Finally got around to fixing my headlight, I think it came out pretty good


$20 for this headlight restoration kit. If you don't want to spend that much, I think you can just get sandpaper & the restoration compound for much cheaper.


This is a lot faster and easier than trying to sand the headlights by hand


Passenger side, Before


After


Driver side, before


After

 

nice man

 

=D

 

Nice work. Did you have your hood and bumper resprayed? They look immaculate. It all goes together nicely.

 

i use clearcoat to get them back to straight out the box shine.

 

I bought the car on 8/21/2011 from a wholeseller but the carfax shows it's a 1 owner car.


I don't have any clearcoat available, can I use wax and apply it to the headlight?

 

I polished up my yellow headlights last spring. When I mix up clearcoat for my friends SUV next week I'll now throw some on my headlights.

Thanks for the tip.

 

nah wax wont do the same thing. you need to sand the lens down with 1000 grit and then put a couple good layers of clear on them. theyll look MINT.

not like the restoration kits where theres still a light layer of haze, and theyll be back to foggy in 6 months.

 

is it that simple? use 1000 grit and clearcoat that is it. is there any buffing with some kind of compound?

 

I used the same kit. It works nice.

 

Good job.

 

samecolor as my gle

 

It would be interesting to see how this is compared to the sanding. Mine aren't horrible but I would like to do mine. My dad actually brought his VW to the stealership to get his done a little while ago and it costed like 100 bucks but they are perfect. he said he used like 3 different grit sand papers, then 2 layers of compound and then buffed it out. It's been prolly 3 months and its still perfect. Kind of off topic but I thought I would share.

 

The 3M kit works better, and I'm a huge fan of Meguiar's

 

i didnt have to buff. your headlight is so small its easy to paint it perfectly with little orange peel. youre using a gun right?

 

not a bad result.. but the best solution to that is to get glass headlights.. i know i cant go back to plastics

 

looks great !

 

where can i buy that at auto zone?

 

Yes

 

I've used tis kit over and over and got good result.

headlights looks great! nice work

 

i agree with a few ppl i usually just use like a 3m scuff pad wipe it down then clear coat it ..but thats cuz i didnt want to spend money on the headlight restore kit n was afriad of it not goingt to work but you lights look pretty good

 

**** it. throw a couple drops of black in that clear. jdm as fawk

 

i might actually clear mines today! hmmm its not too humid.

 

Seriously, do yourself a favor and get this instead-
http://www.autozone.com/autozone/acc...ntifier=940372
and pick up some Meguiar's PlastX polish

I took some before and after pics with my iPhone but deleted them the other day.

 

just finished clearing mine. bout to make a thread for it.

 

I like 1000 and 2000 grit and a tube of crest toothpaste.... seriously lol

 

Mothers mag Aluminum polish here.

 

my concern is low long does the clearcoat last?
Dr J

 

I'm skeptical of paint on headlights - if this is the best method for long term protection, why don't any of the OEM's do it from the factory?

Not arguing the short term results - they look great. My concern is 1 or 2 years down the road...

 

why would clearcoat concern you? its made to go on your cars body and sit in the sun. its there for UV protection. so yeah im pretty sure itll hold up fine especially 3 coats.

 

a 2000 grade wet sand, a buffer and some rubbing compound are the best way to remove the haze. 1000 grade is too course. Plus 2000 is great to have around when you need to wet sand your paint. Just make sure you tape off before you do it or you could hit the paint and burn your paint job.

 

not necessarily dude. youre supposed to start with something more course like 1000 grit to cut down the oxidized plastic, then you use 1500 and finally 2000 to get the 1000 grit scratches out. the buffer then removes the 2000 scratches.

 

oh i get it you want your 15 posts.

 

first off, not a dude...second I'm a professional detailer and I do lense restoration every f'in day. I know my job very well. I only use a 2000 for all my work. btw, I couldn't care less about the 15 posts. If I really wanted them, I would have done it the first day. Why use a 1000 when it's unnecessary?

 

Don't mind him, he's just a jerk.

 

lol, don't worry, I take everyone with a grain of salt. Besides, he's still young...one day he'll realize how to do his job.

 

because its NOT. it makes the process easier and faster... its a lot easier to sand out imperfections with 1000 because its more course but still pretty fine. i work at a body shop and do detailing and lens restoration on the side. this is how we do it and how ive always learned to do it.

oh yeah, im such a jerk.

 

id rather be a jerk and be right

 

But seriously, 2000 gets the contaminates out nicely...why would you waste your time using 3 different grades? Try it next time you actually do one...if you ever have. I know you probably got on youtube and now think you're a pro. I get it though, the guy at the carwash drying cars all day and think he knows how to do cosmetic repairs. Keep reaching for the stars sweetie.

 

btw, I work at a dealership and do complete cosmetic overhauls of used cars. If you have any doubt that I know my stuff, check out my photo albums.