MySpaceTOM

****Perform this at your own risk! I am not liable for any results that you get from this DIY. This is meant to show one of many ways to restore your headlights. Any damage or unwanted results will be owned up to by you and you only. I am not responsible for your outcome. This is how I restored my headlights and they came out perfect!****

Had quite a few people interested in how to restore headlights to original shine. We all know there are plenty of off the shelf "kits" out there that just don't produce the results desired. Here is a little write up on how to get the results that you are wanting! Sorry for the lack of pictures but the links on exactly what you will need more than make up for them!

The steps...

1.I removed my headlights all together since my front bumper was off anyway. Feel free to leave your headlights in but please remember to mask off around the headlight!!! you do not want to sand on your paint or burn any edges!

2. After prepping the area around the headlights gather your materials that you will need to wet sand.

- Sand paper in the following grits will be needed
-1200, 1500, 2000, 3000 grit (most will argue with this much but trust me)
- Large spray bottle ( got mine at dollar store ) and mix in an ounce or so of LAUNDRY detergent.
- Place sand paper in wash bucket with water and detergent ( it is good to get the paper night and wet and soggy )
- 3M black foam sanding block

3. Begin by wrapping the 1200 grit sand paper around the 3M sanding block and spray the headlight with spray bottle. Keep it wet! you will feel the sand paper stick and that means you need more water!

- Continue this until you feel you have gotten all of the main haze and grime out. You can tell by drying the headlight off.
- When done with the 1200 move to 1500 then 2000 and so on. the more time you spend with these steps the better the finished product will look.

4. After sanding is complete dry the headlight and get the buffing materials ready.

- 3M white pad with Megs M105
- 3M black pad with Megs M205

5. Begin buffing with the white pad and M105 until it shines! get all the scratches out with this step!

6. Follow up with the black pad and Megs M205 until glossy!!

7. Final step is to throw some wax on there for a good seal! I often wax my headlights when I wax my car to keep from fogging or hazing up again. Many people argue that there is no OEM sealant on there anymore. I have never had any issue though.

These items can be found at a local paint shop but here are some sites to show you the products I used. Of course the sand paper and block are easy to find.

here is the compound you will need:
Megs M105
http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-mir...-compound.html

Megs M205
http://www.autogeek.net/meguiars-finishing-polish.html

Good CHEAP buffer to start out with if you do not have one:
http://www.harborfreight.com/6-varia...her-69924.html

***i do recommend picking up this backing plate, the one it comes with is garbage***
http://www.amazon.com/Professional-B...497874&sr=1-46


here are the two pads you will need:
http://www.tptools.com/p/110,145_3M%...hing-Pads.html

5723 is the one that you will want to use with the Megs 105 after you finish up with the 3000 grit wet sand paper

5725 is the one that you will want to use with the Megs 205 after you go over what you did with the white pad. You will know when you have used the white pad and 105 enough. This step will just polish the headlight up to what you saw in the pic I posted.

and this is what you will get LMK if there is anything else i can do to help!

*** There has been some talk about sealing the headlights after using this process. Yes you can do that! There are many products out there. Here are a couple links to some good products to use after you restore the headlight.***

http://www.detailedimage.com/Optimum...-P279/8-oz-S1/
http://www.autogeek.net/plastik-surface-sealant.html

RylisPro

Dope!

Stormtroooper

Great write up! Thanks

Toms1989

Tidy as mate.

I DA'd mine with some sonus SFX2 and a harsh pad, and they came up a treat, fresh headlights don't half freshen up the front end of any car

s2000maniac

awsome!

DangerZone9K

Nice! I'm going to do this tomorrow. I had a question though, once the wax (sealant) wears off then the headlights will have the haze again, right? So, every couple of months you will have to wax the headlights. Is there a permanant solution to this?

Thanks

MySpaceTOM

No nothing will wear off to make the haze come back. I just wax mine for proper care. You aren't covering anything up with this process. You are removing the oxidation from the headlight. I have never had any issues after doing this on any of my cars. Proper care is key to anything. Don't take care of the "refinished" headlight then you will see oxidation on them again one day.

Hope this write up helps you out! Post some pix after you're done. It would be good to see some people's results after using these steps. I posted mine.

s2000maniac

how long did you spend on each step?

akimel

Are you using a rotary polisher or a dual action polisher? Will this process work with the D/A?

Thanks for the write-up! My headlights are still in good shape but I know that someday in the future they will start to cloud up on me, just like they cloud up on everybody else.

jwr0ng626

nice job

A DA will work, just have to work the polish slower