my 94 lights have alot of small scratches and tiny chips. IS there a way to polish/sand this off? I was considering some 1000+grit sand paper and wanted to get some oppinions before starting. I have tried polishes and waxes but dont really get too much out of it. Any input if appriciated.

Thanks

 

ok so you can imagine what im talking about. The pitting and staining and scratching. IF you could give me alittle run down on the procedure i would appriciate it.

 

up

 

TTT, realy interested in doing this also

 

a lot of sanding, and then a buffing compound..they looked brand new

 

I took my bumper off and wetsanded my headlights. I used 7 grades of paper from ~320 (not sure of the exact grit, below 400 though) up to 2000. Then I finished off w/ 3M buffing compound, and finally plastic polish. They don't look good as new (still some blemishes on the inside) but it's better than it was before.

 

or polish my helmet.


[Modified by MTK Kommander, 8:20 AM 6/26/2002]

 

there is plastic polish available...

 

ok, i can get those levels of paper. What exactly is wet sanding? The reason i ask is that i have heard this but never actually attempted the process. Is it physically wetting the surface or what??? Also the compounds you spoke if, and brand recomendations????

TIA again

 

hey i'm thinking about doin this also... check out this link it might help

http://members.aol.com/agspeed/clean...ight_cover.htm

anyhow from what the dood says in that link it seems like plastic polishes cover up the problem more than get rid of the the scratches and pits on the plastic lenses. Hey if you can, tell us all how your headlights turn out and what kinda techniques you guys used. And for the guy with that yellow integ up there... your 98 headlights look good as new to me.... good job dood

 

heres a good idea

get some mothers mag wheels ploish in a can then the carnuba in a can then a polish try those 3 steps and smile at the results ive see this done on headlights and tail lights ..

the reason for the second 2 steps is because when you wax them you strip them from any protection . the carnuba protects them and the polish of coarse makes em shin!!

later

 

i need to do this as well, by sanding the plastic like that, wouldnt it leave scratches on them?

 

Wax should ALWAYS go on last. Polish is somewhat abrasive and helps fill in slight surface scratches, etc. The polish is what protects, so you want that to be last.

Wet sanding just means that you have the paper and surface wet while sanding. This helps keep grit, etc. from building up between the sandpaper and the surface. Ideally a steady flow of water over the surface would be best while you sand, but I just got the sandpaper wet, poured a little water over the surface, sanded, then poured some more water to get rid of any junk on the headlight from the sandpaper. The water helps to keep the sandpaper clean. Note that I had my bumper cover off of the car while doing this.

 

[qoute/] Wax should ALWAYS go on last. Polish is somewhat abrasive and helps fill in slight surface scratches, etc. The polish is what protects, so you want that to be last. [qoute]

You are contradicting yourself....
polish doesnt protect, it just polishes everything off, wax protects...

 

like i said "mag wheel polish" because its kinda abrasive then a good coat of carnuba wax to protect and then a good coat of like dealtailers mist or wet and shine

thats the way i saw it done and thats the way i would do it!!

 

OR...

1. Metal polish like...(BRASSO, NEVERDULL...)
Just rub in little cirlces many times...

2. Wipe Off

3. Finish off with car polish

4. Coat with wax