Headlight Restoration the Correct Way!
 

Hey guys, I actually posted this somewhere else to try and help answer some questions some guys had about how to restore their modded headlights, then I realized that I haven't seen a DIY for it on this forum. I've also noticed that almost NOBODY really knows how to do it the right way which is completely understandable seeing as how you might need to do it once for the life of a car, so it's not something that most people need to read up on.

Let me start by telling you that I have done A LOT of research on the subject, I'm part of a headlight restoration forum, and I do this professionally on the side for some extra money. I could be doing it full time but honestly I'm too lazy to be designing and printing pamphlets and fliers and business cards and marketing myself all day long. I just get jobs by word of mouth right now and it gives me a little playing money :)

Anyway, I'll try to explain this as best as I can, and during my next job I'll take pictures of the process as I'm actually doing it. Maybe make a little video clip too. Anyway, here you go.


WHY DO MY HEADLIGHTS LOOK LIKE CRAP?!
Your headlight comes from the factory with a coat of UV protectant solution applied to the top of the plastic lens, something like a very hard wax. This keeps the UV rays from the sunlight from oxidizing your plastic lens (as far as I know, this isn't a problem with glass lenses, but then again they shatter and scratch very easily :shakes head:). This UV clearcoat will last for a very long time if your car is garaged, but if it's out in the sun all the time or you're parking it in the driveway like mine :( then after a while your headlights are going to oxidize and you're going to have to refinish them.

I TRIED A KIT FROM THE STORE, AND 2 MONTHS LATER IT LOOKS LIKE CRAP AGAIN!
The reason the kits are crap is because they only scrape off the top layer of the oxidation and the damaged clearcoat, and they don't provide a good clearcoat for you to reapply. What you really need to do is remove the UV clearcoat completely, even the part that's not damaged yet, and then using 4-6 grades of progressive sandpaper re-smooth the lens and buff it out. Then you want to apply a good quality UV clearcoat, not just something off the shelves of the auto parts store.

OK, SO THEN WHAT SHOULD I USE?
The problem is that it's hard to find just a small, affordable amount of the quality stuff. I use the 4.1 system (found here)for all my headlights and I absolutely love it, but it's about $90 for the 8oz bottle. There's a lot of other ones out there, like C2P or Shinebright, but they all have drawbacks that I don't like to deal with. For me, the 4.1 stuff has worked really well. If you aren't using a UV clearcoat, then I would suggest a coat of wax and a pass with the claybar every single week. I don't know how long they will last like that. I used the auto parts store kit on my mother in law's lights when I first started about maybe 6 months ago, and they are worse than they were before.

OK, SO HOW DO I DO IT?
So for those of you that want to do this yourself, here's what I suggest doing:
1) Start sanding with 320 sandpaper. You have to get all the way through the clearcoat, and you will be able to tell that you've done this when the powder from your sanding starts turning a little bit whiter. If the sanded powder stuff hasn't changed colors yet, then keep going. That's the actual plastic lens you're sanding into. Do the whole headlight like this.

2) Don't try to do one spot, and then start sanding another spot. Keep the sandpaper moving and try to be uniform across the whole surface of the lens. If you're using a drill attachment or any type of random orbital polisher (but moreso the drill) it's possible to heat up the sanding disc and the lens too much and burn the plastic. That's a pain in the aspirin to remove.

3) Repeat the process using 500, 800, 1200 and/or 1500, and then finally a 3000 pad, wiping the lens down with a microfiber cloth or terry cloth between the 1200/1500 and 3000.

4) If the 3000 pad doesn't completely clear up the lens of all scratches, then you can use some Meguiare's PlasticX or some kind of polishing compound. After this you should have a crystal clear lens, and most of my customers are amazed at how much better it looks and try to give me money right then, but you're not done.

5) This is where you apply your UV clearcoat. The 4.1 system is pretty much self leveling, so I just use a blue shop towel that's dirt and lint free, fold it into a small square and wipe the stuff on there.

