Plastic headlamp lens restorer any ideas?

[Saintsteve]

Just get some wet n dry 1000, then 3000, a warm bucket of car soap n water, and some Megs ultimate compound and a polisher.. Did mine yesterday and they look spankers now  

Great write up you should of taken pictures Steve.

It wasn't until I finished them, that I suddenly thought I should of, I did one at a time and the difference was huge.


Even the wife said they look New, and for her that's saying something  

[wilmott1980]

Awesome gti have a clearance on their meguiars and autoglym cleaning stuff at the moment.

http://www.awesomegti.com/carcare/cleaning/meguiars-headlight-restoration-kit-g1900uk

[xjay1337]

A machine on its own won't get rid of all the damage.

Tried it, doesn't work, unless you have a day free to burn out your polisher...

well these are my headlights now, not bad for 7 years old and 74k miles using my method, and having the job done in around 30 minutes a side.They are 95% perfect now.

Not disputing your findings, however assuming you were using your dual action that would likely be your issue. With a rotary you get zero problems especially when using a spot pad.

And you do realise that wet sanding in itself is a more time consuming process in general vs regular machine polishing because you need the extra time to refine back the finish - the purpose of wet sanding is to create a level paint finish, by abrasively removing the peaks / troughs in a paint surface in a more uniform way than you can by machine polishing creating a better and "smoother" appearance of reflection.

This will make little difference when it comes to restoring faded headlights, it does however depend on how "bad" the headlight is.

Wet sanding is a great solution to faded headlights, however you don't need these specialist "headlight restoration" kits, likewise you don't often need to wet sand them, a regular polish would be enough to remove the oxidation (any normal polish/pad/machine/sandpaper would be more than enough) and restore the clarify of the headlights.

[Frenzy]

So can i use original colgate to get them back to looking ship-shape? 

[rocky_rullez]

3M kit before and after shot

Good result

[Frenzy]

Asking in all seriousness - would i be ok using AG Super Resin Polish to restore my headlights? I have a small amount of that dull crystalling effect (oxidisation i think) as seen in wodder42's before shot running along the top of the headlight and i want to nip it in the bud.

[xjay1337]

Asking in all seriousness - would i be ok using AG Super Resin Polish to restore my headlights? I have a small amount of that dull crystalling effect (oxidisation i think) as seen in wodder42's before shot running along the top of the headlight and i want to nip it in the bud.

I don't think that SRP would do anything. On a scale of 0-10 it's cutting power is about 0.2, it's mostly a glaze or a chemical paint cleanser.

[MPS]

Believe it or not, this is perfect for the job. A mild abrasive.

[xjay1337]

Believe it or not, this is perfect for the job. A mild abrasive.

No, it's really not lol

Old wives tale.

Use a proper polish or compound.

[MPS]

Looks alright to me.

[xjay1337]

So because it's on the internet it must be true?? I'm sure I COULD use Sandpiper to wipe my bottom!

There are lots of chemicals in Toothpaste which are of unknown effect to the plastic/glass headlights.
The abrasive particles ( ) are not of even cut so you cannot get a really high quality even finish.

If you want to use Toothpaste then you can do so, because you're a cheapskate and should buy some proper polish, pads and materials!  

[Frenzy]

The fella in the vid forgot to gargle! 

In fairness Jay, if you can put on your teeth, in your mouth and basically swallow some of it, i doubt it contains any chemicals that are going to damage plastic. Ok so one may argue that you don't put that amount of paste on your tooth brush but toothpaste manufacturers don't know what kind of moron is buying there product and possibly eating a whole tube of it at a time. I'd be hard pushed to believe that toothpaste could damage plastic quicker than it could damage your gut, otherwise toothpaste would have to come with major warnings on it just incase said moron fancied a tube or three...

Still i think i may invest in a headlight kit if i can pick one up for a tenner.

[Saintsteve]

Stop fart arsing around, 3000 wet n dry, soapy water, then some cutting compound with a DA polisher ,and polish/wax/sealant to follow and you will be amazed in the difference.
Or let someone else with the confidence to do it for you.


 

[Frenzy]

they're not quite at that stage, but thanks for the offer! 

 

[MC71]

Stop fart arsing around, 3000 wet n dry, soapy water, then some cutting compound with a DA polisher ,and polish/wax/sealant to follow and you will be amazed in the difference.
Or let someone else with the confidence to do it for you.


 

Your welcome to do mine Steve!