# Headlight restoration?



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

Rather than buy the Megs kit for £20, as I already have a rotary polisher:buffer: I have bought some megs ungrit 2000 & 3000 paper and intend to rub down my headlights then polish them back up using the 3M system going from green, yellow, and finally blue polish. Will this work ok on the plastic of the headlights do you think?

I am guessing it will be fine but wanted to check first, thanks.


----------



## SystemClenz (Oct 31, 2008)

That'll work fine, you may only need to use the green pad though with a fine compound, remember to mask up well including your eyes and mouth :thumb:


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Spot pads are ideal for headlights but whatever you use keep an eye on the surface temps i.e. keep the pad moving. Plastic is much softer than paint so the polishing will not take very long


----------



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

Ah right, thanks guys. I'll give it a go at the weekend as long as the stuff I ordered arrives then let you know how I get on! :thumb:


----------



## shl-kelso (Dec 27, 2012)

Sory to hijack the thread, but do the headlines need a specific sealant after polishing to protect them? I'm thinking of having a go with my hex login 4" pads and M105/205 as well.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I generally just use a sealant or wax afterwards. As far as I know the only dedicated headlight sealant is from Optimum and not sure if this is on sale in the UK yet


----------



## waqasr (Oct 22, 2011)

I normally use any wax i have at hand afterwards. But you may find that 2000 grit maybe a little too fine to remove the oxidation on the headlights, depending on how bad it is already.


----------



## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

sealants are best i've used cg jetseal 109 on mine.

http://www.motorgeek.co.uk/cgi-bin/ecom.cgi?Command=ShowProduct&db_pid=257


----------



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

waqasr said:


> I normally use any wax i have at hand afterwards. But you may find that 2000 grit maybe a little too fine to remove the oxidation on the headlights, depending on how bad it is already.


Is the higher number (ie 3000) a finer grade or more harsh? Thanks.


----------



## suspal (Dec 29, 2011)

higher the number the finer the grade i.e 1500,2000,2500,3000,4000 ect


----------



## witcher (Nov 25, 2010)

3000 is finer than 2000, the higher the number the finer sandpaper is. 
Depending how bad the lights are but I think 2000 is too fine to start with, if you got clouding I would start with 800 or 1000 followed by 1500, 2000 and polish.


----------



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

Ok thanks lads. They were out of stock of the 1500 so i'll have to see if this does the job for now.


----------



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

Well, here are my results. I got some Megs sandpaper and finished off the process using the 3M system. It's not far off perfect. Perhaps some more sanding would've done well but it's a hell of a lot better than before. Let me know what you think!

Essential items that I had to buy:



Before:



Masked off ready for sanding:



Sanded Down:





Polished and complete:





Much better!


----------



## Porkypig (Jun 20, 2012)

Nice job and well worth the effort! :thumb:


----------



## Joech92 (Nov 25, 2011)

Good job!


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

Nice work :thumb:


----------



## Lewis. (Feb 26, 2008)

Cheers guys! As you can see I need to do the rest of the car now when it stops bloody raining?!


----------



## feeesh^^ (Aug 30, 2009)

You need to take them to a shop and have them sprayed with a UV protective clear coat.

If you don't, they will go off in a couple of months and end up looking far worse than before.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

feeesh^^ said:


> You need to take them to a shop and have them sprayed with a UV protective clear coat.
> 
> If you don't, they will go off in a couple of months and end up looking far worse than before.


Not heard of such a service before, who does it and do you have any idea what spray they are using


----------



## feeesh^^ (Aug 30, 2009)

Well, OEM plastic headlights come with a protective clear coat from the factory.

If you remove it by wet-sanding or polishing the plastic is open to the elements and will discolour quite quickly.

