# Headlight restoration video DIY cheapest method



## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

Hello champs.
My next video is all about headlight restoration.It's not the best way but certainly the cheapest.I thought of it for three reasons:
it's cheap, it's fast and you don't need any skills to do it.All you need is just a spray can of clear coat, a little bit of sand paper (1000 or 1500 grit and 2500), water, masking tape and some papers.All this costs no more than 10 pounds.So, what's your opinion on this matter?


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## RivieraV (Mar 17, 2010)

Looks Great... Like you say it works and its cheap and really easy.


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## TMM (Aug 30, 2008)

Good result, better then i expected.

I still prefer to polish. The plastic lens itself is more durable then clear coat.


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

I think you are wrong, when you polish the headlight you need to strip down the old layer of uv coating.The plastic itself it's very sensitive, it scratches very easily .I don't say this is the professional way to protect them, in theory there are two choices:clear film or another uv coating.The only uv coating specially design for headlights is quite expensive but I think it;s wort it.


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## weavers (Jul 18, 2010)

I've been detailing for a year and done a number of headlight restorations. I've always wet sanding and polished with a DA then a sealant. I've never heard of spraying the lens with clear coat. What are the advantages to this? Do you have any links on this. I'm really interested in this. 

Normally I wet sand typical 1000 grit, but I may go down to 400 if its really bad and work my way up to 2000 or 3000, doubling the grit after each step. I prefer to sand horizontally only, then the next step vertical, continuing on. That way I keep the scratches uniform and I feel like it gives a better result. Then after 2k/3k sanding megs ultimate compound and a orange lake country pad, then m205 and a white pad, then sealant. Takes 30mins to 90mins depending on how bad the headlight is. Thats my process. I'm always looking for a better way.


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

weavers said:


> I've been detailing for a year and done a number of headlight restorations. I've always wet sanding and polished with a DA then a sealant. I've never heard of spraying the lens with clear coat. What are the advantages to this? Do you have any links on this. I'm really interested in this.
> 
> Normally I wet sand typical 1000 grit, but I may go down to 400 if its really bad and work my way up to 2000 or 3000, doubling the grit after each step. I prefer to sand horizontally only, then the next step vertical, continuing on. That way I keep the scratches uniform and I feel like it gives a better result. Then after 2k/3k sanding megs ultimate compound and a orange lake country pad, then m205 and a white pad, then sealant. Takes 30mins to 90mins depending on how bad the headlight is. Thats my process. I'm always looking for a better way.


I'm also restoring headlights for some time using the classic method, .The movie above it's more a tutorial for the lazy ones, inexperienced onces, etc.As I said above, it's cheap, fast and you don't need any skills.This method is ideal if you don't have the a da or a rotary at home to polish them.

On the other hand, I've noticed when you polish headlens, after removing the clear coat or uv coating as you want to call it, the lens scratches more easily and more quickly.The idea is to replace the protection on the headlight with another, either a transparet film or some clear uv coat.


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## TMM (Aug 30, 2008)

brautomobile said:


> The only uv coating specially design for headlights is quite expensive but I think it;s wort it.


303 Aerospace protectant. Obviously not a long term coating, but it works and is cheap.


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

If we're talking about protection I think this is a good product to use.The protection coat is about 70 eur/gbp/usd depending on the countru and you can use it for about 20-30 headlight sets.I've already orderd this and I'm waiting for it to arrive.I will post here also the result after using it.


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## Jason123 (Feb 11, 2011)

got some light marks on my headlights whats the easiest way to get rid of them


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

If the scratches are light you should try to polish them out with a compound and then a finish, it's a pitty to remove the original protection from the lens untill it's a must.


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## st33ly (Aug 29, 2010)

What happens when the clearcoat gets chipped????


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

st33ly said:


> What happens when the clearcoat gets chipped????


I don't know, but if it gets chipped, you do all this again.I don't think it will get chipped every month.


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## moshinho (Nov 4, 2009)

Clearcoat suck! Don't do that!
It gets chiped and ugly.


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## AKFM (Dec 26, 2010)

i did this and cant get all the scractches out the headlight? But all i had was Megs Scratch X. Should I use something with more cut? or will there always be scratches? i did this to get rid of weathering


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

AKFM said:


> i did this and cant get all the scractches out the headlight? But all i had was Megs Scratch X. Should I use something with more cut? or will there always be scratches? i did this to get rid of weathering


Maybe you should tell us the procedure, what you did from a to z so we can understand what went wrong or what could get better


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## AKFM (Dec 26, 2010)

i wet sanded it with wet and dry (the finest one) for half an hour until it went really hazed, wiped off the excess and cleaned it, then used meguairs scratch x to bring it back to life. The hazing went but was left with fine scratches all over the headlight. where did i go wrong?


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## AndrewBigG (Jul 28, 2009)

brautomobile said:


> The only uv coating specially design for headlights is quite expensive but I think it;s wort it.


 Either Gtechniq's c1 or c4 should do the trick (maybe a couple of the layers to be sure). These products designed for UV-protection & swirl resistance :thumb:


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

AKFM said:


> i wet sanded it with wet and dry (the finest one) for half an hour until it went really hazed, wiped off the excess and cleaned it, then used meguairs scratch x to bring it back to life. The hazing went but was left with fine scratches all over the headlight. where did i go wrong?


I think you should use a compound, like 3M FCP I think Scratch X is not enough after wetsand and after the compound you should finish with 3M Ultrafina or Menzerna 106fa/ff

Another question, what grit of paper did you used?


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## ScottHmk4 (Sep 19, 2010)

i also prefer a polish finish to clear coat. just my opinion


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## brautomobile (Nov 17, 2009)

ScottHmk4 said:


> i also prefer a polish finish to clear coat. just my opinion


I prefer to polish the finish too in stead of clear coat but this is made for those who don't have a rotary or a da or any experience.


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