Cleaned up headlight from 2010 Silverado using 800,1200, and 2000 grit rotary sander, and then polishing compound.
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Headlight Lens Restorer Report
- Thread starter MolaKule
- Start date
Use a clay cleaner; can be found in most supermarkets and definitely online. It works wonders and very easy to use
I tried the meguiars ultimate kit on my parents Accord about 9 months ago. It looked great and advertised 18+ months of durability but when I came to visit the other day I noticed portions have already failed, leaving dull spots of bare sanded plastic. I followed the directions and was happy but not so much now. I’m not there to take photos of them right now but on my cars I usually wet sand and spray a 2k clear. That lasts for many years. Or just hit them with a polisher. I keep a cheap HF rotary with a 3” backing plate for headlights and other small stuff. Just did my Camry and it looks good for now. Used meguiars 105 and finished with griots 3 in 1 as a sealant. Next time I’ll probably remove them and clear them.
Yea, I redid my headlights with the Cerakote stuff and they’re starting to haze again. I might go back to sylvania.
Let us know how it goes, I am about to try the Cerakote after a polish.
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- Oct 6, 2020
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i did mine with Sylvania - they became less clear after a year and a half for me
With Cerakote I had to start with a courser grit than they supply, and gradually get finer. It took a long time to get it cleaned up. It looked great. But now 2 years later it is not as clear, though still much better than before. So I will use their guarantee and get new material and redo it. They have already sent refinishing pads when the first attempt failed when just using their sandpaper
Yup! UV is what caused the polycarbonate to haze over.
I used Turtle. Wax kit 2 years ago. Pretty good results but I had to mask, and each side took a few hours. They need it again now.
The
The kits are made to be easy to use for the average person.
All you need is sandpaper up to 1k and a can of 2k clear.
Man you're doing way too much.
The kits are made to be easy to use for the average person.
All you need is sandpaper up to 1k and a can of 2k clear.
Removing the old haze is the easy part, and a solved problem, using whatever abrasive or chemical stripper (like in Cerakote's kit) is included, or on hand otherwise.
The trick that hasn't been solved is a durable, and consumer-friendly DIY top coat that will last more than a couple years before the task has to be redone again.
The trick that hasn't been solved is a durable, and consumer-friendly DIY top coat that will last more than a couple years before the task has to be redone again.
Try $2k for mercedes adaptive lights, plus they need to be coded to the vehicle ^ ^
Utterly retarded. I thought the glass had to do with accidents causing a mess.... Glass is so infinitely superior to this plastic garbage we have now. Glass goes forever. Sealed headlights don't get dirty from the inside. I hate cars.
Utterly retarded. I thought the glass had to do with accidents causing a mess.... Glass is so infinitely superior to this plastic garbage we have now. Glass goes forever. Sealed headlights don't get dirty from the inside. I hate cars.
Those the are hands that are dealt.
The best preventative is to have a garage, and park inside it. Park outside, and UV does its thing.
Of course, that's much more costly than a refinish kit every couple years.
The best preventative is to have a garage, and park inside it. Park outside, and UV does its thing.
Of course, that's much more costly than a refinish kit every couple years.
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- Jun 30, 2023
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- 275
Sanding and polishing is not restorative longterm. It would be a good practice for someone selling a car as part of an exterior detail, but there needs to be a UV sealer as the final step and sealers won't 'take' to polished lenses. The Sylvania kit is the best one I have used hands down. Cerakote is the second runner up, but will need to be redone in about 2 years. They probably all will need to have another application at some point but the UV sealer provided with the Sylvania kit is still holding strong for the past year on my headlights. I read that people have good results with 2K clearcoat sprays but personally I have never had any luck with any kind of clearcoat spray. Probably is just me and the kind of spray I have tried in the past.
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- Nov 28, 2023
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- 102
This is nearly exactly my headlight polishing routine, except that I skip the clearcoat part. My final l step is to polish the headlights with Nu Finish car polish.
I then clean the headlights with waterless car wash monthly at least and for the past 6 months the headlights show no signs of fading.
I've tried all the OTS headlight polishing kits, they all look great for 6-8 months then start yellowing again.
From now on I'm just using what I have on hand already and so far the results have been excellent.
IMO these kits are a waste of time and money unless you're simply prepping it to sell the vehicle. There is a permanent solution that will likely outlast the car.
Products and tools
-Sand Paper 340, 600, 800, 2000 (preferably automotive grade)
-Soft foam sanding block for sand paper so you don't create low/high spots with your fingers while sanding. Or if you have a rotary sander with a foam backer.
