# Audi headlight reconditioning by wetsanding and Rotary (pics inside!! 56K warning)



## Detailer27

Edit: *Disclaimer: Headlight UV protection may be ruined as a result of sanding/wetsanding. Improper use of the materials involved can result in permanent damage to the headlight. Please use caution and attempt this process at your own risk.

*Only use sanding/wetsanding as a last resort if there is no other option for the headlight. Always start out with the least aggressive method which would be polishing by hand or even by maching without wetsanding.:thumb:
*Best strategy is to get a junk headlight and pratice on that, then duplicate the process on your own headlight. I used my brother Focus lights as practice.
----
I reconditioned my headlight today and thought I'd share the process.

Products used:
3M wet/dry sandpaper,
350 grit(dry)
800 grit
1200 grit
1500 grit
2500 grit
CE Rotary polisher w/wool polishing pad
Plast X
5 gallon bucket
spray bottle with water and 10% detail spray
3M sponge pad
Painters tape
microfiber towels










Process:

Pics of the headlight before I started. Alot of rock chips, scratches, and alittle

oxidation.














































I put sheets of 800, 1200, 1500, and 2500 and let them soak in warm water for thirty

minutes.










I used painters tape to mask off areas of the fender and bumper that touch the headlight.

Definitely don't want to accidentally sratch the paint.










Then I cleaned the headlight really well and wiped it dry with a microfiber towel.










I wrapped 800 grit(dry) around the sponge pad and started sanding the headlight side to side

in uniform strokes.



















800 grit wasn't cutting deep enough to get rid of the rock chips so I stepped up to 350

grit(dry). The 350 worked well and took off a good amount of plastic to expose fresh plastic

below. Saved alot of time, 800 would have taken too long.










Next I used 800 dry, 800 wet, 1200 wet, 1500 wet, and 2500 wet. This is the healight after

the last stage of 2500. All the wetsanding is done and the headlight is dry ready for

polishing.










Now time for polishing with Plast X.










I then setup the rotary with a wool polishing pad and set the speed at 1200 for the first

pass. I started polishing small sections at a time using moderate pressure










Here's a picture just after one pass with the rotary. Already looking great after one pass.










Then I did three more passes with the speed set to 1800.










Here the finished headlight pictures. I was extremely happy with how it turned out. Looks

like new.
































































Thanks for looking. If you have any questions feel free to ask.


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## Dan Clark

Bloody hell - thats amazing!! :thumb:

I'm not sure i'd have the balls to do that - excellent work!


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## cdti_sri

now thats impressive! nice work


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## rockape

nice work there:thumb:


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## Thomas-182

Fantastic! nice job man, that's really good.


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## GlynRS2

That is very impressive work. The headlight does look just like new now. It is really satisfying when something goes as well as that, you must be very pleased with the results. Great work :thumb:


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## Jonmurgie

Wow.. I've heard and seen a bit of this technique but your pictures are an excellent guide on how it's done... GREAT work, scary at the start though!!


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## Detailer27

Thanks for the nice comments guys. Yea I'm really happy with result:thumb:


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## adamf

Looks really great! Think those Audi headlights are a sod to look after!

My dads A3 look pretty crappy even from new.


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## Daffy

Thats a superb write up and how to.
So nice to see something a bit different as well.
It is amazing how a car can be let down by the headlights looking worn.


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## Neil_S

That is brilliant, well done and a great writeup, crystal clear now.


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## SURFERROSA

Interesting thread. Looks great now, well done and thanks.:thumb:


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## Mr Singh

Awesome


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## ThyJones

awesome mate. ive got some fog lights that need that doing, ill use what you've done as a guide and give it a try. nice one!


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## rapidseven

Something a little bit different, excellent work mate.


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## mopardave

Big balls or what? I'd love to give it a go but I'm sure I'd have a coronary if it went wrong! Fantastic result mate!!!!!!!:wave:


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## Fursecul

Awesome results mate,it really is fantastic :thumb:


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## Transit

Detailer27 said:


>


This was the scary picture for me, top job though.


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## paddy328

Well done that man. you have balls to do that, but like you said, they look like new now.


