any tips on polishing headlight lens?
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: Jul 2008
Posts: 499
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From: ames, iowa
any tips on polishing headlight lens?
my pop ups are well figgy and hazy now on my 3rd gen.. i seen those crystal ones on ebay and ive really been thinkin bout buyin um but then again there has to be a way i can clean up and polish my oems to look like new again.. anyone got a solution?? im not looking to be super bright man on the road i just want the foggyness gone and gain what extra lil light i can get back.. im sure you guys know what im talking about.. any ideas or pointers on doing this?? or should i just buy the replacements from ebay?
Wangan Nasty
Joined: Apr 2006
Posts: 1,779
Likes: 3
From: Irvine, Southern California
There are 2 ways of going about it. Both require some equipment to do right.
Materials Needed: Porter Cable 7336SP Random Orbit Polisher + Foam Polishing pad and 5 in backing plate, 2000 Grit or finer Sandpaper, Painters Tape, Polishing Compound (Menzerna Intensive Polish or Autoglym Fine Abrasive is what i prefer), Bucket of Soapy water, Some good wax.
1) Pop up both headlights
2) Put painters tape around the black plastics around the lights so you do not get any wax or polishing compound on them.
3) Soak a small piece of 2000 Grit sandpaper in some soapy water.
4) Sand down the headlights with the 2000 Grit sandpaper. Make sure everything is sanded down evenly, the headlights should look faded/sanded after all done.
5) Get the polisher ready with the velcro backing plate and foam polishing pad. Add some Compound on to it, and set it to w/e speed you are comfortable with. On a PC, I would recommend starting with "3". Move up to "6" when comfortable, and keep polishing away until all the sand marks are gone.
6) Wipe everything off with a microfiber towel, and wax the headlights, and buff to a shine.
Repeat as needed.
Second way: You can do it by hand. But, machine polishing is a ton more effective because you can actually build heat on the pad to cut away all the dead plastic. You will get some results by doing it by hand, but it is not as good.
-Hope this helps.
Materials Needed: Porter Cable 7336SP Random Orbit Polisher + Foam Polishing pad and 5 in backing plate, 2000 Grit or finer Sandpaper, Painters Tape, Polishing Compound (Menzerna Intensive Polish or Autoglym Fine Abrasive is what i prefer), Bucket of Soapy water, Some good wax.
1) Pop up both headlights
2) Put painters tape around the black plastics around the lights so you do not get any wax or polishing compound on them.
3) Soak a small piece of 2000 Grit sandpaper in some soapy water.
4) Sand down the headlights with the 2000 Grit sandpaper. Make sure everything is sanded down evenly, the headlights should look faded/sanded after all done.
5) Get the polisher ready with the velcro backing plate and foam polishing pad. Add some Compound on to it, and set it to w/e speed you are comfortable with. On a PC, I would recommend starting with "3". Move up to "6" when comfortable, and keep polishing away until all the sand marks are gone.
6) Wipe everything off with a microfiber towel, and wax the headlights, and buff to a shine.
Repeat as needed.
Second way: You can do it by hand. But, machine polishing is a ton more effective because you can actually build heat on the pad to cut away all the dead plastic. You will get some results by doing it by hand, but it is not as good.
-Hope this helps.
the way i do it is you wet sand with 1800-2000 to get the haze off then you spray abour 2-4 thin coat of clear(real clear coat and with a real gun). This will protect it from hazing and make it easier to gwash off bugs and crap. PLus it'll allways look shiny and new. since the headlights arnt allways exposed to the sun light. Uv damage and wear shouldnt be a problem. U can do it for like 80 bucks. You only need like about 3 oz of clear and .075 oz of activator to make it work but most paint ship cant give u less than a quart of clear and a pint of activator. Maybe while ur there u can fo ur rear lights.
Step 1: Go to Hey Iowa II thread
Step 2: Go to a few pages back from end and check out the pics I took of my FTP lenses.
Step 3: Give me money and I will clear them for you.
Step 4: Jump around like an idiot giggling uncontrollably because you are that happy.
Step 2: Go to a few pages back from end and check out the pics I took of my FTP lenses.
Step 3: Give me money and I will clear them for you.
Step 4: Jump around like an idiot giggling uncontrollably because you are that happy.
