Headlight restorations

[Blue17CamaroZL1]

So I had some ugly looking trailblazer headlights so I took some time to research how to clean them up.  So research was done, and now it was time to "nut up or shut up" (i love that movie, haha)

 

Before:

 

After:

 

I extended an open invite on my Facebook for anyone who wanted to come over and get their head lights restored for a 12 pack of soda.  Well, one friend actually stopped over and here are the results:

 

Before:

 

After:

[Kingsford]

Wet sand or just polished?

[Chris@Adams]

Nice save Matt!

[Blue17CamaroZL1]

Wet sanding was done

[Natch02]

You can probably see now.

[mc2hill]

Nice work Matt!  One of the most dramatic turnarounds for the effort involved.  Now they will need redoing about every 6 months.

[Blue17CamaroZL1]

You can probably see now.

 

You have no idea.  Looking at them from the front after they were done, it only appeared to be a little bit brighter.  However when I tested them out tonight, there was at least 10X more light on the road than previously.  

 

Thanks to my facebook posting, I have a line of people waiting for me to do this to their head lights.

[Team Adam's]

Nice work Matt!  Headlight restoration does indeed give dramatic results. 

 

If you really want to have people lining up at your door, tape off half of a lens and do a 50/50 shot with one side corrected.

[mtnbiker326]

Nice work Matt!  One of the most dramatic turnarounds for the effort involved.  Now they will need redoing about every 6 months.

 

Michael... why does he need to redo it every 6 months?  (oxidation now that it has been sanded)??

[mc2hill]

Michael... why does he need to redo it every 6 months?  (oxidation now that it has been sanded)??

 

Once you use a cutting pad and polish on them the protective coating is removed so the 'clouding' will return.  Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant (and MSS before it) last about 6 months on my cars (less if the vehicle is always outside).  There are other methods that promise a longer life and I may be picking up one of the lens specific coatings soon,  I will let you know in about 8 months how that works!  

[Marylander]

I second what Michael just said; put some Paint Sealant or Machine Super Sealant on there to give them a bit of UV protection. 

[Blue17CamaroZL1]

I did use a sealant on them.

[mtnbiker326]

With the paint sealant, do you hand apply and just take off the excess just like the paint?  Or do I need to do any additional steps after wet sanding the lenses?

[The Guz]

Nice job on the headlight restorations. 

 

With the paint sealant, do you hand apply and just take off the excess just like the paint?  Or do I need to do any additional steps after wet sanding the lenses?

 

You can hand apply the sealant.  All you need is a thin coat.  As far as what other steps are involved after sanding, I have used a compound to remove the sanding marks, followed by a polish and sealed with a sealant. 

[Team Adam's]

With the paint sealant, do you hand apply and just take off the excess just like the paint?  Or do I need to do any additional steps after wet sanding the lenses?

 

Yes, you need to polish after you get done wetsanding.  After the sanding steps, they will look worse then when you started...by a MILE!  Not to fear though!  If you have our polishes, teamed up with 4" Focus pads on a drill, that's when you'll see the clarity come back and then you can seal them after that.

 

Wet sanding only needs to be done in the most extreme of cases, as our Paint Correcting Polish can fix some pretty serious damage with 4" pads and a drill in your arsenal.

 

Save the sanding if the polishes don't get the job done. 

[Vink70]

or get a can of rustoleum clear coat with uv protectant in it and spray them. Only have to polish them once.

[Blue17CamaroZL1]

You can hand apply the sealant.  All you need is a thin coat.  As far as what other steps are involved after sanding, I have used a compound to remove the sanding marks, followed by a polish and sealed with a sealant. 

 

This is basically the method that I used.  Since these were my first sets, I wasn't using my Adam's stuff because I wanted to practice so I used one of the "other company's" products to perfect my technique and see what I can truly do.  Plus, i want to use my good Adam's products on the Corvette and Camaro before applying them to these "other cars"  

 

Though Nick has mentioned using a drill, I actually used my PC 7424XP with the 4" focus pads for these processes.

 

But here are the steps I used:

1- Wet sanded with 1000 grit sandpaper

2- Used the "Ultimate" Compound with the Adam's Severe Swirl removal pad (green one)

3- Followed up with the "Ultimate" polish on the Adam's polishing pad (white one)

4- Finished up with Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant on the Adam's Sealant pad (black/gray one)

 

I had another friend show up today to work on her headlights:

 

Edited March 17, 2014 by Blue10CamaroSS

[EMMJAY]

Good work

[The Guz]

This is basically the method that I used.  Since these were my first sets, I wasn't using my Adam's stuff because I wanted to practice so I used one of the "other company's" products to perfect my technique and see what I can truly do.  Plus, i want to use my good Adam's products on the Corvette and Camaro before applying them to these "other cars"  

 

Though Nick has mentioned using a drill, I actually used my PC 7424XP with the 4" focus pads for these processes.

 

But here are the steps I used:

1- Wet sanded with 1000 grit sandpaper

2- Used the "Ultimate" Compound with the Adam's Severe Swirl removal pad (green one)

3- Followed up with the "Ultimate" polish on the Adam's polishing pad (white one)

4- Finished up with Adam's Liquid Paint Sealant on the Adam's Sealant pad (black/gray one)

 

 

I've also used the same products to try.  I also use the PC with 4" pads.  If I am using a different sealant other than the same brand of polish, I will IPA them after polish to makes sure the surface is clean for the sealant to bond properly.