Question concerning headlight restoration

I sanded down one of my headlights this evening and notice a number of sanding scratches remain after the lenses received a compound (M105) and polish. I started with 400 grit dry, moved on to 800 grit wet, then 1500 grit wet, and finally 2000 grit wet. My question is what grit should I begin using to remove the remaining scratches; I'm not sure what grit is responsible for the leftover marks or if contamination is responsible. Should I simply sand the heck out of them with 2000 grit wet and try to cut them again?

 

yeh, I think if you hit it with the 2k then dry it off and you cant see the scratches deeper than what you sanded they should come out when you polish it

did you follow up with something after 105?

 

been there done that. the 400 dry did you in. :thumb:

 

wetsanding with 1000 grit followed by 2000 grit seems to be what works for everyone. I dont ever wetsand, but sip on an orange with my rotary followed by 106fa on a white seem to work great for me.

 

And what did you do to correct the leftover sanding marks?

 

I could not get it corrected all the way. Started over with again with 800-1000-1200-1500-2000-2500 Wet sand and polished the lenses with Sytem one With a yellow foam- Orange foam-green foam and a DP lense cleaner and polish. I still could see some minor sanding marks but I really felt this was the best I could do for the situation I put myself in. Please keep in mind that I'm not a pro at this yet and I did the best I could. Thank you for asking.

 

as thick as a headlight lense is I think they should come out, you can pm eshine about this, he does headlight restoration

 

The 400 grit was the mistake. You are done like dinner. Next itme use nothing lower than 800 or even 1000. The first paper use dry until most of the defects are gone then switch to a soapy water solution and finish the sanding with 1500-2000. From there I use a 4" orange pad on my PC speed 6 with a medium compound. I then use a sealant and I am done. A set of lights with sanding and all usually takes 30minutes.

 

WOW, 30 minutes is good time. You must go like hell. I still take my time cause I don't know the lense quite yet and I really don't care how long it takes me right now. Perfection is the answer and that I see coming. I'm still no less than 1 hour and 30 minutes.Thanks for the tips I'm glad I'm on the right track. The only reason why I did so much on the post above is because I wanted to save myself.

 

I do a lot of headlights, they used to take me 1-2 hours but as I found the best materials and methods it became routine. I usually remove the headlights if they come out easily and I polish them sitting down clinched between my knees. I alos sand with my PC using a 3.5" backing plate which saves time and allows you to use finer grit and still get the job done quickly.


A tip for detailers looking to make a few extra bucks...Local auto wreckers will pay decent money to contract you for headlight resto. They have the lenses removed and ready to go, if they are yellow they usually throw them out...If you charge $50-$75 for a set of lights they can sell them for $200/set.

I think I should do an article on this.....

 

Yes, you should write an article. Thanks for all the info. I was glad to pick up a thing or two.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

 

please article, article. and by auto wreckers do you mean, salvage yard or tow service?

 

Yes, Salvage yards or used automobile parts. Grab a set of yellowed lights and polish one out. Bring the set with you to the different locations and show them that the yellowed lights they are throwing out can tuen into a $200 set if they invest $50 into them. They will usually have several sets at a time for you to do.