Headlights

C

CBlack

New member
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Messages
62
Reaction score
0
I've searched but can't find what I'm looking for exactly.

What would be the best way to remove these?





Both can be easily picked with a finger nail.

The bottom picture, not sure how that came about but it looks like a small ice pick of some sort made a few thousand marks in one spot.
 
Wet sanding 1000 to 3000 grit, followed by polishing and finished with a sealant. You can try and re-spray a UV coating however I never had much luck
 
I posted this yesterday for an other member:

Evan.J said:
Hello and welcome to AGO!

For headlights depending on how bad they are they could need sanded but using the proper tools and technique is key.

Do you have any photos you can share of you headlights that you want to fix?


Here is a an article you will want to read through to get an understanding of the process and the tools used.


http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum...sander-takes-work-out-sanding-headlights.html
Click to expand...


Evan.J said:
Here is all the headlight kit available through AG
Headlight Lens Care: Polish out scratches & haze to restore clear plastic headlight lens covers. Wolfgang, Meguiars, Plexus, lens cleaning system,

If you have severely faded or oxidized headlights then these two kits will be a better option. Its all going to depend on what your working with.

3M Lens Renewal Kit, headlights polish, plastic headlight polish, polish plastic lens, plasic polish scratch remover

Meguiars Heavy Duty Two Step Headlight Restoration Kit, Meguiars G3000, headlight polishing kit, severe headlight polishing kit, how to polish
Click to expand...
 
Sanding, lots of sanding.
You can start with 500, then 1000, 2000, 3000 wet sanding. Follow that with something like 105 and 205 then you've got a choice of several plastic polishes.

The key is you'll need to seal the polycarbonate once you've sanded it all. It's either a spray on UV cured coating or something like Opti-Lens. The long term input isn't in yet on Opti-Lens but at the cost it's certainly not hard to re-apply say twice a year. (Even though it's a coating that'll last much longer than that.) The typical 10cc syringe of OC will do at least 5 and up to 10 sets of lights, enough to last quite some time even if you are recoating twice a year.
 
cardaddy said:
Sanding, lots of sanding.
You can start with 500, then 1000, 2000, 3000 wet sanding. Follow that with something like 105 and 205 then you've got a choice of several plastic polishes.

The key is you'll need to seal the polycarbonate once you've sanded it all. It's either a spray on UV cured coating or something like Opti-Lens. The long term input isn't in yet on Opti-Lens but at the cost it's certainly not hard to re-apply say twice a year. (Even though it's a coating that'll last much longer than that.) The typical 10cc syringe of OC will do at least 5 and up to 10 sets of lights, enough to last quite some time even if you are recoating twice a year.
Click to expand...

What is a good example of a UV cured coating? The Opti-Lens seems like it'd be a good post UV coating protectant.
 
honestly probably not the news you'll like to hear however in this case If it's as bad as you can pick the piant "off" with a finger your only option would be to get it repainted for a few hundred:(
 
I would say 800 grit would remove those. Then just work your way up.
 
The difficulty and time varies, but this type of damage along the top side can be tough to fix... and in some cases it's impossible to get it 100%. But even then, the repaired light will look great compared to the current condition. If it's an Impala for example, expect to do 500 grit or lower in order to make a dent in it. Taurus? Try 1000 grit to start... they sand a lot easier than most GM cars. Every car is different. Sometimes the crackle/scratches are deep into the plastic, and sometimes it's just the factory clearcoat. If you see the clearcoat is sanded away but some of the marks are still there, just leave it and start getting through the sanding steps, back to a polish if you plan to use Opti-lens. If the repair area looks cloudy, steps were missed or not done enough. For a spray coating, stop sanding at the recommended grit. Some can be sprayed over 500 grit and some need 1500+ in order to look good.
 
Thanks for the pointers...

FYI, this is for a 2008 Dodge Ram.
 
the deta said:
honestly probably not the news you'll like to hear however in this case If it's as bad as you can pick the piant "off" with a finger your only option would be to get it repainted for a few hundred:(
Click to expand...

These are plastic headlights and not paint.
 
I am working on a set of Toyota solara headlights that were really bad. The plastic had really bad oxidation and is yellowing quite a bit. I am using the wolfgang headlight kit, which worked great on the oxidation. The lens are almost completely clear now but I cant seem to get rid of the yellowing on them. any suggestions ?
 
Oh yeah.... that is pretty common to the ram trucks. And the lights are HUGE and definitely not ones you want to sand the whole thing. Limit the sanding work to the damage area. Don't expect it to come out 100%, but I've had good results doing as I mentioned before, and finishing with Optilens.

Solara lights... it's possible there is some fog on the inside of the lens, which is common to certain vehicles, including some toyotas. Otherwise, you probably just need some abrasive or chemical to help remove the yellow scum. Compound and polish alone doesn't always do it. 2000-4000 grit paper or foam pad (trizact, etc) should be enough... then follow with the wolfgang kit again.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top