fyi..double post, dont know if should post this in this forum or the lighting forum..

well, i have no experience wetsanding and polishing headlights, so i went ahead and used some of that NEVER DULL something polish on my headlights. I baked my headlights, opened them up, and black housed the insides.. While I was doing this, I noticed that my insides of the headlights were kind of hazy, so I tried using never dull on the insides.. I put it back together, and now they look like **** on the inside AND outside..
I think its about time i wetsand my outsides..
my question is, would you wetsand the inside also?
anyone around CA willing to do this for me? ill buy you food + beer + $$..
i dont want to **** up my headlights and have to dish out another $200-300 for another set of jdm sir-g / itr's.

 

There is no reason to wet sand the inside. Unless some how have a scratch won't make any diff to how look. Usually mild dish soap and warm water takes care of inside.

I couldn't find any sandpaper felt comfortable with sanding on mine so I used some extremely mild Maguires buffing compound and then light coat wax to keep mine looking new. Depending on how often drive, weather, and amount of dirt/sand where you live determine how often need to add wax.

After I did mine I seen a kit at parts store that said work just needed a drill, not sure how well it works thou.

There is a faq on how to do it somewhere on this site.

 

hmmm thanks RHD_H2b.. ill try using mild dish soap and warm water for the insides..

any other suggestions? bump!

 

they have head light restoration kits at auto stores that could be a whole lot easier even tho you might needa shell out a few bucks

 

yeah i was thinking of going that route anyways .. thanks

 

kinda weird that i just saw this thread because i literally just did this today to my brothers headlights for him.

he has an eclipse and almost every eclipse i see has the headlights that are almost totally white from age and driving and what not.

the process to get them clear again is actually quite easy

go to an auto parts store and buy 400 grit sandpaper, 1500 grit sandpaper and 2000 grit sandpaper, and a rubbing compound. (theres a bunch of different rubbing compounds but you get what you pay for so thats up to you on what brand you buy)

if the headlights are out off the car its easier but if theyre still installed on your car just tape and mask off around the areas u dont want to risk hitting with sandpaper.

take your sandpaper and let it sit in water for a couple min or so, because youll be wet sanding

start with the 400 grit and just go in circles , re dipping the sand paper in the water every so often. wet sand for like five minutes or so.

after that wipe everything off with a rag and start the same process again with the 1500 grit, then again with the 2000 grit.

after youve finsihed with the wet sanding, take the rubbing compound with a buffer if you have one, or buy a biffer wheel that will work in a drill. you could prob use that mothers wheel polisher thing they sell also.

use the rubbing compound and buff it into the headlight and do this for as long as it take until the headlight is clear again.

this worked amazing for me and took headlights that were almost totally white and made them as clear as hen they were brand new.

 

Why not just buy a 3M Headlight Lens Restoration Kit. It's a whole lot cheaper than going and buying several different packs of sandpaper and a bottle of compound and a buffing pad. I bought one just the other day from this place: http://www.repaintsupply.com/pd-3m-3...ion-system.cfm. And even better yet, instead of doing it all by hand, this kit is designed to be used with a cordless drill. I don't know about anybody else but I hate wet sanding by hand.

 

i wouldnt suggest getting into headlights with 400 grit. thats to rough for plastics. I wouldnt start with anything lower than 1000grit then work up until 2000

 

all i used was 2000 grit to take off the yellow haze and then buffed it with 3m compound n it looks brand new

 

good post!

and for those who don't wanna use 400 grit, that's fine. it really depends on the condition of the headlights IMO.

 

You can go to wal-mart in the Tire and Lube Express they do headlight restoration. For about $40 bucks when I use to work there.

 

400 is def not too rough for plastics. i worked for a glass shop for almost 4 years and dealt with all types of plexi glass and lexan applications and we always started with 400 grit and worked our way to higher grit to remove scratches, imperfections, and dulling and fading

 

400 grit is ok to use, just finish it off with 1500 and 2000 to remove the scratches. When sanding, remove all the factory UV coating so your headlights be clear.

 

hmmm... anyone have pics of their before and after headligh restores?

 

A couple pics of ones I have done:

98 Civic headlights, started with 320, then 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1200, 1500, 2000 then buffed with Meguiar's DACP, then Poorboy's P21S, and finished with Meguiar's wax.

Bottom headlight after sanding, top headlight with nothing done yet (no that is not any kind of yellow film on the light, that is just junk on the lens):


One headlight done, other headlight not started yet:


Here's a Prelude that I started with 800 I believe, then 1000, 1200, 1500, and finally 2000, then Meguiar's DACP, P21S, and Meguiar's wax.

Before


After

 

WOW... I GOTTA TRY IT.

WHATS THIS????

Meguiar's DACP, P21S

I KNOW THE FRIST IS COMPAOUND... WHATS THE SECOND?

 

you can also use meguiars plastiX and it works pretty good without sanding but you'll get a better result sanding it

 

i used 1000 grit wetsand paper, then used headlight buffing compound a couple times


here is one that is untouched:


here is one that i finished:

 

nice work