AKRISONER
October 15th, 2008, 11:06 PM
So i did this today and let me say, it was quite the adventure. First of all the original post says this job is going to take you an hour a light at most, BS!!!!
It took me 2 hours a light, i wasnt messing around with something as important as headlights. Doing this really intimidated me because I was worried that id do a poor job and id regret it, but in the end it turned out way better then i expected.
What you will need!
-small plastic container and a tap for water
-320 grit sandpaper (or a little higher 400/500 however your asking for the first step to take longer)
-800 grit sandpaper
-1500 grit sandpaper
-2000 grit sandpaper
-Rubbing compound and a shammy dealio to put it on
-a nice rag to do a bit of hand buffing
-Some form of polishing pad with machine function (I used my handy black&decker mouse sander with a polish pad)
-Plastic Polish (I used meguiars clear plastic polish, an older version i think in a light blue bottle with no fancy graphics, i got it from car quest auto parts)
http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname=Consumer%20(Meguiar%27s%20Brand)%3EClear%20Plastic%20Care§ionID=15101 (http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname=Consumer%20%28Meguiar%27s%20Brand%29%3EClear%20Plastic%20Care§ionID=15101)
-A Buffer top for your drill or grinder wheel
-arms with stamina for 3 1/2 hours of sanding
Here is what my lights looked like before the whole process. EWWWWW
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/before.jpg
step 1
-Tape around the light casing, protect your paint people cause you will bump into it trying to sand the edges so tape around the lights to make sure your bumper/quarter panel doesnt get scratched
-clean the lights of bugs etc etc
Step 2
-Begin sanding with 320 grit sandpaper Vertically (it works out better then starting Horizontally because sanding with the 800 is a lot more work so at least sand the longways on the harder part to make it a bit easier)
-Make sure to pay special attention to the closest corner to the grill and along the edges, as you will tend to try buff the middle rather then put in the hard work of buffing along the corners and edges.
-Sand it up really good with the 320 trying to get a consistant coat of scratchyness across the entire light. Dont be afraid to throw down a fair amount of pressure and speed on the thing to make sure its getting the Pits out
When your done sanding with the 300 it should look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/320grit.jpg
-now take a wet rag and wipe the dust off and it will look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/wipeitoff320.jpg
-Get tuneski's your gonna need emNow heres where some wierd shit happened, i dont know who here has seen the trailer park boys when they are out in the forest searching for jacob? anyways i watched that episode about 2 hours before i started doing this and there is a part where ricky says I wanna rock out to some mitchell! so im sitting here sanding and i think I should rock to some mitchell as a joke, i turn on the radio to Q107, and low and behold the next song is "go for a soda" the same one from the show wierdddddd
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/mitchell.jpg
Step 3
-Get your 800 1500 and 2000 sandpaper and throw them in the plastic container and fill the container with some soft water, none of the bushleague hardwater we have up here in Georgetown, cause thats just gonna deposit shit into your light which is no good! Fill the thing up with water and let the sand paper sit in it for a couple minutes to soak up the water
Step 4
-Start sanding with the 800 grit horizontally. Sand that light like you just got chickenpox all over your body and the only way to make it go away is to rub the light, i honestly sanded with the 800 grit for over half an hour making sure i got every single spot on the light at least twice, its the only way to get rid of hte scratches from the 320 cause otherwise your gonna be left with some nasty marks at the end making your light look nearly as bad as the first place. Rule of thumb, once you think your done sanding, sand over the entire thing again.
-Make sure your constantly pouring some of the water from the container on the light to clean off the milky residue that the 800 will be leaving behind, also wash off the paper in the container periodically when it starts getting milky again.
-Once your done and i mean really actually done not just thinking your done, wipe the light with a wet rag and then dry it Your light when done with the 800 paper and dried should look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/800dried.jpg
-A good gauge to see how well your doing is to look and see that most of the variences in texture are consistent, ive got a few small spots that arent exactly equal but its pretty damn close, and my arm is nearly about to fall off.
Step 5
-Take the container with the sandpapers in it and go to the tap, and rinse it out and wash off the other sand paper to make sure it doesnt have any of the nasty milky crap from the 800 left in it. Rinse that stuff out and fill err up again its 1500 time!
-Sand once again with the 1500, this time vertically again (its important to switch directions every grit because it works against the old scratches getting rid of them) Wet sand with the same technique again, making sure your getting rid of the milkyness, i just usually cup my hand into the water and throw some on the light as i go along.