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## DrumMonley

Wow what a great result and great write up too.


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## RS Grant

Brilliant write-up mate.. wouldn't have the ****** myself, but my headlights could do with a bit of attention. Is the machine buff essential, or can you polish up by hand??


Cheers,
Grant


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## Mark M

Awesome mate. Scary first picture though...but what a result


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## ahaydock

Excellent work there - lovely turn around. Did you wax them after?


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## winrya

fantastic, i'm gonna give mine a polish once i get some 4" pads for my pc


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## detailersdomain

awesome turnaround!


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## Ducky

Wow that really is an amazing turnaround, and your step-by-step is excellent, always look forward to this sort of post! :thumb:


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## dhali

excellent write up there. Do you NEED to use the wool pads or can you get away with using foam ones?


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## Paulo

_Great write-up, I might try my RX8's once the weather improves...._


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## UBRWGN

Amazing... better than new!! Will have a go on my B5 A4....


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## Boyd

What the ..... Thats stunning


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## Phil H

awesome post! excellent results mate. 

is the masking tape holding your rotary together? lol


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## Buzzsaw

Thanks for sharing your how to, this will help me out alot as i'm planning on doing mine tomorrow


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## Trist

WOW, thats really impressive, I wish I had the balls to do that with mine:thumb:


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## Spoolin93

Excellent write up & turn-around  . The headlamps on my Vectra are in a simillar state after 135K miles. Was looking to replace them sometime but this thread has given me some inspiration :thumb: .


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## pete79

great writeup as spoolin says i was gonna get new ones or at least have some kind of go at em.now im gonna do similer to you.great work.


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## Detailer27

Wow thanks alot for the nice comments guys 

to answer some questions:



> Is the machine buff essential, or can you polish up by hand??


First, only attempt sanding/wetsanding if you are comfortable with the process. Second, only use sanding/wetsanding as a last resort if there is no other option for the headlight. Always start out with the least aggressive method which would be polishing by hand or even by maching without wetsanding.:thumb: 


> Excellent work there - lovely turn around. Did you wax them after?


I actually did not b/c I'm gonna put lamin X on them soon.


> Wow that really is an amazing turnaround, and your step-by-step is excellent, always look forward to this sort of post!


I know I always enjoy reading writeups aswell that's why I decided to do this one. I always like to help people out when I can 


> excellent write up there. Do you NEED to use the wool pads or can you get away with using foam ones?


Personally I have not tried foam removing wetsanding scratches. I don't think it would be aggressive enough. Does anyone else have experience that could answer this?


> is the masking tape holding your rotary together? lol


Lol, my friend and I have the same one so I wanted to distinguish one from the other...I got alittle carried away.


> The headlamps on my Vectra are in a simillar state after 135K miles. Was looking to replace them sometime but this thread has given me some inspiration


Yea it's a good last resort for headlights that are in bad shape. Best thing is to get a junk headlight and pratice on that, then duplicate the process on your own headlight. I used my brother Focus lights as practice lol.


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## Detailer27

Also thanks to the two guys who gave this thread a good rating.


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## tdekany

truly professional result. :thumb: :thumb: :thumb:


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## Dave KG

Thats certainly a huge improvement there, and a great write up for others to follow if they fancy giving that a go (thank you! :thumb: ).


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## *MAGIC*

Awesome job


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## Tobster

simply amazing ;P i would never dear to do that ;P


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## NIgolf

superb job. I had to do my accord type R like this before. it was a 99 reg car and the headlights were so cloudy rather than clear. Its very satisfying when the finish is as perfect as that.


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## Ronnie

WOW very impressive work there!!! loving it did u try a scrap light first or just go for it?


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## mouthyman

very impressive


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## mattjonescardiff

fantastic results and write up. One question though, could #83 and #80 be used instead of the Plast-x?


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## King Eric

Brilliant stuff!!!


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## Detailer27

Thanks everyone for the nice comments :thumb:



> fantastic results and write up. One question though, could #83 and #80 be used instead of the Plast-x?


Yes, I have heard of people using #84 or #83 to get any leftover scratches out then following it up with PlastX. If you wetsand the lens with a very fine grit though you can use PlastX without the #84 or 83. If you are going to attempt this, I would still recommend having PlastX.


