Help with headlight restoration

[jeorviene]

Hi everyone, so I tried restore these headlights with plastx, 2000 grit, 3000 grit sand paper, 3 " wool pad, meguiars headlight protection and a porter cable. It turned out nice as you can see in the picture, but there is one problem. The headlights are not as clear as they look. They are a bit cloudy and has swirl marks after the whole process was completed. I am not sure what I did wrong. Maybe the pad is too agressive? A little advice would be great thanks...

 

[Don M]

The headlights are not as clear as they look. They are a bit cloudy and has swirl marks after the whole process was completed. I am not sure what I did wrong. Maybe the pad is too agressive? A little advice would be great thanks...

Like with polishing anything, paint, metal, plastic etc, you have to go through the steps. If you polish your paint and you still have a haze, then the quick answer is that you missed a lighter polishing step, or you didn't work the last cutting step long enough-or too long, you have to experiment a bit.

With headlights as opposed to paint, you have plenty of material to work with. In your current situation, I would suggest a product with a lighter cut than the last cutting product you used, but too, the wool cutting pad may have been too aggressive and the Megs Headlight Protectant not aggressive enough. Try M105 with a foam cutting pad and see if that clears up the lights. The Megs Headlight Protectant is for when all is said and done, AFTER the lights are polished to perfection.

I know its confusing, but that's what test spots and experimenting is for.

 

[Mantilgh]

^Yep, What Don said.

The swirls are probably from the wool pad. They are pretty aggressive and great for removing sanding scratches but don't finish out the best. Not sure about Plastx, but I don't think it is an aggressive polish. I would try to pick up a foam polish pad(Meg's has 4" ones available OTC) and try to finish out again with that and the Plastx. Or, if you are also still seeing sanding marks you could also get a more aggressive polish/compound and work it with the wool pad first, then follow up with the Plastx and the foam pad.

Maybe some one else can comment on the aggressiveness of the Plastx and wether this is a proper polish to finish with.

 

[Don M]

The swirls are probably from the wool pad. They are pretty aggressive and great for removing sand scratches but don't finish out the best. Not sure about Plastx, but I don't think it is an aggressive polish. I would try to pick up a foam polish pad(Meg's has 4" ones available OTC) and try to finish out again with that and the Plastx. Or, also get a more aggressive polish/compound and work it with the wool pad first, then follow up with the Plastx and the foam pad.

Maybe some one else can comment on the aggressiveness of the Plastx and wether this is a proper polish to finish with.

I think the Plast-X would work NOW, but not as a heavy/medium cut. As a finishing polish I have found that it works well with a foam pad.

 

[Mantilgh]

Yeh, that's what I thought and was thinking it might not have been aggressive enough to fully remove the sanding marks, but then I know 3000 grit can possibly be cleaned up nice with right polish and pad combo.

 

[jeorviene]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate both of you helping me.
Would I be able to restore headlight using m105 and m205, then finish with plastx? Or are those products strictly for paint only, other than plastx?
I was going to try m205 with meguiars yellow 3" pad soon, just not if it's usable in clear plastic.
Also what about tail lights? Would restoring those be the same process?

 

[Don M]

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate both of you helping me.
Would I be able to restore headlight using m105 and m205, then finish with plastx? Or are those products strictly for paint only, other than plastx?
I was going to try m205 with meguiars yellow 3" pad soon, just not if it's usable in clear plastic.
Also what about tail lights? Would restoring those be the same process?

When I polished out my car with Megs Ultimate Polish (slightly less abrasive than M205) & a polishing pad, I went over the headlights and tail lights with no issues, it just polished them up a bit with no marring.