Cloudy headlights

Sinbad said:
I did the sanding to get rid of pitting - previous owner of the car liked following too close to the car in front and there were lots of stone pits in the plastic. If your plastic is still smooth you don't need to do it.

Process is go buy water paper, wash the surface thoroughly, keep it wet, keep the water paper wet and sand away, dipping the paper in water often. Work from coarser grain to finer.
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Thanks. When sanding, can I just go back and forth or must it be done in circles? Does it matter? Also when do I know I have completed step one with the coarser water paper and when to start with step 2 using the finer paper?
 
Magandroid said:
Thanks. When sanding, can I just go back and forth or must it be done in circles? Does it matter? Also when do I know I have completed step one with the coarser water paper and when to start with step 2 using the finer paper?
Click to expand...

Once you have no pits (or few enough pits) left, switch to the finer paper.
I did back and forth for the coarser, and then back and forth at 90 degrees to that with the finer paper.
 
After reading this thread yesterday all i am seeing around Durban are signs offering headlight polishes.
 
Magandroid said:
Thanks. When sanding, can I just go back and forth or must it be done in circles? Does it matter? Also when do I know I have completed step one with the coarser water paper and when to start with step 2 using the finer paper?
Click to expand...

Those kits like glassylight come with sanding instructions and sanding paper, not as complicated as it sounds, just mask around the headlight to avoid touching the paintwork.
Sometimes you just need to fine sand without coarse, plast-x has micro-abrasives so you basically are just sanding but very finely.. just like toothpaste. :D
 
Sinbad said:
Once you have no pits (or few enough pits) left, switch to the finer paper.
I did back and forth for the coarser, and then back and forth at 90 degrees to that with the finer paper.
Click to expand...
Someone I spoke to also mentioned that after I've done the 2 steps with the water paper then I should also use a compound as the final stage. How long does all this take though. Seeing it's raining here in Cape Town on Saturday, I thought I'll tackle it then.
 
The plast-x is the compound.

Took me half an hour or so.
 
Sinbad said:
The plast-x is the compound.

Took me half an hour or so.
Click to expand...

Got the the 2 grades of water sandpaper yesterday. They didn't have plast-x but then recommended L100 which is a similar compound. Might attempt it today. I hope I don't screw my lenses further.
 
Magandroid said:
Got the the 2 grades of water sandpaper yesterday. They didn't have plast-x but then recommended L100 which is a similar compound. Might attempt it today. I hope I don't screw my lenses further.
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I got mine from builders warehouse.
 
Sinbad said:
FYI - post I did on the VW club a while back:


I had a go at getting rid of the horrible pitting on my headlights:
230585_10150163195000981_541255980_7202499_2468347_n.jpg


I wet-sanded them down with 600 grit, and then wet-sanded with 1200 over it.

Most of the pitting is gone, but the plastic wasn't nice and clear - it seemed to be foggy or milky:
227280_10150163196385981_541255980_7202535_4172558_n.jpg



So I gave in and got a Meguiars headlight restoration kit.
10 minutes with the buffing pad and PlastX compound on the drill and this was the result:

c4d79011-2eb2-3e89.jpg
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I also noticed that this process changes the cars colour from blue to grey to white
 
Finally did my headlights today. The difference is astonishing compared to what they looked like before. Thanks Sinbad for your tips.
 
marine1 said:
Different hours of the day ;)
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Actually no. More to do with auto exposure on the camera with less and less light from the bulb being diffused by the scratched lenses so everything else relatively brighter.
 
Magandroid said:
Finally did my headlights today. The difference is astonishing compared to what they looked like before. Thanks Sinbad for your tips.
Click to expand...

Now that I have completed the process, is there any type of protective sealant or coating that can be applied to the lens.
 
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