DIY Headlight Oxidation Restoration
#18
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Conventional wisdom is that you would use a plastic polish to buff everything down to the same height to get the clear finish. Instead I sprayed the clear coat on to fill in the "scratches" left by the wet sanding, and to protect the lens a bit. This still left a slightly wavy finish, which is why I did the second wet sanding, then buffing to make it mirror smooth. :-)
#22
I didn't use the sand paper and after a few months, it started to oxidate again but I just reuse the kit to keep it up
#24
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^^ Yes & no. While you sand the headlight, it actually reduces the coating that comes on them from the factory [mind you the sun does this itself over the years, hence yellowing out]... Anyways, it's like teeth you remove a little enamel then you have to be that much more agressive with the cleaning.
In teh case of headlights, once you sand them and 'restore' them it's a temporary fix. you will find yourself having to restore them [example] 6 mos. down the road -> then 3 mos, etc.
The best way to do this is do the full restoration and get something like clear lamin-x or a similar vinyl to provide the protection you had just 'removed' per say.
While the kits remove the yellow which improves light output and it becomes clear and not with a hint of yellow, to they're beneficial in that sense.
In teh case of headlights, once you sand them and 'restore' them it's a temporary fix. you will find yourself having to restore them [example] 6 mos. down the road -> then 3 mos, etc.
The best way to do this is do the full restoration and get something like clear lamin-x or a similar vinyl to provide the protection you had just 'removed' per say.
While the kits remove the yellow which improves light output and it becomes clear and not with a hint of yellow, to they're beneficial in that sense.
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#26
Is that the clear coat that says "UV protection" somewhere on it? I was thinking of using it on mine but wasn't sure if it would cure nice and clear, but you have excellent results.
#28
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Like eyezack87 said though, any clear (if applied according to the instructions) will dry nice and clear. I did have to wet sand and polish to get the "glass smooth" finish, it was "foggier" after I applied it initially.
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Just a quick update..
While the initial result was amazing, my headlights did eventually yellow again. You can see some recent photos of it in this Google Plus post.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/11135396...ts/3zFuRrH1SWD
As pointed out by a few folks in the thread, I could have, and should have used a better UV resistant clearcoat. I'm going to re-do this process with a higher quality clearcoat. I intend to do this with a kit sold by Griots Garage, where I buy most of my car care and detailing supplies. I'll post details here when I've completed it.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks
While the initial result was amazing, my headlights did eventually yellow again. You can see some recent photos of it in this Google Plus post.
https://plus.google.com/u/0/11135396...ts/3zFuRrH1SWD
As pointed out by a few folks in the thread, I could have, and should have used a better UV resistant clearcoat. I'm going to re-do this process with a higher quality clearcoat. I intend to do this with a kit sold by Griots Garage, where I buy most of my car care and detailing supplies. I'll post details here when I've completed it.
http://www.griotsgarage.com/product/...ortby=ourPicks
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