-Isopropyl Alcohol
-Water (I like to put 1-2 drops of dawn in the water to help mildly clean while sanding)
-Spraymax 2k Glamour (MUST be a proper 2 part clear coat and ONLY use OUTSIDE or in a paint booth, it nasty stuff for your lungs)
-Polish and polisher or drill attachment polisher will work too
-Remove the headlights for most complete coverage and no chance of overspray or you can tape around them so you scratch the surrounding paint.
-Ensure temps are above 50F if possible. Humidity and temp will alter dry times.
-340 wet sand until ALL of the OEM lens coating is removed and it's evenly sanded once dry
-600 wet sand
-800 wet sand, double check to make sure its evenly sanded
-Clean with Isopropyl Alcohol and inspect again for even sanding
-If you didn't remove headlights, tape and cover the car to prevent overspray to your liking
-LIGHT tack coat of Sparymax 2k, wait about 5-10 min and spray a heavier coat. Follow with heavier coats every 20-30 min until can is almost empty, usually 4-5 coats.
-IF you get runs or orange peel, don't worry about it.
-Let them dry overnight (12hrs minimum)
-Wet sand with 2000 grit if you have runs or orange peel
-Polish till happy
While this is time consuming and a bit labor intensive, this is a permanent solution. Also you're retaining your OEM headlights which have superior optics compared to aftermarket headlight housings. I have sanded to 1000 grit before spraying, but there isn't any clarity advantage. 800 gives the clear coat a better mechanical bond since you can't use an adhesion promoter like you normally would when spraying plastic or polycarbonate. If you are using a powered rotary sander you can get away with 600 grit, but by hand I found that there are sanding artifacts remaining.
I have done a dozen or more personal and/or family/friends cars this way in the last 8 years or so. The first ones were done on a Pontiac G6 and it's still crystal clear after about 8 years. That car is farm runaround car that never gets washed or stored inside in NW IA. The car itself is hardly holding together with how rusty it is, but the headlights still look great! lol
Products and tools
-Sand Paper 340, 600, 800, 2000 (preferably automotive grade)
-Soft foam sanding block for sand paper so you don't create low/high spots with your fingers while sanding. Or if you have a rotary sander with a foam backer.
-Isopropyl Alcohol
-Water (I like to put 1-2 drops of dawn in the water to help mildly clean while sanding)
-Spraymax 2k Glamour (MUST be a proper 2 part clear coat and ONLY use OUTSIDE or in a paint booth, it nasty stuff for your lungs)
-Polish and polisher or drill attachment polisher will work too
-Remove the headlights for most complete coverage and no chance of overspray or you can tape around them so you scratch the surrounding paint.
-Ensure temps are above 50F if possible. Humidity and temp will alter dry times.
-340 wet sand until ALL of the OEM lens coating is removed and it's evenly sanded once dry
-600 wet sand
-800 wet sand, double check to make sure its evenly sanded
-Clean with Isopropyl Alcohol and inspect again for even sanding
-If you didn't remove headlights, tape and cover the car to prevent overspray to your liking
-LIGHT tack coat of Sparymax 2k, wait about 5-10 min and spray a heavier coat. Follow with heavier coats every 20-30 min until can is almost empty, usually 4-5 coats.
-IF you get runs or orange peel, don't worry about it.
-Let them dry overnight (12hrs minimum)
-Wet sand with 2000 grit if you have runs or orange peel
-Polish till happy
While this is time consuming and a bit labor intensive, this is a permanent solution. Also you're retaining your OEM headlights which have superior optics compared to aftermarket headlight housings. I have sanded to 1000 grit before spraying, but there isn't any clarity advantage. 800 gives the clear coat a better mechanical bond since you can't use an adhesion promoter like you normally would when spraying plastic or polycarbonate. If you are using a powered rotary sander you can get away with 600 grit, but by hand I found that there are sanding artifacts remaining.
I have done a dozen or more personal and/or family/friends cars this way in the last 8 years or so. The first ones were done on a Pontiac G6 and it's still crystal clear after about 8 years. That car is farm runaround car that never gets washed or stored inside in NW IA. The car itself is hardly holding together with how rusty it is, but the headlights still look great! lol
The 10 th Gen Suburbans (2007-2014) have an unusually soft headlight cover. I tried a kit and the first grit cut into the plastic too far for the subsequent grits to clean it up. I may have to buy replacement headlights which are about $ 70 USD each.
I would encourage you to try restoring the lenses with the process I posted above. Aftermarket housings generally do not have good output due to the reflector or projector being very subpar.
The other option is to get a pair of cheap aftermarket housings and doing a projector retrofit. I did this for my 01 Outback for around $200 and the output is amaizing without blinding other drivers like PNP LED's do. Even did the same for my 15 Tacoma, though I used higher quality projectors that were more expensive. Note: the wall is about 80-100ft in front of the truck.
I can't edit my previous post (#57), but here are the Pontiac G6 headlights I did almost 8 years ago.
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