Headlight Refurbishment

[The Landshark]

I got sick of looking at the abraded, yellowed headlight lens covers on my xc today, pity they don't use glass.
Anyway i decided to tackle them this evening, thought i'd post a few pics of how it went.
Here's the starting photo, the yellowing doesn't show up in the photos but trust me it's bad.



first clean it, a little bit of grit can do a lot of damage,
then get some 320 grit wet and dry sandpaper, sand out the worst of the pitting and scratches, then move to 600 grit, using plenty of water and cleaning regularly with a wet sponge.



Next move to 1000 grit, then 2000 grit



Then 2000 grit and finally 4000 grit



Now time for a polish,
i used Meguiars PlastX acrylic polish, works well



And repeat on the other side



i don't know how long it will last given the state of the roads round here but it is a lot cheaper than a new pair of lights, took about an hour a side.

[JRL]

Not bad.
If you use a buffer it turns out even better.
Lasts about 2+ years depending where it's parked (outside or undercover).

[vtl]

I use Sylvania restoration kit. Roughly every year...

P.S.: Just noticed you didn't mention UV protection coating... It won't last long then.

P.P.S.: Oh man... And the reason I do it every year is high-pressure car washer with some aggressive chemistry. And the clouds of salt on winter roads around Boston, of course.

[kutcht1]

Looks great, how did you stay away from the bumper? Did you tape them off?
TomK

[JRL]

Yes, you tape it off

[Reverend]

When I did my car (2006) I pulled the headlights out, then snugged the inside bolt gently to keep the headlight secured to the car but 'outside' of the fender. That allowed me to sand past the edges of the fender/bumper cover so I didn't have faded edges of the headlight.

Looks great, how did you stay away from the bumper? Did you tape them off?
TomK

[vtl]

Did polishing and coating yesterday (with Sylvania Kit). Pulled headlight out this time to do edges. Looks very good, IMHO.




$30 and about 4 hours (half of that because of dropping down bumper and pulling lights out).

[Antherzoll]

Did polishing and coating yesterday (with Sylvania Kit). Pulled headlight out this time to do edges. Looks very good, IMHO.




$30 and about 4 hours (half of that because of dropping down bumper and pulling lights out).

LIAR! You bought new headlights!!!

Jokes. Looks great. It's amazing how a set of clean headlight can improve the overall look of the vehicle.

[2002V70XC]

Did polishing and coating yesterday (with Sylvania Kit). Pulled headlight out this time to do edges. Looks very good, IMHO.

$30 and about 4 hours (half of that because of dropping down bumper and pulling lights out).

Very NICE
Do you have a picture of it before the job?

[vtl]

Very NICE
Do you have a picture of it before the job?

Nah, but the result made me smile I did polishing on this car previously, so it was not as bad as when I bought the car being 8-yo: back then the lens were hazy, and the area around upper edges completely lost transparency.

My mistake last time was not fully sanding the whole surface carefully - as it turned out I left quite a few of spots, plus I didn't dry well enough, plus few days later I wiped out one headlight with acetone-based Rain-X - and that removed the UV coating. Doh...

The coating on a new headlight is very thick, it is hard to sand it off completely if done by hand! Sylvania's coating is very thin, it could not resist to abrasive salty powder, which we have on MA roads in the winter. That's the reason it does not stay longer even if applied properly.