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Old 11-22-05, 06:56   #1 (permalink)
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Wet Sanding Headlight Len

I got 2 minor scratches on my lens (plastic). I can feel them with my finger nails.

It seems most people are using wet sanding method and glass polish and cleaner (such as the Meguiar's products) to restore the final finish. So, the question is: If I want the perfect restoration of the lens finish, should I use the captioned method or let the professional to finish the job for me?

The head lights expensive and the lens cannot take apart for replacement.
 
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Old 11-22-05, 07:21   #2 (permalink)
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What machines/products do you have access to? If you have a PC polisher and some #83, you won't need to wet-sand most likely.
 
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Old 11-22-05, 10:38   #3 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Shiny Lil Detlr
What machines/products do you have access to? If you have a PC polisher and some #83, you won't need to wet-sand most likely.
Are you serious? I have both!

Do you think #83 have the cutting power to level down the scratches (note: very light scratches)?

Anyone have experiences this? or can I hand polish the #83 until the white powder appears? What should I use after #83 to bring back the shine and clarity of the lens?
 
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Old 11-22-05, 12:12   #4 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tricycle
Are you serious? I have both!

Do you think #83 have the cutting power to level down the scratches (note: very light scratches)?

Anyone have experiences this? or can I hand polish the #83 until the white powder appears? What should I use after #83 to bring back the shine and clarity of the lens?




If they're anything as bad (or not as bad) as those, the answer is YES. For that headlight, I used #83 on a W-8006 pad, with the speed set at 6. Just spread it over the light's surface, adjust to speed, and hold the machine over the scratches for 1-2 minutes; move every so often to check your progress... and stop early if they go away faster. You can do the same procedure over the rest of the light, moving it nice and slow to let the polish do some work. You'll find that while this does create a little bit of heat, and remove a little bit of the surface (not much though, it's still a PC... perfectly safe.) it isn't cutting as much as wetsanding can. Your risk of cutting through the UV protective coating/layer is drastically reduced. And you won't even need any other polish after DACP if you work it in long enough.
 
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Old 11-22-05, 12:27   #5 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tricycle
I got 2 minor scratches on my lens (plastic). I can feel them with my finger nails.

It seems most people are using wet sanding method and glass polish and cleaner (such as the Meguiar's products) to restore the final finish. So, the question is: If I want the perfect restoration of the lens finish, should I use the captioned method or let the professional to finish the job for me?

The headlights expensive and the lens cannot take apart for replacement.
It sounds like you a deep scratch....but then again i have not seen it only basing it from what your said with fingernail.....

first yes you are correct on headlight replacement they are expensive especailly if the luxury and if there is a demand and only if you can by from dealer only.....

another thing is some if not nearly all new cars have a coated headlight....i cant tell you which cars do and dont and what year because i just dont know....

you have to decided if you want to gamble with it or not.....dont get me wrong we are all hear to help one another to improve the looks of are car and so forth...

as far as just replacing the lens i have been told by a buddy that, thats what they did to his vehicle it is a possibility you just need to find a dealer who will sell you just te lens if you want that option....just to brief you on that you need to remove your headlight housing and heat up the glue/silicone to separate the lens....

first start with a least aggresive method before finally wet sanding(last option).....

just like a a scratch on paint you need to remove clear/paint to even it out as close as possible with out removing to much....you need to do that with the lens....but just like glass it may not lend it self to be .....just a thought...

if you get a chance take it to someone who can give you and estimate and see if they can completly reomve if not improve it and what product they use .... then from there you can decided on what you want to do.....

i have found some people use plastic x with a drill gun and drill pad or some use a 3in pad with the DA/PC....

some other products plasticX, #82, #4,#83
the thing i like about plasticx is it will polish and wax all in one if im not mistaken also you can use this and depending on your pad or what you use to apply this it can be mild to aggresive.....

also i have not tried any of these method nor am i suggestion i am simply giving you my advice and you can take it what it for....please do understand i am a noob and i am sure the pro like LIL Shiny Del with help you out and give you the hands on exp...

good luck let us now how it came out and what method you used....
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Old 11-22-05, 05:10   #6 (permalink)
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One more question please: If I use #83 as you have mentioned, does it mean the scratches are filled or levelled by the compound?

I am a little bit confused!
 
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Old 11-23-05, 04:08   #7 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tricycle
One more question please: If I use #83 as you have mentioned, does it mean the scratches are filled or levelled by the compound?

I am a little bit confused!

I have used SSR2.5 with great results.... no fillers so what you see is what you get. I prefer to use it over #83 but that is just me. #83 has done some great work as seen on this board.
 
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Old 11-23-05, 07:27   #8 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by tricycle
One more question please: If I use #83 as you have mentioned, does it mean the scratches are filled or levelled by the compound?

I am a little bit confused!
It doesn't fill anything; the diminishing abrasives in 83 do remove the defect.

I should mention that the car I posted pictures of belongs to a regular customer, and over a year later I've seen none of the defect I removed reappearing.
 
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Old 11-23-05, 10:12   #9 (permalink)
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Newer headlight lens has a vary thin coating to prevent micro scratching & uv fading. If removed then you would have to keep polishing the lens every few months or so. If removed you can also apply pre cut 3M plastic protection film over them which are a lot thicker then the oem film
 
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Old 11-23-05, 11:02   #10 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Super
Newer headlight lens has a vary thin coating to prevent micro scratching & uv fading. If removed then you would have to keep polishing the lens every few months or so. If removed you can also apply pre cut 3M plastic protection film over them which are a lot thicker then the oem film
Yes, but if one is careful the risk of removing that coating is minimal, when polishing is used as opposed to wetsanding. As I said, I've done it many times and have never yet cut through any coatings or had any ill-effects in the long(er) term.

The 3M film is a good idea though, anyways; to prevent any further damage in the future.
 
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