Help me with these headlights!

otruba_843

otruba_843

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So im going to clear up my brothers headlights this weekend. How can I get these things crystal clear? I have a PC on hand and only have WG TSR and FG on hand right now. What do I need to do to them? Can I get M105 and M205 OTC?

6D2C6970-FDD4-4444-8A5B-0DC4B2A81A58-4814-000006A63201E218.jpg
 
otruba_843 said:
So im going to clear up my brothers headlights this weekend. How can I get these things crystal clear? I have a PC on hand and only have WG TSR and FG on hand right now. What do I need to do to them? Can I get M105 and M205 OTC?

6D2C6970-FDD4-4444-8A5B-0DC4B2A81A58-4814-000006A63201E218.jpg
Click to expand...

What pads and compounds or polishes do you have?
The wet sanding instructions are what you need to start. When you start with the most aggressive grit, keep working it till ALL the failed OEM UV coating is sanded off. Once it's gone you start working up the grit range.

Don't have to have 105, if you've got say an orange pad, or even a white one and some decent compound you can start to buff it out. Move to your polish from there and you're good to go.

Problem is no matter how well it works, it'll fade out again fairly quickly. Poor mans way that has gotten a LOT of good reviews (and will likely last a year or two) is a 50/50 mix of spar varnish and mineral spirits. After that there are any number of 'coatings' from Optimum, (Opti-Coat, Opti-Lens) that are popular, as well as others.

FWIW, AG has a markdown price on the Meg's Headlight, and Spot Repair Kit for only $125.00! (Marked down from $299) :D It's everything you need for both headlights and small spot correction. More Unigrit discs than you can shake a stick at. And IMHO some that are very handy to have around. Plus.... it has a small bottle of 105 & 205. (I grabbed one this week to have as a handy kit when I don't want to carry everything with me.) :dblthumb2:

50 S3320 Unigrit 320 Grit Sanding Discs
50 S3500 Unigrit 500 Grit Sanding Discs
50 S3800 Unigrit 800 Grit Sanding Discs
15 S3F1000 Unigrit 1000 Grit Finishing Discs
25 S31500 Unigrit 1500 Grit Sanding Discs
15 S3F3000 Unigrit 3000 Grit Finishing Discs
1 S3FIS Unigrit Foam Interface
2 W4003 3” “Easy Buff” Knitted Wool Pads
2 W7204 4” Soft Buff Foam Cutting Pads
2 W8204 4” Soft Buff Foam Polishing Pads
2 W9204 4’ Soft Buff Foam Finishing Pads
2 S3BP 3” Professional Backing Pads and Adaptor Kits
1 S3HP 3” Professional Hand Pad - 1 ea
1 W63 3” Professional Rotary Backing Plate
1 T18MM Professional Masking Tape .75in
1 8 oz. Meguiars 105 Ultra-Cut Compound
1 8 oz. Meguiars 205 Ultra Finishing Polish
1 Meguiar’s Black Canvas Bag
1 Professional Headlight and Spot Repair Chart
 
Those really don't look that bad to me. I think I would try 105 on a cutting pad followed by 205 on a polishing pad. Try least aggressive first...even on headlights...less work. Hate to see anyone go through three of 4 steps that really aren't needed.
 
I agree with dave. They look like just yellowing, any compound with a machine will do the work.
 
I agree.. I wish I could have a customer want to clean those up. I would hit those with an orange pad and a nice compound. Or even my goto, menzerna power finish. After I would coat them with opti lens coating.
 
They can be deceiving but the picture to me does not look like you need sanding.. but pictures might not show the full extent of the damage.. best of luck!
 
Those don't look too bad to me either. Go to Wal-Mart, get this:

Meguiars Heavy Duty Two Step Headlight Restoration Kit, Meguiars G3000, headlight polishing kit, severe headlight polishing kit, how to polish
and this:

Meguiars Headlight Protectant, plastic protectant, plastic sealer


Together they will probably cost you less than $40. Try the Plast X with the drill pad first, and if that doesn't work you can use the sanding discs. There are easy to use directions included in the kit. M105 on a microfiber cutting disc would probably work great too. Check this out:

http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/show-n-shine/35848-honda-accord-headlight-restoration.html
 
I restore many headlight lens with the wg twins. I usually use orange ht pads with tsw and then drop it down to crimson with the fg. Typically headlights can be polished out just light cc can on paintwork! Optimize the products you have at hand. Abrasives are abrasives and typically any polish can potentially restore headlights with proper technique :)
 
I'd go with 1000, 2000, 3000 (or whatever you have over 1000) which you can get over the counter then the WG twins (with yellow/orange pads). I have had great results with TSR. Post up your results and let us know how it goes.
 
Clayed the headlights then used TSR for correction with an orange CCS pad with a PC on speed 6. Applied BFWD after and let it haze for 1 hour. I was not impressed with the results at all. They still have a yellow glow to them.

The Clay from 1 headlight:
B138438C-9E9E-4A0A-AC10-03BD19E564D3-6141-0000088863BEAF97.jpg


Other headlight before:
EAA65240-AF6C-4A48-8270-652B43D10DA1-6141-000008884CD2B389.jpg


After TSR:
7017303B-F741-4D34-97B6-CD683E2603EC-6141-000008885CCFC2CB.jpg


Finished product with BFWD:
61418E5A-5B3C-4018-B70C-4B2058F458F7-6141-000008886B14E237.jpg
 
Did you finish it down with wg fg. And I wonder if the lens has a yellow tint within the plastic from the factory?
 
I use a drill attachment with 4inch pads.
Clay.
WG TSR Orange.
WG FG Blue.
WG Sealnt.

I rarely need to sand lights down.
 
Why not sand it down with 2000 then 2500 or just sand with 2500 till the yellow comes out and compound? That should take the yellowing out.
 
I am a firm believer you should use the least aggressive product and or pad combo to get the job done. If tsw wasn't enough bite to potentially get the yellowing out, then step it up to a compound such as m105 or fg400 before you touch sandpaper. It's kind of goofy to say go strait to sanding.
 
Wes Bremec said:
I am a firm believer you should use the least aggressive product and or pad combo to get the job done. If tsw wasn't enough bite to potentially get the yellowing out, then step it up to a compound such as m105 or fg400 before you touch sandpaper. It's kind of goofy to say go strait to sanding.
Click to expand...

I understand where you're coming from and I'm sure this is critical with paint, where the CC thickness is critical and you don't want to remove more than necessary. However, these are plastic lenses and the anti-UV coating from the factory has already failed, so you're going to be dealing strictly with plastic.

I've done plenty of restorations to be able to judge by the pictures the extent of damage. We know that TSR can remove 1500 grit marks but from personal experience, also know TSR will not clean those up completely, so you have to go slightly more aggressive. Which brings us to 1000 grit. It's not as aggressive as one would think and when working with plastics and would only be an extra 5 mins or so per light to ensure most of that light oxidation is removed. Hope that clears up some of these suggestions for you.
 
Well I hope all of this knowledge from thread helps out these headlights :)
 
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