Finally got the dremel out!!

[sionowz]

Ok, so I decided to de amber the car today, with mixed results!

Firstly got the lights open without too much hassle, then sprayed the chrome backs and amber sticks with Wurth black lacquer spray.

Really happy with the spraying etc but...

I decided to wet/dry sand the lenses to get rid of some scatches, and just can't get them looking good....I've made them look worse!! :thumbsdown:

So will have to get the lights open again sometime soon but for now, they're de amber'd at least! (plus sprayed the side indicators)

 

[Dreamer]

Uh Oh.

Think maybe you got carried away and rushed this. A light smoke looks best on the hockey sticks and it should all be glossy no??

I think you'll have to head to a bodyshop and get them to polish those lenses and hope for the best!!

 

[pvr]

Or cerium oxide to polish it, can get great results with that.

 

[sionowz]

Yea, will have to re polish! The lacquer is matt finish - there is only one coat and light shines through nicely...the pics arnt the best!

 

[Adamski]

Shame the finish has gone dull after all that effort. Try pvr's advice


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[dan yeates]

I have a headlight restore kit. It has wet and dry and some polishes. You need clear plastic polish.

 

[sionowz]

here they are in the car..the amber shines through, but i'll get some better pics when it's daylight and not chucking it down!

 

[shawna]

You need to machine polish those lenses in place. Did you sand them with decreasing strength like 2000?

Have you got a machine polisher?

 

[sionowz]

I sanded with decreasing strength but dont think I went down fine enough...and no i didnt use a machine polisher..so next weekend will be fitting led sidelights and polishing lenses!

 

[shawna]

Buy a rotary and spot pads.

Be extremely careful!!!

Plastic does not dissipate heat.

So thread carefully!!!!!

 

[Gremlin500]

Polishing will take ages, and may not be that successful. I have done many sets of lights by using a Scotchbrite pad to get an even dull finish, then using clear acrylic spray to get the lenses pin sharp clear again. The results are amazing, but don't rush it and go too heavy, or you'll get runs, a few thin coats in a warm atmosphere is best, letting each coat dry in between. If you cock it up, let dry for 24 hours, Scotchbrite, then start again. Contrary to popular belief, this is not a coating on the plastic, the solvent evaporates and deposits acrylic on the original acrylic surface, so good as new. Same is true for "tinting" clear rear lights with red acrylic and clear acrylic over. Good luck, you can get them like brand new again, don't worry! Cold weather, moisture, and dust in the air can be a pain when spraying, however, and don't be tempted to do them on the car!

 

[fatmikey]

looking good! did you buy a second pair of headlights or did you find a way to put these back together once you had opened them up?

 

[sionowz]

Ok, thanks Gremlin, will look into that!

I followed the thread on clear headlights / angel eyes - so dremeld the groove where lens meets black plastic then siliconed them back together. Found it much easyer to take the black away rather than the clear - all in all a time consuming but easy mod! (for next to no cost).

P.s don't try polishing the lenses :wink:

 

[KarlosG]

Polishing plastic is quite easy if done correctly, working from 800 grit to 2000 then as mentioned above a plastic polish or even some T-Cut will finish it off perfectly.
I also would not recommend a machine polish in case it gets hot and melts!

 

[T2FFN]

I think gloss black would neater and less DIY on the inserts, and the gloss lacquer hockey stick helps it all blend in.

 

[chaweiner]

I polish mine with meguires plasti x. Mine had yellowed badly. Bought a polishing pad 3 inch that will fit in a drill. But at the dealer I work for we have kits.

Personally if mine were bad enough I would wet sand with 1200 grit. Wipe down then have a spray bottle with water, spray the headlight after some sanding to see where your at. It will bring out the imperfections. You should be able to polish out 1200 grit marks from sanding. Also sand left to right/side to side.

 

[domsz4]

wouldnt doing the headlights be very similar to getting a good finish on the gelcoat on my westy.

if thats the case then i found starting with 1200 was good and going upwards to 2400 got a good finish. i also stopped somewhere aroung 1600 (i cant remmeber now) and used maguires G3 but this left it very smooth but a bit dull. however it was quicker. all done by hand using a block. i think i was supposed to finish off after the G3 using soemthing esle

 

[powerontap]

All black?

 

[sionowz]

Indeed

 

[sionowz]

I think gloss black would neater and less DIY on the inserts, and the gloss lacquer hockey stick helps it all blend in.

Personally I'm very happy with the matt look, it blends with the plastidipped grill and black roof, the spraying was very easy and infact only needed two light coats.