6) Again, if you're only going to wax it or do some sort of plastic protectant, put it on there and then buff it in just like waxing a car. Remember to do this as often as you can, because the more often you do it the longer it will take for your headlights to haze over again. But make no mistake, THEY WILL HAZE OVER EVENTUALLY, and probably sooner rather than later. I had a customer who only wanted to pay for the scuff 'n buff (no clearcoat) and he called me up a month and a half later saying that I did a horrible job because his lenses were looking even worse than they had before. Seriously, spend a little extra money and have them done right, and you won't need to mess with them for maybe another 10-15 years.

Another option that you have that includes a little down time is you can ship them to me, I'll restore them for you the right way, and then I'll ship them back to you. I recently did a friends G37 lenses for him, he lived about an hour and a half away, he overnighted just the lenses to me while he was doing pretty much the same mod that Nut_n_Much did, and I got them back to him 3 days later.

I hope this helps you guys out. If you have modded your headlights and now there's some type of film or haze on the inside of the lens, I don't know for sure but I think that would be from putting the headlight together to quickly. You might need to let the paint dry a little bit more before you seal it back up. I've always been told 24 to 48 hours to let it air out before you seal the lens again, otherwise you can get a oily, yellowish looking hue on the inside from the fumes. You could probably take them apart and just use a good TSP cleaner or mineral spirits to cut through that stuff, then use a microfiber cloth to get it all shiny again :tup:

Here's a few pics to show you guys the difference :) (sorry for the crappy iPhone pics, I'm investing in a new camera soon)
VW Jetta Before
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0791.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0790.jpg

and after
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0792.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0794.jpg

Toyota Tundra
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0785.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0786.jpg

after
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0783.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0784.jpg

My S10 (RIP)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33D2CF6C16.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33C3171410.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33DB4223D6.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33CE2F3C00.jpg

Scion tC
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33E98B80B7.jpg
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...33EE14495D.jpg

Here's my wife's old headlights from her Civic that I was just playing around on to show people the difference, so please ignore the cracks and stuff. This one is purely for demonstrational purposes. You couldn't see into these things AT ALL. This is just to show that as long as plastic lens is still there, you CAN bring it back from the dead. I may use this as a demo lens for my sales pitches to potential customers :)
http://i62.photobucket.com/albums/h9...n/IMG_0795.jpg

Holy Christ you do some good work brother!

Hahaha thanks man! When I started doing this I had to go to the junkyard and get a few crap headlights and practice on them, it took a couple sets to really get the feel for it and to get a technique going. Sometimes I would have questions about how to do something so I would Google it, and I was amazed at how many people were misinformed on just about every aspect of what really turns out to be a very simple and logical process.
I just recently got a 3" random orbital and it made a world of difference, it's much easier to control than my Makita cordless drill was, and it doesn't heat up as much so it's not so easy to burn the lens. :tup:

You're the man. Thanks for sharing your secrets :D

edit: quick q: do you not bother wiping the lenses between each sanding grade (only the last)? waste of time?

Great write up...main reason my buffer paid for itself is headlight restoration!

You can but it's not really necessary. Some people like to turn to wetsanding during the last two grits - again, not really necessary but it can't hurt. You want to wipe in between the 1500 and the 3000 because the 1500 leaves behind dust that is still somewhat gritty and can mess up your 3000 polish job. Obviously you wipe after the 3000 so that when you apply the clearcoat no dust or film gets permanently stuck in it.

Hahaha I agree! Although my problem is I reinvest too much money into new toys, every job I do I'm like "ok, what new tool can I buy with the money I just made from the last one?". Saving money sucks. And there's always the ever-lengthening car parts list...

Thats an awesome write up brother.:tiphat: +1 Rep

Thanks buddy, coming from you that's a great compliment!


Sent from my iPizzle using magic and new-fangled science stuff

I need this done to my 370z lights
 

Any chance you want to come to Orlando for a day and do mine. Pay you plus provide food and beverage :)

Huck - any experience with something using a 2k clear instead of the UV coating you recommended?

SprayMax makes a clear adhesion promoter to prime before the 2k clear.... they market it at as "headlight primer" and even sell it in a kit with their 2k clear.