-Sand until you think your done, then sand over the entire light once again
Your light will hopefully look like this or better when its wet
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/wet1500.jpg
and like this when its been wiped off and dried (I always see it dried to really tell where the scratches that need to be sanded are to make sure im doing a good job of it)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/dry1500.jpg
Step 6
-Take your container and clean it again! ONLY 2000 GRIT TO GO!
Step 7
-sand that thing horizontally now hardcore once again with the 2000 gritt "sand sand sand the light, making sure to press hard, get your daily workout done, so you wont become a tub of lard"
it hopefully will look like this wiped off and dry
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/dry2000.jpg
Step 8
-Rubbing compound! I personally used turtle wax cause its easily available at Crappy Can. Get your shammy and follow the instructions on it (damp the cloth, rub it in in circular pattern, use a generous amount contrary to what the thing says, then buff it off with another cloth)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/rubbingcompound.jpg
I did 2 sets of compound aka compound and buff once then compound and buff again. It looks like this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/aftercompound.jpg
Step 9
-Time for the plastic restoration stuff
-Shake that stuff up good and apply it to your buffer of choice, using a polishing pad, you can use all different types just make its one that is made for polishing. If your using a rotary tool REMEMBER LOW RPMS' YOU CAN MELT YOUR LIGHTS!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/polish.jpg
-does anyone notice the little face inside of the Plastic cream on the pad...man im tired....
-Work the stuff in with the weapon of your choice in a circular fashion, keep on rubbing it until it nearly all disapears. Trust me it takes a bit but eventually the stuff will all work it's way in.
-Rub off excess and check for bad spots, Re-apply the plastic restoration stuff and work it in once again, I actually did 3 sets on each light to make sure it was really really well done
Step 10
-Take a buffer, i used one on a drill and buff the stuff up!
-take a rag to any spots that still look a lil foggy
YOUR DONE!!!!!!!!
Now this way of doing your lights is by no means perfect, because of course eveyrthing your using on the lights has texture, your going to be left with some very very very small swirl marks from buffing etc, however for the most part the majority of the sand paper scratches will be gone, there might be a few in some hard to sand areas however it should look pretty damn good.
A reminder of what it looked like
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/before.jpg
AFTER!!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/frontclear.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/upclear.jpg
It took me 2 hours a light, i wasnt messing around with something as important as headlights. Doing this really intimidated me because I was worried that id do a poor job and id regret it, but in the end it turned out way better then i expected.
What you will need!
-small plastic container and a tap for water
-320 grit sandpaper (or a little higher 400/500 however your asking for the first step to take longer)
-800 grit sandpaper
-1500 grit sandpaper
-2000 grit sandpaper
-Rubbing compound and a shammy dealio to put it on
-a nice rag to do a bit of hand buffing
-Some form of polishing pad with machine function (I used my handy black&decker mouse sander with a polish pad)
-Plastic Polish (I used meguiars clear plastic polish, an older version i think in a light blue bottle with no fancy graphics, i got it from car quest auto parts)
http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname=Consumer%20(Meguiar%27s%20Brand)%3EClear%20Plastic%20Care§ionID=15101 (http://www.meguiars.com/estore/product_list.cfm?sectionname=Consumer%20%28Meguiar%27s%20Brand%29%3EClear%20Plastic%20Care§ionID=15101)
-A Buffer top for your drill or grinder wheel
-arms with stamina for 3 1/2 hours of sanding
Here is what my lights looked like before the whole process. EWWWWW
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/before.jpg
step 1
-Tape around the light casing, protect your paint people cause you will bump into it trying to sand the edges so tape around the lights to make sure your bumper/quarter panel doesnt get scratched
-clean the lights of bugs etc etc
Step 2
-Begin sanding with 320 grit sandpaper Vertically (it works out better then starting Horizontally because sanding with the 800 is a lot more work so at least sand the longways on the harder part to make it a bit easier)
-Make sure to pay special attention to the closest corner to the grill and along the edges, as you will tend to try buff the middle rather then put in the hard work of buffing along the corners and edges.
