Most cost efficient and effective method for headlight restoration

jrs1418 said:
If you're sanding from #500 and up you should have gotten most defects on the exterior of the lens. Hard to tell without seeing it. Sometimes there may be yellowing or discoloration on the inside of the lens cover from heat off the bulb or a leak of water.
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Yeah, that was what I was going to say. I have seem look cloudy on the inside and HIDs can cook them, at least poorly retrofitted ones can.

There is the possibility that you didn't remove some of the previous sanding marks for one or more of the grits. That's one of the reasons I sand 90* to the last grit, but I would think the spar would fill it in.

Some have had ok results with the spar method, maybe around a year or so. I use Opti-Lens and some have had bad results with it.

I do not have any experience with spar on headlights, just with woodworking.

I do believe you could/should stop sanding at a low grit to give the spar something to hold on to.

Wood finishes, especially outdoor ones, are trying to accomplish the same thing as paint finishes. Ie. UV, scratch, and chemical resistance.
 
tdwheeler18 said:
I did a headlight today about 30 mins ago. And after I finished they were still a lil hazy. Prior to me doing them there were horrible so they look 100 times better now, but I want to get that crystal clear look. I don't know if it was the sanding or if I need to use a different method right now I'm using the Spar Urethane method any advice. I use 500,600,1000,1200,2000, and finally 3000 grit sandpaper.
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IMO your over doing it. If you need to start with 500, fine, but you can skip a few grits before finishing with 3000.:props:
 
tdwheeler18 said:
Is using a drill better for sanding or hand? I use hand most of the time I go with 500,600,1000,12000,2000,3000 grit and follow it with compound and sealant.
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Damn, must take you an hour a headlight!

600, 1000, 2000, 3000 is more than enough. By hand is probably best, plastic will sand fast enough.
 
I bought the German made Quixx kit at Wally world , if I remember correctly it came with 1000, 2000, and 3000 grit and did my moms car with some of the most severly faded headlights ive ever seen. Thats what 11 years of road salt , and living in the snowiest city in the US can do. When I got done they went from yellow frosted to brand new looking. Kit came with a finishing polish , cloth and UV protectant. Best $14 bucks ive ever spent. I had friends ask what I used because they came out so good. Worth every penny.They still looked new over 2 years later when she traded the car in.
 
jrs1418 said:
If you're sanding from #500 and up you should have gotten most defects on the exterior of the lens. Hard to tell without seeing it. Sometimes there may be yellowing or discoloration on the inside of the lens cover from heat off the bulb or a leak of water.

I would just ditch the spar.. that stuff is crap. I would Opti Lens or one of the many other plastic and headlight coatings out there.
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Spar is crap? Could you explain?
 
I've liked the Spar so far. I just ran into a case where I had a little haze. I was wondering if anyone else had that same problem with the Spar method.
 
Last w/e I used the Meguair's Perfect Clarity (light blue package). (2005 Elantra lenses were fairly bad.) It's a 2 step process. Step 1 is a polish of sorts, to be used with a Scotchbrite type of 3" disc (or put it onto a 3" BP of a DA or Meg's drill adapter tool). 2nd step is spray coating. It's supposed to last 1 year.

With their system, you are NOT supposed to clean the surface until clear - should be a white / light haze. Then spray 2 medium coats with Step 2 (5 minutes in between). The spray fills in the slight grooves (and goes clear) & the rough surface will also allow for better adhesion of the spray.

It was pretty easy, of course. VERY happy with the results. Worst part was masking off the lenses so no overspray. There is some damage to the interior of the lenses, so they'll never be 100% .
 
How do you apply opti lens? Do you wet sand as well? And Ima try to use it with and without the Spar Urethane method and see how it goes.
 
AllanS said:
Last w/e I used the Meguair's Perfect Clarity (light blue package). (2005 Elantra lenses were fairly bad.) It's a 2 step process. Step 1 is a polish of sorts, to be used with a Scotchbrite type of 3" disc (or put it onto a 3" BP of a DA or Meg's drill adapter tool). 2nd step is spray coating. It's supposed to last 1 year.

With their system, you are NOT supposed to clean the surface until clear - should be a white / light haze. Then spray 2 medium coats with Step 2 (5 minutes in between). The spray fills in the slight grooves (and goes clear) & the rough surface will also allow for better adhesion of the spray.

It was pretty easy, of course. VERY happy with the results. Worst part was masking off the lenses so no overspray. There is some damage to the interior of the lenses, so they'll never be 100% .
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I used the same product on a friends Volvo who was visiting from Seattle a bit back.

I was really surprised how well things came out. I was able to pick up a 'kit' for (I think) $15, it was on sale. Took more time to tape everything up than to actually do the job. Took us about hour, if we hadn't been indulging in some adult beverages and BSing. Would have been only 15 min.

There is a great 'show and tell' over on MOL.

Bill
 
Has anyone ever tried using meguiars plast x with just a hand held buffing pad buff it off with a microfiber towel and then use the Spar Urethane. I'm wondering if I tried that how it would come out. I used the Spar method on my wife 2006 Nissan Altima and it came out better but it was still a little foggy. And I'm just wondering if that might help clear some of that fog up.
 
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