Plastic Headlight Polishing

[Nordgrey]

Been through a number of threads, but cannot seem to find a definative answer. Is SHR -> FMP on the focus pads ok for plastic headlight polishing?

 

There is a guy at work, that I honestly do not know how he can drive at night the headlights are that shot and I would like to get them cleaned up for him before I head to my new posting next month.

 

My clear polish is on the way with the latest order, should I wait for that or is SHR on the drill/PC ok for plastic?

 

 

Cheers!

[Kustom_FX]

Well I know there is a video on it HERE that might help you. Tonight I clayed mine, they were just.. rough.. and now they are smooth and clean.. and not a scratch from the Clay.

[Chewy]

The video pretty much tells ya how to do it. Depending on the severity I will adjust the method.

 

For really bad ones, I'd use SHR on an orange pad. If that doesn't work then use the yellow, step to the orange and then white with FMP and then a coat of clear polish to protect.

 

The PC WILL work but it's slower than using the drill as it doesn't build the heat like the drill does.

 

Remember to clay prior to buffing.

 

Chris

[Chris@Adams]

Always start with the lesser product and the least aggressive pads. And step up if needed!

[jdeuel]

I just did the lights on my son's 350z this afternoon. They weren't in bad shape to begin with. I cleaned them off with waterless wash, and went to town with an orange focus pad and SHR using my cordless Makita. Once the polish was pretty uniformly clear on the lens, I switched over to the white pad with FMP. I literally spent 5 minutes per light. My wife accused me of putting new headlights in the car... In order to 'prove' I hadn't, I hit the lights on my beater MBZ E-430. They were really bad. I spent about 4 minutes total on each one, since I could feel the battery starting to go, and they came out 100 times better than when I started. I'm going to re-do them tomorrow, starting with the yellow pad.

 

So definitively, yes, it works perfectly!

[Junkman2008]

I did these videos about a year ago Jim. You didn't look hard enough. They are a sticky in my corner.

[Nordgrey]

I could have sworn I had watched all your vids AJ!

 

The Marines beat the Navy once again........ LOL

 

I will knock them out for him this week, before I move across the harbour to the engineering school to corrupt the next generation of Sonar Techs.

 

 

Thanks!

[Ian6]

SHR with the focal pads works wonders on headlights that have that nasty unsightly yellow oxidation, plus that stuff decreases how much light the lenses are able to emit by alot more than you'd think. I've been doing this for awhile trying all sorts of methods and by far the SHR with focal pads is the best way. If the lenses are really bad I highly recommend wet sanding with 1000-1500 grit to get a lot of the tough oxidation off that will just take too long to remove with the yellow pad and SHR, claying before you sand of course though. in my experience if the oxidation is really bad you'll end up eating up your pads if you don't wet sand the thick oxidation off first, because I mean who wants to see their pads turn to dust. when you're wet sanding you'll be able to see the yellow oxidation running off in the water like yellow tears. I stop wet sanding when I can tell that the thick oxidation is gone then I start with the SHR and orange pad, the lights should start to polish up real nice with a about 2-3 full passes, then I finish with a clear plastic polish, and that's it now the lights should be like new.