2
2Poor2Detail
Guest
I recently decided to do a headlight restoration. Round 1 - I started with a 600 grit wet sandpaper and was hand sanding until it hurt, then went up in grits until 3000 on both headlights and protected. Round 2 six months later that is - I repeated the previous process exactly with the same results. I had so much oxidation, I could have bottled it up and sold it after these two rounds. Fast forward, 4 months now.
Round 3 - Now I'm serious about this. I bought a Rupes Mini Bigfoot from Phil @ detailersdomain.com. I then bought sandpaper from buffdaddy.com I started out with 320 grit dry on the mini bigfoot for about six minutes. There was not much left of the sandpaper, I was leaning into it a bit, and repeatedly wiped the headlight and sanding disc with a microfiber towel. I then repeated the process with 500 and then 800 grit dry sanding. I had so much oxidation, I though this thing is never going to come out, I might have to buy new ones - (Obviously cheaper than a new Rupes, but that's another story). I then went to a 1500 damp sand and then a 3000 grit damp sand. Then I went with a Meguires MF cutting pad with some donated polish/compound from JohnnyB. I then finished it with a yellow Rupes pad and more of the same compound/polish from JohhnyB. Finally I cleaned once again and did a Meguires UV protection. P.S. I only restored the passenger side headlight, and I'll save the drivers side for another day. Looking back, I should have started with a 180 grit instead of 320. I don't recommend going that aggressive, but I had nothing to loose, my headlights were 21 years old its entire life in Florida sun. I do have some dry cracking on the inside of the lens, but the outside is smooth. I will do a follow up post, when I complete the other side, hopefully with JohnnyB. The third restoration seemed to be the charm. The first two hand sanding restorations where good, but these results came out night and day better.
Round 3 - Now I'm serious about this. I bought a Rupes Mini Bigfoot from Phil @ detailersdomain.com. I then bought sandpaper from buffdaddy.com I started out with 320 grit dry on the mini bigfoot for about six minutes. There was not much left of the sandpaper, I was leaning into it a bit, and repeatedly wiped the headlight and sanding disc with a microfiber towel. I then repeated the process with 500 and then 800 grit dry sanding. I had so much oxidation, I though this thing is never going to come out, I might have to buy new ones - (Obviously cheaper than a new Rupes, but that's another story). I then went to a 1500 damp sand and then a 3000 grit damp sand. Then I went with a Meguires MF cutting pad with some donated polish/compound from JohnnyB. I then finished it with a yellow Rupes pad and more of the same compound/polish from JohhnyB. Finally I cleaned once again and did a Meguires UV protection. P.S. I only restored the passenger side headlight, and I'll save the drivers side for another day. Looking back, I should have started with a 180 grit instead of 320. I don't recommend going that aggressive, but I had nothing to loose, my headlights were 21 years old its entire life in Florida sun. I do have some dry cracking on the inside of the lens, but the outside is smooth. I will do a follow up post, when I complete the other side, hopefully with JohnnyB. The third restoration seemed to be the charm. The first two hand sanding restorations where good, but these results came out night and day better.