.html

Check out that. I did the spar urethane on 3 vehicles and it is the best way to go. It definitely acts like a clear coat so they don't yellow or haze. I used 320, 600, 1000, 1500 and 2500 grit sandpaper. You can pick these up at a Pepboys or Autozone, or whatever auto parts store you have near you. Then, soak them in a soapy water mix, then splash some on the headlights and sand away. Make sure that there is enough water on the headlight to keep it wet.

The key is to remove any oxidation or yellowing from the light. After you went through these steps for the sanding, I took out the PC7424xp with some old Turtle Wax rubbing compound and a Lake Country CCS Orange pad. After compounding, clean the headlights with alcohol then use the Spar urethane/mineral spirits with the blue scott shop rags and just wipe it on. The lines you see will disappear when it dries.

Thats my method, yours can be different. Hope it helps!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the information! I was reading about that thread at work today, but where I work only gives us 60 minutes of time to look at stuff that is not work related! Geez. I digress. After the sanding phase, is it necessary to use the compound? Since you are removing it with the alcohol? I am going to pick that stuff to make the uv sealant.

any bit helps. I am still really new to this.
 
Murph said:
Thanks for the information! I was reading about that thread at work today, but where I work only gives us 60 minutes of time to look at stuff that is not work related! Geez. I digress. After the sanding phase, is it necessary to use the compound? Since you are removing it with the alcohol? I am going to pick that stuff to make the uv sealant.

any bit helps. I am still really new to this.
Click to expand...

The compounding step will get rid of the sanding marks left from the sanding. With the 2500 grit, the sanding marks are very very fine. When your doing the sanding, the lens will become cloudy and you may start to think that you messed something up. But as you get to the higher grits, the cloudiness will clear up for the majority. The compound will remove most, if not all, the sanding marks. The alcohol is just to remove the compounding residue ensuring a better bond with the spar urethane/mineral spirits. Just like doing an IPA wipedown after correction.

If you follow the link that I posted, you will have no problem. I have done a few headlights and have everyone saying how much better they looked and I followed that post almost to a "T"
 
rddmxmeth10 said:
The compounding step will get rid of the sanding marks left from the sanding. With the 2500 grit, the sanding marks are very very fine. When your doing the sanding, the lens will become cloudy and you may start to think that you messed something up. But as you get to the higher grits, the cloudiness will clear up for the majority. The compound will remove most, if not all, the sanding marks. The alcohol is just to remove the compounding residue ensuring a better bond with the spar urethane/mineral spirits. Just like doing an IPA wipedown after correction.

If you follow the link that I posted, you will have no problem. I have done a few headlights and have everyone saying how much better they looked and I followed that post almost to a "T"
Click to expand...

I have been reading the post. Tons of pages. Thanks for the reply. I ordered some samples from Poor Boy, compounds that is. They are small bottles of polishing compounds. I intend to do this on a few cars to get my technique down then branch out to find customers.

This is perfect because I wanted to offer a service that is going to last.
 
SeaJay's said:
Before you go full bore with this headlight restoring business, maybe you should do some and get some hands on experience.

Not trying to be rude or anything, just think you should be giving it a go and getting a method down before you go deciding you want to do it for money. That way you actually have a process down and when a customer asks exactly what you do, you can give them the answer knowing and not just repeating things you've read.

I'd do a search on the forum here for headlight restoration. You'll find a lot of information and different methods in which you can give a try and find one that works for you. There is tons of info here and I'm sure you'll find all the answers your looking for.
Click to expand...

I agree with SeaJay. You need some experience. You want to have your process down to a science before even considering opening your own business. You need to ask yourself, what is your market? How many headlights do you need to do each week? Who are your competitors? How will you get customers? THese are all important questions for anyone starting a business.
 
arack said:
I agree with SeaJay. You need some experience. You want to have your process down to a science before even considering opening your own business. You need to ask yourself, what is your market? How many headlights do you need to do each week? Who are your competitors? How will you get customers? THese are all important questions for anyone starting a business.
Click to expand...

I agree with what you said. I have a full time job m-f. I want to do this as a on the side business for myself. I am going to perfect the restoration on peoples cars that I know first for free.

On a side note, how long do you guys leave for a setup time after the coat of urethane/mineral spirits?
 
Hey Murph, I too am from seacoast NH! There is a lot of good information on here! And as you can see, the community is very friendly and willing to help new people out.
 
The spar varnish method works, but the coating doesn't last long. Most headlights will show deterioration in less than 12 months. Also, if it's not banned in your area now, it will be soon due to VOC regulations.

If you do use this technique, after all stripping and sanding, polish the headlight with a 3000 grit pad to give the varnish something to hold onto. Equally important is to scrub the headlight twice with a lint free towel and propanol or other alcohol but not rubbing alcohol (contains water). Moisture is your enemy.

If you're going to do it professionally, you'll need a better final coat. There are a few good ones available. Some cure in 5 minutes or less.

Spar varnish is very temperature and moisture sensitive when curing and can take up to 30 minutes to tack free.

We presently use a 2K waterborne product that we warrant for 2 years. If the customer maintains it with the kit we give him, it will last for many years. Good final coats are expensive, but the actual cost per headlight is around 50 cents, so don't scrimp.

ray6
 
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