Headlight lens restoration

2old2change said:
Any up-dated info or pictures on the coating ? Have not coated any after sanding and compounding and I'm impressed with your results so far.I don't know how I missed your original post on AG. Paul S
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Actually on the 6th page of that thread is a 3 month longevity test. And after christmas of this year will be the 6 month longevity test and I will post pictures of it then. I looked at these lights yesterday and they still look like they did back when I first did them. I doubt 1 coat of wax or paint sealer would produce these same results.
I live in Kansas which has extreme summers and cold winters, I dont know how this would hold up in year round warm climates. I will be happy if I can get a year of haze free protection with this system. But I have heard of it lasting 2 years or more. So I guess it depends on your prep work and application and probably your year round climate conditions.
And some "skeptics" say it will be impossible to remove. Well, thats just not true. I did some tail lights on my van, and I missed a spot when applying the sealer, and did not notice it until a week later. So I resanded and buffed them out and then applied the UV urethane sealer. It looks very good. I even did a third brake light on my van, and it turned out very well too.
 
Looking foward to the 6-month photos. Looks great so far. I've got an old pair of lamps out in the garage that I want to try this out on. Thanks again. Paul S
 
I did a headlight restore a few months back on a VW Golf mk5, sanded with 3000 paper, then polished with plast-x using a rotarty and 4" compounding foam,the headlight finished off brand new. but a few months down the line i noticed fine cracking on the lens's from the inside!
all in a a straight line along the lenght of the headlight, has anyone ever experienced this ?
 
Neil,

I have damaged headlight lenses, probably caused by pushing too hard while polishing. The plastic housing can crack around the mounting bolts or at other stress points. I've also seen different types of discoloration appear inside the lens... possibly "burning" by generating too much heat on the outside surface.

Best of luck!
 
i used the 3m headlight restoration kit on my integras headlights and it worked fantastic, i used a trigger adjustable speed dewalt drill and all the included supplys and got excellent results. Only problem was, once i made the outside plastic good and clear, i realized the inside of the light was oxidized on the reflector and my drivers side projector was bad lol.


 
btw all those pictures are before it got painted lol, and yes i know the headlights look green, my camera didnt like the 6k HID kit for some reason, the color is actually more white
 
JohnHenry said:
Neil,

I have damaged headlight lenses, probably caused by pushing too hard while polishing. The plastic housing can crack around the mounting bolts or at other stress points. I've also seen different types of discoloration appear inside the lens... possibly "burning" by generating too much heat on the outside surface.

Best of luck!
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hi JohnHenry,

The head lights did not damage while polishing it was perfect when finished, the cracking started on the face of the headlamp about 2-3 weeks after the polish little vertical cracks in a stright line on the front of the headlamp.

they seem to be from the inside, like the heat from the actually lamp causes the cracking but this was only after the restore.
 
I think the heat from the rotary made small fractures that opened up more from the heat from the headlight.

They were fine for years then failed a few weeks after polishing.

I have never tried using a rotary on plastic but I did try my PC set on # 2 and the plastic got really hot very quick since then I use a small mothers power ball on a drill.
Yes it is slower but more cost effective because I don't need to replace my lens after polishing.
 
headlamp restoration is such a racket......more so if you fall into buying all those gimic products to restore head lamps. you can use a good medium compound , like 3m perfectic II will do the job at a low 600-900 rpm with a yellow foam bad, then go back over it with a finishing compound at 1500-2500 rpm's to get the brilliance.

If you have some severe discoloration you can wet sand them with some 2000 grit and then polish.

However some BMW and Mercedes models have the plastic coating on them, if this has any pin holes or it is rough in texture...nothing will make them perfect outside of replacing them.

After you do the final polishing, wash them off and apply by hand some plastic polish. I recommend either Maas or Plastic 210 spray, gives a nice sheen and protects them from UV.

I generally do not charge for this ,It is included in my standard detail. As a separate item I charge $65.00. takes about 20 mins start to finish and sometimes less if I do not have to wet sand them
 
yeh but, compounding and wetsanding is the same as the restore products, the difference is those are made for speed, so they use a heavy grit first and then a quick polishing method to increase the finishing time
 
Thanx for the reply guys ..

yes the head light did get pretty hot when polishing went up to 2000RPM on the rotary to removed the 2000grit sanding .. that could have caused the failure. So is slower polishing with a more aggressive compound the answer ?
 
yeah the point is you wouldn't have to purchase there products, hence saving you money as you have compound in bulk for more than one job.
 
AutoHealer, looks good. I use a similar product from my distributor. It is a company that was at the EXPO in 08 I believe. I will not name the company due to the forum rules.
The "kit" comes with a bottle of sand paper lube, 1 bottle of headlight cleaner ofter you are done sanding, and a bottle of "sealer" for the lights. You apply it with a foam paint brush type thing. Same thing you use for applying stain to wood.
I will have to buy that Helmsman Spar Varnish and see if it's the same stuff. What is the mineral spirits for? Cleaning the lights before application????

As for the headlights yellowing, fading, and peeling, here is what I heard. I'm not saying this is the truth, so take ot for what it is. The plastic headlights come from the factory with a coat of UV protection on them, similar to the clear coat on your car. This thin coating is what eventually fades, turns yellow, and eventually starts peeling/flaking off.
Again, take it for what its worth. That's what I heard and to me, it makes sense.
 
TexasTB said:
AutoHealer, looks good. I use a similar product from my distributor. It is a company that was at the EXPO in 08 I believe. I will not name the company due to the forum rules.
The "kit" comes with a bottle of sand paper lube, 1 bottle of headlight cleaner ofter you are done sanding, and a bottle of "sealer" for the lights. You apply it with a foam paint brush type thing. Same thing you use for applying stain to wood.
I will have to buy that Helmsman Spar Varnish and see if it's the same stuff. What is the mineral spirits for? Cleaning the lights before application????

.
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The mineral spirits thins the urethane so it can be applied to the light, it also makes it even out so there are no streaks.
Please check out my original thread on Auto Geek, I just did a 6 month longevity test too. Headlight Restoration-new UV sealant idea - Auto Geek Online Auto Detailing Forum
 
Does anyone have a recommendation for hand cleaning plastic headlights? I don't have any good power tools these days and an air compressor is way out of budget.
 
occupant said:
Does anyone have a recommendation for hand cleaning plastic headlights? I don't have any good power tools these days and an air compressor is way out of budget.
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i had overspray from the paint job on my car, just some light paint mist, nothing too serious, but you could feel the roughness, i cleaned the lenses off with megs all purpose, then used a foam pad on my dewalt power drill and megs plastic-x and polished them to a good shine. crystal clear now.
 
That still uses a power drill. The battery run time on my 19.2v Kawasaki is about 20 seconds after an overnight charge. But I found today that I can get a small (I think it's 8oz or so) bottle of PlastX at Wal-Mart for $5.42.
 
occupant said:
That still uses a power drill. The battery run time on my 19.2v Kawasaki is about 20 seconds after an overnight charge. But I found today that I can get a small (I think it's 8oz or so) bottle of PlastX at Wal-Mart for $5.42.
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you can do it by hand with a microfiber towel but i doubt it is gona do much, depending on how bad the headlights are.
 
If you use Plast X by hand plan on spending several hours rubbing even then it won't help much if lights are in bad shape. :wow:

edit I would not use a MF towel a cotton rag would be better for that job.

You can buy a 3" cotton buff for 5 bucks a cheap 1/4" drill for 10 bucks and that would buff it out, Some jobs you need a power tool.
 
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