Headlight units clouded up... headlights now looking brilliant!

  • Thread starter Thread starter rjk
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rjk

rjk

rjk

Caporegime
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Hi guys

My headlight units are slightly clouded. It isn't too noticeable from afar but up close it just looks rubbish.

here are some pictures to show you what I mean.

head on pic [nearside unpolished/offside polished]
20120802_193703.jpg


nearside light:
20120802_193743.jpg


20120802_193723.jpg



so to try and get rid of the scuffed/rough patches, I used rubbing compound followed by megs polish.

offside light:
20120802_193753.jpg


20120802_193756.jpg




the rubbing compound seems to have got rid of the worst of it but it is far from smooth still and still looks rubbish.

was thinking of taking the lights off and taking a fine wet and dry to it tomorrow?

anyone refurbed their headlights or know what this could be? looks like the plastic has sort of corroded in a way.

any input would be appreciated.
 
see, it is quite rough, which is what concerns me. i am worried that wet and dry will take the bad bit off but then it may come back?
 
The headlghts on my civic are identical to yours, rough to touch as well. I think you done a pretty good job of that offside light though, gives me a little motivation to sort mine out.
 
I used a machine polish on headlights which where much worse than that, and they came up like brand new, try some g3 compound.
 
Phil W said:
Exhaust polish (peek or Autosol) is recommended too.
Click to expand...

i used a bit of Autosol after the rubbing compound actually to buff up the unit as the rubbing compound left it dull.

craarc said:
sod that polishing order replacements surely it aint gonna be as good as new ?
Click to expand...

I guess but if some wet and dry and a bit of polish will refurb them then it would be great at less than a tenner for the bits...

a new set of headlights from Honda are £167.36 each which I am in no rush to spend if I am being absolutely honest with you

do you have a spare £335?
 
can you feel those visible scratches with your nail ?

if so then wet and dry

if not then more polishing till its scratch free
 
"andy" said:
can you feel those visible scratches with your nail ?

if so then wet and dry

if not then more polishing till its scratch free
Click to expand...

yeah, its rough to the touch. even after i have used the compound and polish on there, it still doesnt feel smooth
 
should do the job but you really dont need 'machine' to polish out for example 2000 grit wet and dry . especially on plastic.
 
rjkoneill said:
see, it is quite rough, which is what concerns me. i am worried that wet and dry will take the bad bit off but then it may come back?
Click to expand...

It will come back at some stage, but there's really nothing you can do about that. This mess is caused by the anti-scratch coating starting to delaminate and once you remove that coating you get a nice shiny surface with much lower resistance to scratches.
 
Mine E39s lights were probably as bad as yours. I wet sanded mine with 600>800>1000>1200 then used a drill polisher and g3 to finish. They look almost new, but I could've spent a bit longer on the wet sanding as there are tiny scratches visible from less than 6" away.

Most of what you're removing is the knackered UV protective coat, so it would be good idea to fit some clear film over the lenses to protect them in the future. 3M does a decent anti UV film.
 
Yours look a similar state to what mine were like before I sorted them. They haven't yellowed yet so I don't think you need to start on a really low grit.

I would wet sand 1500 > 1500 > 2000 > 2500 > 3000 alternating direction of sanding between grades so the new grade removes the scratches left by the previous grade.

After that apply Meguiars PlastX. I used my coredless drill with a velcro grip attachment for this.

There are other steps you can add like finishing polish and UV sealant if you really want to go pro but those 2 steps above are the most important and will make a big difference while not costing much.
 
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