with the haze on my headlights, i've wetsanded the driver side with 1500 and 2000grit, and took it for the body shop to get it clear coated. i wasn't trying to cheap out on quality, but it appears that i did a mistake choosing them.

anyways, the clear coat didn't turn out good (frosty glass look alike). i wouldn't even rate them as being "1/10". so i was so frustrated at their quality, so i took the car and didn't even pay them.

at home i tried to remove the clear coat. i did that with acetone, and it didn't do too well, it just ruined it even more, altho a little part got removed and the original look came back at a tiny part/corner. i kept doing it, but i couldn't clear it all out, cuz i think it got baked being in the sun. so, after spending about 5hrs yesterday, and 4hrs today, i got about 10-20% off, but the rest is too hard to remove.

so, i wetsanded it with 1500, but got no results. i knew WD-40 would kill a clear coat, so i tried a wipe. to no avail..

hmmm... well, it's fuked up now.

anyone got into the same situation? does anyone know how to remove the clear coat completely?

thnx

 

I would say keep going at it maybe use 1000. Then try and finish it off with 2000. Use a buffer to bring the shine back. A harsh chemical could melt the plastic so I would shy away from that.

What state you live in?

 

ok, 1000grit is an option (but i think it's too deep), tho will i be able to get them shinny like OEM when i get them clear coated?

i'm not in any state.. google Bahrain..

thnx for the input

 

if you got the 03-05 lights i would just say buy some new ones used, as a last resort their not that expensive

 

if there is no option to get them back as they were before, can't i just grab ebay's replicas and take off the plastic cover to use it on mine?

mine is '06 btw.

 

I screwed up my lights pretty badly using one of the "headlight restoration kits".

The only thing that was able to remove all the damage and return them back to
near-new was this stuff:

 

^

 

^that will take out all the scratches and bond to the plastic to make it scratchless.. but mine is pretty messed up cuz of the clear coat layer.. i need to remove that first, then maybe use one of those products to bring back its original look.

 

Never never never use chemicals. They will damage and pit the plastic and you'll never sand it smooth.

1000 grit isn't too coarse. You could even use something like 600-800 grit if you spend A LOT of time sanding with 1000, 1500, and 2000.

Just wetsand with 1000 until all the clear is gone, it'll take a while. Then move up to 1500, then 2000.

And the haze might have been repairable by wetsanding with 2000, then polishing.. Did you try that?

Yes, because you'll be following up 1000 grit with 1500 and 2000, they will be just as clear if not more.

Any pics of the headlights?

 

ok, i'm gonna try to get 600, 800 and 1000 grit.

and yea, i tried 1500-2000 wetsanding and then polishing it, but i wasn't satisfied with the results.

sorry, but no pics atm..

 

ok, i got 1000 and 600grit. i did 1000 wetsanding at first, but it didn't do good. so, i went on dry sanding. not much of an improvement. then i switched to 600 wetsanding, but even that didn't take all the applied clear coat. so, with all the sanding done, the plastic is totally white. so, i went back and sand it with 1000 and then i polished it (with my hand).. it's a little clearer than being totally white, but it aint clear at all..

what's next? should i go lower? like 400grit and then way up till 2000? i don't wanna do the clear coat myself, cuz i know those rattle cans aint good for such a job.

 

Use 600-800, then go to 1500, then maybe 2500 to finish. Then, rub it down with a polishing compound.


With this method, I can restore foggy exteriors of lights and take VHT and clear coat off a lens and bring it back to 80-85% of the OEM condition.

 

alright, i'm gonna try to do that.. but does the polishing compound requires a machine? cuz i don't own one.

and i'm sure this will be temporary, cuz with our weather it wouldn't last 3days altogether.

 

update...

here is what i did.

1- cleaned the headlight with water and soap (dish washing soap)
2- wiped it clean with a chamois leather
3- wetsanding 600grit
4- wetsanding 1000grit
5- wetsanding 2000grit
6- polished with Meg's ScratchX (3 applications) using a drill with a pad.
7- waxed with Zymol, using a drill with a pad.

wetsanding with water didn't do much, so i used dish washing soap (liquid) and it did very well. and i took about 10mins in every wetsanding stage.

it's back 85% and i'm happy with the results.

 

Well at least your happy with the results, post pics of before (if you have them) and after so we can see what they look like. And if for some reason you become unsatisfied with your results. Do this, (don't wet sand) sand with 1500grit, then 2000grit. Spend twice as long with the 2000 as you do with the 1000. Then rent an orbital buffer, and buy some buffing and polishing compound. After sanding with 2000grit buff with the buffing compound untill gloss is returned and scratches are removed. Then finish with the polish, and you are good to go! Make sure you use a sepperate pad for the polish and compound. I have done this to atleast a dozen vehicles and never had any complaints.

 

^thnx..

i'm gonna try to buy a polisher by next month and new polish/wax/polishing compounds as well.

i snapped couple of pics with my mobile phone, but they don't show how bad it is. in real they're much worse!

Before





Finished 3 polishing applications







Finished product (waxed)

 

Yeah looks good. Just a little bit more polishing and you'll be done. If you don't want to get an orbital, just get a buffer wheel for an electric drill and use it to help you polish it.

 

all you have to do to restore headlights is wetsand and buff. you have to use a buffer. preferably a buffer that can adjust the RPM's. foam pad application with rubbing compound should do the trick.

i do this allll the time for my friends that have yellowing in their lights.

 

^^Peter's right, Ive done the same, and you do have to use a machine, doing it by hand won't be the same as by a real rotary buffer.

Here's a little trick I learned about wet-sanding, fill a little spray bottle up with water and add some dish soap to it. It helps the paper move better and its easier to work with. Also before wet-sanding, let the paper sit in the water for a few minutes till its saturated, don't just wet it and use it.