-Sand it up really good with the 320 trying to get a consistant coat of scratchyness across the entire light. Dont be afraid to throw down a fair amount of pressure and speed on the thing to make sure its getting the Pits out
When your done sanding with the 300 it should look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/320grit.jpg
-now take a wet rag and wipe the dust off and it will look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/wipeitoff320.jpg
-Get tuneski's your gonna need emNow heres where some wierd shit happened, i dont know who here has seen the trailer park boys when they are out in the forest searching for jacob? anyways i watched that episode about 2 hours before i started doing this and there is a part where ricky says I wanna rock out to some mitchell! so im sitting here sanding and i think I should rock to some mitchell as a joke, i turn on the radio to Q107, and low and behold the next song is "go for a soda" the same one from the show wierdddddd
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/mitchell.jpg
Step 3
-Get your 800 1500 and 2000 sandpaper and throw them in the plastic container and fill the container with some soft water, none of the bushleague hardwater we have up here in Georgetown, cause thats just gonna deposit shit into your light which is no good! Fill the thing up with water and let the sand paper sit in it for a couple minutes to soak up the water
Step 4
-Start sanding with the 800 grit horizontally. Sand that light like you just got chickenpox all over your body and the only way to make it go away is to rub the light, i honestly sanded with the 800 grit for over half an hour making sure i got every single spot on the light at least twice, its the only way to get rid of hte scratches from the 320 cause otherwise your gonna be left with some nasty marks at the end making your light look nearly as bad as the first place. Rule of thumb, once you think your done sanding, sand over the entire thing again.
-Make sure your constantly pouring some of the water from the container on the light to clean off the milky residue that the 800 will be leaving behind, also wash off the paper in the container periodically when it starts getting milky again.
-Once your done and i mean really actually done not just thinking your done, wipe the light with a wet rag and then dry it Your light when done with the 800 paper and dried should look something like this
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/800dried.jpg
-A good gauge to see how well your doing is to look and see that most of the variences in texture are consistent, ive got a few small spots that arent exactly equal but its pretty damn close, and my arm is nearly about to fall off.
Step 5
-Take the container with the sandpapers in it and go to the tap, and rinse it out and wash off the other sand paper to make sure it doesnt have any of the nasty milky crap from the 800 left in it. Rinse that stuff out and fill err up again its 1500 time!
-Sand once again with the 1500, this time vertically again (its important to switch directions every grit because it works against the old scratches getting rid of them) Wet sand with the same technique again, making sure your getting rid of the milkyness, i just usually cup my hand into the water and throw some on the light as i go along.
-Sand until you think your done, then sand over the entire light once again
Your light will hopefully look like this or better when its wet
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/wet1500.jpg
and like this when its been wiped off and dried (I always see it dried to really tell where the scratches that need to be sanded are to make sure im doing a good job of it)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/dry1500.jpg
Step 6
-Take your container and clean it again! ONLY 2000 GRIT TO GO!
Step 7
-sand that thing horizontally now hardcore once again with the 2000 gritt "sand sand sand the light, making sure to press hard, get your daily workout done, so you wont become a tub of lard"
it hopefully will look like this wiped off and dry
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/dry2000.jpg
Step 8
-Rubbing compound! I personally used turtle wax cause its easily available at Crappy Can. Get your shammy and follow the instructions on it (damp the cloth, rub it in in circular pattern, use a generous amount contrary to what the thing says, then buff it off with another cloth)http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/rubbingcompound.jpg
I did 2 sets of compound aka compound and buff once then compound and buff again. It looks like this.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/aftercompound.jpg
Step 9
-Time for the plastic restoration stuff
-Shake that stuff up good and apply it to your buffer of choice, using a polishing pad, you can use all different types just make its one that is made for polishing. If your using a rotary tool REMEMBER LOW RPMS' YOU CAN MELT YOUR LIGHTS!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/polish.jpg
-does anyone notice the little face inside of the Plastic cream on the pad...man im tired....
-Work the stuff in with the weapon of your choice in a circular fashion, keep on rubbing it until it nearly all disapears. Trust me it takes a bit but eventually the stuff will all work it's way in.
-Rub off excess and check for bad spots, Re-apply the plastic restoration stuff and work it in once again, I actually did 3 sets on each light to make sure it was really really well done
Step 10
-Take a buffer, i used one on a drill and buff the stuff up!
-take a rag to any spots that still look a lil foggy
YOUR DONE!!!!!!!!
Now this way of doing your lights is by no means perfect, because of course eveyrthing your using on the lights has texture, your going to be left with some very very very small swirl marks from buffing etc, however for the most part the majority of the sand paper scratches will be gone, there might be a few in some hard to sand areas however it should look pretty damn good.
A reminder of what it looked like
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/before.jpg
AFTER!!!!!
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/frontclear.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v172/doofy500/lightrefurbish/upclear.jpg