How do I remove a scratch from my headlight?

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

How do I remove a scratch from my headlight?


I get e-mails, PM's and FB messages all the time with questions that are better asked and then answered on this forum for a host of reason. One reason is more eyeballs see the questions and answers so more people are helped versus one set of eyeballs in an e-mail, PM or FB message.


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My car headlight scratched

Please help me sir how i remove scratch

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That's not a lot of information to go by and a picture tells a thousand words.

While I hate assuming things without more information or a picture I'll have to do what I don't like to do and that is to assume.


Assuming the scratch you have in your car's headlight is deep enough that when you draw your fingernail over it your fingernail catches on the scratch and/or drops into the scratch then the proper way to remove the scratch would be to dry sand or wet sand the surface of the lens until you remove enough material to level the top surface of the headlight lens with the lowest depth of the scratch.

For a shallow scratch this would mean just a little sanding.

For a deep scratch this would mean a lot of sanding.​

Because some headlights have an OEM coating, if in fact your headlight does have an OEM coating you will have to sand down the entire headlight in order to end up with a uniform appearance.

After sanding you will need a rotary buffer with a wool pad and a compound to remove your sanding marks.

After compounding you will "want" a dual action polisher and a medium to fine cut polish to remove any holograms leftover by the aggressive compounding step.

After polishing you will want to seal the surface of the plastic to slow down future oxidation.

So here's what you'll need,

1. Hand sanding papers or machine sanding discs with foam interface pad
2. Rotary buffer
3. Wool pad
4. Compound
5. DA Polisher
6. Polish
7. Foam Pad
8. Plastic sealant
9. Microfiber towels

It's a lot more involved than the average person considers.

If you don't have any of the above then it might be more efficient to join our forum and start a thread that looks like this,


Pro detailer wanted in your city and state

Then in the message describe what you want done. We have the largest car detailing discussion forum and chances are good by searching for a detailing on this forum you will find someone that has the,

• Knowledge
• Skills
• Experience
• Tools and supplies

To do the job right the first time.


Hope this helps....

 

[conman1395]

You're on a roll with these replies Mike!

 

[Mike PhillipsMike Phillips is verified member.]

You're on a roll with these replies Mike!

It's all about typing time.

I never mind answering questions. People find me somehow, usually via my articles here or or on MOL via Google and have questions and thus send them to me using some method of communication outside this forum.

When answering using an e-mail, PM or FB message you're typing for one set of eyeballs. Nothing wrong with that but a better leverage of typing time and to also share both the questions and the answers with a larger group of people it makes more sense to post and answer the questions on this thing we call a discussion forum.

Plus... once a new thread like this is created it's here forever.... and Google indexes these thread which helps others to find this forum and thus the information. Thus a self-perpetuating information database is created.

I know not everyone that sends me a question will or is able to join our forum and post their questions on their own so I take then next best route.

Been doing this for years now actually.... see Mike Stoops signature line. That use to be mine.