View Full Version : Headlight polishing in 30 minutes - Spoiled Man inspired me
imported_smprince1
08-04-2007, 05:18 PM
After reading a recent thread by Spoiled Man regarding headlight restoration, I decided to have a go at the wife`s 7.5 year old minivan. This Odyssey`s headlights were looking very cloudy and had some deep scratches. The had never been polished in the life of the vehicle.
I decided I didn`t want to break out the sandpaper, and I wanted to see what could be achieved with just polishing. Total time was about 30 minutes, no lie, including taping off. It didn`t remove all the deep stuff, but most of the cloudiness is gone. Well worth the short amount of time it took in my opinion.
Tape off
SSR3/Yellow Edge 4"/1300RPM ... 3 passes which takes about 1 minute each with small area
SSR1/Green Edge 4"/1000RPM ... same 3 passes
Remove tape
Plexus aerosol and MF
Thanks Spoiled Man for the inspiration.
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/P1010246.jpg
http://www.autopia.org/gallery/data/500/medium/P1010250.jpg
'03 CTD
08-04-2007, 06:33 PM
Looks awsome!!!! Do you guys get, or think I could get, as good of a result using the PC. I have wet sanded paint so that no biggie for me.
imported_smprince1
08-04-2007, 06:40 PM
Looks awsome!!!! Do you guys get, or think I could get, as good of a result using the PC. I have wet sanded paint so that no biggie for me.
I would think you could get similar resulsts with a PC and 4" pad.
'03 CTD
08-04-2007, 06:43 PM
Well looks like GF`s car is now my guinea pig. :D
Paulie Walnuts
08-04-2007, 07:05 PM
30 mins? I did the wifes today and they were bad and it took less than 5 minutes each. How come so long? Try Megs PlastiX some day, the stuff is great.
And you can get great results with the PC as well.
imported_smprince1
08-04-2007, 07:12 PM
30 mins? I did the wifes today and they were bad and it took less than 5 minutes each. How come so long?.
Well, since you asked ....
I had to put some shoes on, move my truck, bring her vehicle over, feed the dog, find where I had put my 4" green pads, bring my extension chord over from the other garage, yell at the kids, find the camera to take some photos, find the tape, get an iced tea, walk over and get the mail, show the kids what I was doing .....
... plus I`m just gettin old and SLOW I guess. But thanks for pointing that out. ;)
BlackElantraGT
08-04-2007, 08:16 PM
I`m really looking forward to doing my headlights once my 4" pads comes in. Mine aren`t as bad as yours, but they`re starting to look almost as bad as the headlight in your before pics.
Those are some great results considering you didn`t even wetsand them or anything. I`d be completely happy if I got those results. I was going to try wetsanding mine, but I think I will just try the pad and polish combo first.
imported_smprince1
08-04-2007, 08:56 PM
I would say the wetsanding would have gotten out more of the deeper scratches, but the cloudiness was pretty shallow. Don`t forget that SSR3 is pretty abbrasive stuff too. I`m pleased considering this was very little effort.
SpoiledMan
08-04-2007, 11:26 PM
Those came out nice. The lights on my 2000 Odyssey were much worse and required sanding. Glad that I could be an inspiration.:)
ManiZ
08-06-2007, 12:47 AM
That looks new! Great job!
stiffdogg06
08-06-2007, 01:21 AM
Look all nice and purrty again!:goodjob
a.k.a. Patrick
08-06-2007, 07:26 AM
Well, since you asked ....
I had to put some shoes on, move my truck, bring her vehicle over, feed the dog, find where I had put my 4" green pads, bring my extension chord over from the other garage, yell at the kids, find the camera to take some photos, find the tape, get an iced tea, walk over and get the mail, show the kids what I was doing .....
... plus I`m just gettin old and SLOW I guess. But thanks for pointing that out. ;)
:geez :faint:
Dont ya just hate those kinds of days?
Comical reply, appreciated it.
MikeWinLDS
09-16-2007, 07:11 PM
What is SSR1, SSR3, or UDM? I tried looking in the FAQ (http://autopia.org/forum/faq.php?faq=secret_decoder_ring) but couldn`t find it. I`m guessing those are some kind of products you used with a rotary machine to buff out that headlight?
imported_smprince1
09-16-2007, 07:13 PM
What is SSR1, SSR3, or UDM? I tried looking in the FAQ (http://autopia.org/forum/faq.php?faq=secret_decoder_ring) but couldn`t find it. I`m guessing those are some kind of products you used with a rotary machine to buff out that headlight?
This is copy/pasted directly from the link you included:
SSR1 Poorboy`s World Super Swirl Remover Light Abrasive
SSR2 Poorboy`s World Super Swirl Remover Medium Abrasive
SSR3 Poorboy`s World Super Swirl Remover Heavy Duty Compound
I don`t own an UDM, but it stands for Ultimate Detailing Machine ... I used a rotary on those headlights.
MikeWinLDS
09-16-2007, 07:17 PM
Oops, I guess I was looking at the wrong section of the FAQ. Thanks for the help. :)