Headlight polishing technique question

[howardm4]

I have a 2006 Infiniti FX35 that is starting to need a polishing of the headlights.

The 'problem' is that unlike many of them these are NOT a smooth surface but have
a protrusion or two and I don’t want to over-abrade the edges etc etc.

So, my question is what is the best way of polishing them out, technique-wise.

I have:
3" Abralon assortment pack
3M interface (basically a ⅜" thick spongey rubber pad to give the Abralon more thickness/give)
3" backplate & 3" hand strap
loads of various liquid polishes
1" and 2" foam pads (and backplates) of various cuts
Mckee's headlight finish

My thought was to carefully manually abrade w/ the Abralon down to 4000 and then
go w/ the 1" or 2" foam pads and machine polish out.

>> Any better ideas?

This is representative photo to show the protrusions. Not my headlights (which are about the same or less
level of cloudiness)

View attachment 68117

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You just work around them.

The protrusions are a pain to deal with but some headlights have them so just work around them. I sand around and then use a wool pad on a rotary buffer to remove my sanding marks. A wool pad spinning on a rotary buffer will completely remove any sanding marks right up next to these protrusions.

If you don't have a rotary buffer then it will probably take more work with a day do to the orbital action.

Another option is to work the scratches out by hand around the protrusions. I show how to do this in all my car detailing classes. All it takes is,

Chunk of terrycloth towel.
Any quality compound.
Elbow grease.

 

[brianc636]

I just did this to the boy’s headlights on his Honda.

Since aftermarket units are available cheap, I went after it pretty aggressively.

Started with 1200 grit wet/dry and worked up to 2500 with soapy water before wiping down and transitioning over to 3000-5000 “spongy” pad before using the Meg plastic polishing kit on it.

Turned out looking brand new.....for now.

Not sure how long before it’ll oxidize again.