> WOW very impressive work there!!! loving it did u try a scrap light first or just go for it?


I just went straight to wetsanding because the lens was in really bad shape. However I would not recommend doing this unless you have some practice first.


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## range rover dea

:doublesho wot a change:buffer:


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## streaky

Excellent work :buffer: :thumb:


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## james_RScos

Stunning work, well done mate.

Got some headlight protectors for my sierra with marks in the may have a go at this.


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## Breezy

i've noticed this is on plastic headlights wil lthis work on glass headlights?


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## Paulm31

good write up indeed. luckily ive got plastic headlights and i need to do this same job.

i have lacquer peeling off the ehadlights and i ddi wetsnad lightly with 1500 but it didnt cut the mustard, so its pleasing to see that you have really gone up the scale in grits and get a result like that


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## Eurogloss

Great work ! Truly professional results and a Great write up on how to fix you car's 
plastic headlights . Thanks for the advice. If i sum up the courage i might give it 
a go.


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## ryanuk

wow they look like new lights!

great stuff!


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## malinmip

Malco released their new product for this:

http://www.malcopro.com/index.php?p...acturer_id=0&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=619

It's interesting to test it !


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## Mossman

Superb job!


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## Slangwerks

Awesome work, brilliant results!


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## ROB WOODHOUSE

will have to try that on my cars headlights they ae in pretty much the same state as they were excellent job there!


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## Boydie

unbelievable work!!


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## TwinSport

Just a short newbie question  .
What speed setting is 1800 rpm at Meg's G220? Should be 2?


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## Kap01

wow!!


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## oli18

Awesome job mate!

I was so impressed and inspired that a mate and i decided to have a go ourselves....

See the thread here....

Thanks again, i wouldn't have had the balls to do it without your guide!

-Oli


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## paddy328

TwinSport said:


> Just a short newbie question  .
> What speed setting is 1800 rpm at Meg's G220? Should be 2?


The g220 wont go up to 1800rpm. For that you need a rotary.


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## Detailer27

I alittle update, 
I have wetsanded more headlights since making this thread and I now use a DA sander with 320 grit as the first step. It saves alot of time and energy. It also helps make sure the initial sanding is done evenly. :thumb:


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## 1996a6v6

Good write up, something I would have never thought of doing either :thumb:


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## bildo

That's amazing, I really need to get the balls to do this as my lights are begging for it.


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## Rowan83

Wow, fantastic end result mate, they look brand new!


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## Troon

Can we have the pictures back please? Photobucket seems not to have them any more.


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## Guest

Troon said:


> Can we have the pictures back please? Photobucket seems not to have them any more.


I have no problems viewing them.


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## RefinedDetails

great work mate, very impressive.


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## Jim W

I saw this sometime ago, thought it was mighty impressive, but after the second read, I'm inspired to go and fix my own A4 lights!  

Great thread.


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## Glasgow_Gio

Nice work fella.


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## cheffi

ok this post is now more than a year old... how about the removed uv-protection? did anything happen over the months?


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## dizzydiesel

When I looked at the before/after pics, I was thinking.......did he just replace the lamp with a new one?
Really this is a superb job.


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## ScottR

Glad I found this write-up. I recently fitted a pair of these facelift lights to my S4, one new, one 2nd hand. It's always bothered me having one dull lense cover.

I'm off to find me some Megs PlastX!


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## mouthyman

fantastic turnaround


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## Mr_X

After the 3 last passes with the PlastX, you don't apply anything?
How can we protect the lenses from being scratched again?


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## cheffi

maybe some protection foil would be a good idea (thinking about stones, uv protection etc.)


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## -J-

Looks like I will be trying this on my Clio 172 Lamps as the Plastic has started to deteriorate along the bonnet line!

Would a decent coat of Wax over the lights once done protect them from UV damage in the future?


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## Jody 4444

Top job mate, nice one :thumb:


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## paulr

cheffi said:


> ok this post is now more than a year old... how about the removed uv-protection? did anything happen over the months?


What is this uv protection?


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