Just ask your painter about a UV clear coat, should be able to sort it out for you.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

I take your point about UV filters but not sure about the need to use a painter to protect the headlights. On the various detailing forums people have been doing headlight work for years and finishing with either a wax or sealant and more recently with various coatings. What I have not seen is complaints about degrading plastic which has not been sprayed by a bodyshop. 3M et al sell various kits to restore headlights but the protecting product is a sealant.

It is good to know a bodyshop can spray plastic with the appropriate product however it does not seem to be critical to use a bodyshop to protect the plastic.


----------



## feeesh^^ (Aug 30, 2009)

^^ that is because they dont go through the protective coat when using milder products, this thread was about sanding down the headlight.

Trust me, if you have a headlight that is so far gone that it needs sanding down you will need to put a new clear coat on it to keep it nice.

Not to mention that a clear coat will be much more durable and harder than a sealant.


----------



## lowejackson (Feb 23, 2006)

The 3M headlight system includes sanding discs and polish http://3mauto.com/products/headlight-restoration the protection comes from their sealant. Meguiars have a headlight protection liquid http://www.meguiars.com/en/automotive/products/g17110-headlight-protectant/ for use on restored headlights.

I wetsanded (1000, 2000, 3000 grit, compound and polish) my lights a few years ago, the plastic is given a coating of whatever wax or sealant I am using when I wash the car, so far the headlights are still looking good.

I am not disputing the need to protect the plastic at all and have no doubt that a bodyshop can supply a good product or fancy products such as Optimum Opti-Lens will provide years of protection. It is just I do not see people saying their headlights have degraded following (wetsanding) restoration and lets face it, people are more than happy to say if something has failed, especially on internet forums

Out of curiosity is the plastic clearcoat the same product which is used on paint or is it a completly different product. I have almost no knowledge about painting and the products which are used so I am simply curious.


----------



## james vti-s (Aug 9, 2011)

shl-kelso said:


> Sory to hijack the thread, but do the headlines need a specific sealant after polishing to protect them?


this is being praised over the pond


----------



## witcher (Nov 25, 2010)

I honestly doubt the benefits of UV resistant special clearcoat application.
First of all headlights are being exposed to quite harsh treatment with occasional stone hit, road grime, salt in winter etc, and although in theory extra layer sounds great, the elements will soon eat away the coating, or haze it.
Secondly I restored my mate's headlights 3 years ago and just put sealant over them and they still look great, the sealant is being reapplied regularly.
In my humble opinion regular, proper care is much more important than any coating you may apply.
Just my 1.5 p.


----------



## feeesh^^ (Aug 30, 2009)

Thats odd, maybe it depends on the brand of car?

I have restored a couple of Honda headlights and its actually the coating that Honda puts on that turns yellow and hazy over time, in some cases you could actually peal it off on parts of the headlight. Once its all sanded and polished they look like new, but that never lasts more than maybe six months before they get hazy again.

The clear coat is just what I had done to keep them looking good, seems to have worked as well, since they still look mint.

And it would really surprise me if there were any plastic headlights out there that never came with at least some sort of coating from the factory.


----------



## witcher (Nov 25, 2010)

The headlights in question are Nissan Primera. A daily driver. The coating is gtechniq. 
My GF Polo headlight are great after 6 month, also protected with Gtech.
I am sure headlights are factory coated, and I have nothing against coating, but what I am trying to say is that with proper care you can keep your headlights blimey even without specialized clearcoat.
We all know that over 90% of people wouldn't be bothered to spend their time keeping their cars tidy and I am pretty sure factories put clearcoat on headlights to delay unavoidable haziness, which IMHO results more from negligence than any other factors.


----------



## Sheep (Mar 20, 2009)

Feesh has hit the nail on the head. There IS a coating from the factory, and it is finally starting to give in on my brothers 2004 civic. A clear coat application from a body shop after a correction polish is the best way to give it long term, no maintenance protection. You won't have to wax and polish it every couple months. Plus, once to start correcting the plastic, it will wear down. It's better to add a layer, then keep taking them off.


----------

