Headlights

You can try Detailer’s All In One Headlight Restoring Polish just released by DP. Another option is if you have these lying around from your detailing collection:
-Sandpaper for wetsand various grits
-Compound
-Polish
-Sealant or Opti-Lens

I can't saying anything about the DP product but the second option has worked for me very well.
 
Always Clean your headlights first with APC. Then tape around your headlights to prevent accidentally sanding your paint. Grab a few microfibers and wipe often when your are working.


Step 1: Sand with 500 Grit until the lens is opaque white. This is the most important step because the more even your sanding, the better your overall results will be. Wipe lens

Step 2: Sand with 800 Grit and sand as your did the first time. This step is to begin refining larger sanding marks

Step 3: Wet-Sand with 1200 Grit. Fill a spray bottle and generously apply over the area to be sanded. Sand as you did the first two steps. You will notice that the lens is beginning to look clearer. Continue wet-sanding until all previous sanding marks have dissapeared.

Step 4: Wet-Sand with 3000 Grit. Sand as you did with all previous steps. At this point, all of your previous sanding marks have been refined and its time to bring out the polisher. *If you don't have a polisher, I recommend buying a white Euro CCS Hand Polishing Pad from AG.

Step 5: Compound the headlights.

*Wolfgang Compound, Menzerna Compound, and Meguiars Compound are most commonly used amongst people on the forum with great results.

Step 6: Polish with a fine polish.

Step 7: Seal Them Up. Opti-Lens is a great choice as its designed to be permanent. DP Headlight Coating is a fairly new product made by the good folks at Autogeek so it's also a solid option.

IF YOU DONT WANT TO SAND, DP MAKES A HEADLIGHT RESTORATION KIT BUT THIS REQUIRES A DRILL. THIS IS A MUCH FASTER OPTION AND HAS YIELDED VERY SIMILIAR RESULTS TO SANDING.

Hope this helps,
Brian
 
How to get them looking good clear when they are not
 
I think it should be stated that wet sanding should be a last resort or for headlights in very bad condition. Normally you can bring headlights back to almost new condition with a compound/polish combination.
Also it was a very good point using some APC on the headlights first, you would be surprised how much gunk you can clean off the lens with just a spray and wipe.
 
Can I get the sand paper from like lowes or Home Depot I have a flex but it is 5.5 could I do it my hand the use m105 to compound it after?
 
Autogeek (online). AutoZone, Advanced Auto Parts, and CarQuest all carry special automative sandpaper. Make sure it says dry/wet. I havent used the non-automotive so I'm not comfortable with recommending that to you, although maybe somebody on here has used it with good results.

You can use the flex with 5.5 pad if the headlight is large enough, If not, you can certainly do the compounding by hand with either a terry cloth, or hand applicator pad.
 
Is that a 3in BP on the PC? and where did you get all the right grit pads? I hand sanded to 3000 then used the compound with a 5.5,, but a 3 would be soo much easier!
Great vid BTW
 
beamerstrumpet said:
Is that a 3in BP on the PC? and where did you get all the right grit pads? I hand sanded to 3000 then used the compound with a 5.5,, but a 3 would be soo much easier!
Great vid BTW
Click to expand...

For sanding, you could also just use a small power sander. Black and decker has a cheap one that uses those same 3" sanding discs. Then use a drill attachment or your DA for the final polish. (Assuming you already have a small sanding tool, otherwise, cost wise, you'd be better off just to get the 3" backing plate!)
 
beamerstrumpet said:
Is that a 3in BP on the PC? and where did you get all the right grit pads? I hand sanded to 3000 then used the compound with a 5.5,, but a 3 would be soo much easier!
Great vid BTW
Click to expand...

That's not my video but AG should carry everything... I think...
 
Thinking about getting opti lens looked at the price and wow is it really worth it?
 
Are you happy with the results?

I'd imagine you could technically work the 600 longer to cut more. I don't see 500 vs 600 making such a big difference, opposed to 600 vs 3000

Which wax did you use?
 
BrianMcLeod said:
Thinking about getting opti lens looked at the price and wow is it really worth it?
Click to expand...

I personally talked to another AG member about "Opti" in this case it was opti coat on paint. Well he said when using a coating, it's all about the prep.

Here is my video
http://youtu.be/ecH8T63zjjg


For what it is worth. I talked to Chris from Optimum over the phone. He said (not quoting) that more is better than less. I also asked how many dots per se. He said 10-15 so I just did what was suggested.
 
That's is a lot cheaper then what I bought I will have to buy that does that backing plate fit the flex?
 
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