Headlight refurb, DIY or send to detailers

T

Trav

Member
The upper corner sections of my headlights are looking a little cloudy and tired. I was going to buy an Autoglym kit and just DIY this as it does not seem too difficult. But is it? Is it something where I could start with slight occlusion and end up making an arse of it and needing new lights. Should I just send it off to a local detailer, paint correction type place, where they will have dealt with this before?
Anyone had a bash at this themselves?
 
You can get great results with a polisher but by the time you pay for all the bits could be cheaper just to get someone to do it for you. https://www.headlightrestorationinperth.co.uk/
 
Yup. First time scared me as the initial 800 grit makes the whole headlight opaque. But follow the instructions and you will be amazed at the results.
Do put plenty of layers of masking tape around the paintwork though, as it is very easy for the drill to jump if you're not concentrating.

Do the whole light as once you've done those corners you'll realise the rest wasn't so good either.
 
It’s definitely a DIY.

I sanded by hand and polished with a machine to bring the clarity back :thumbsup:
 
Don’t worry if you don’t have a polisher, you can get good results by hand and a little elbow grease. I personally wouldn’t use a drill, as it’s easy to melt the plastic.
 
I think I will give it a go. I might just use the polish as its a smallish section on each light. At first I thought it might just be tree sap that had smeared. But you can feel it with your fingernail. The Autoglym kit is pretty cheap. I will give just the polish a go as it seems simple enough if folk have even done it with elbow grease. Thanks for the info, don't overheat the plastic in the same way as polishing paintwork is the message I think. And mask the paint well with tape.
 
Zedebee said:
Don’t worry if you don’t have a polisher, you can get good results by hand and a little elbow grease. I personally wouldn’t use a drill, as it’s easy to melt the plastic.
Click to expand...
How hard do you press? :?
At the last count I've done 9 sets and never had that problem. You just let the paper do the hard work. Use a cordless drill with a low speed setting.
 
enuff_zed said:
Zedebee said:
Don’t worry if you don’t have a polisher, you can get good results by hand and a little elbow grease. I personally wouldn’t use a drill, as it’s easy to melt the plastic.
Click to expand...
How hard do you press? :?
At the last count I've done 9 sets and never had that problem. You just let the paper do the hard work. Use a cordless drill with a low speed setting.
Click to expand...
I did it once when I didn’t know any better, and learned from the experience. A drill is fine if you have the skill and take care as you do, but OP is a novice, hence the caution.
 
Zedebee said:
enuff_zed said:
Zedebee said:
Don’t worry if you don’t have a polisher, you can get good results by hand and a little elbow grease. I personally wouldn’t use a drill, as it’s easy to melt the plastic.
Click to expand...
How hard do you press? :?
At the last count I've done 9 sets and never had that problem. You just let the paper do the hard work. Use a cordless drill with a low speed setting.
Click to expand...
I did it once when I didn’t know any better, and learned from the experience. A drill is fine if you have the skill and take care as you do, but OP is a novice, hence the caution.
Click to expand...
Fair enough.
First one I did I didn't actually press hard enough and it took ages, but I got there in the end.
 
Yep Auto Glym here too. Took me 6 months to work up the courage to do it but really worth it as it makes the car look years younger. Wife bought me an old £5.00 headlight from a local breaker to practice on. Great idea. :thumbsup:
 
If your worried about sanding and polishing (or dont have a drill) Providing it is only light/medium oxidation you can use the Meguiars Headlight kit no sanding or power tools needed. Its basically a Brown scotchbrite pad (is that stronger than green?) a oxidation remover polish/chemical and a clear coat.

Worked pretty good on mine at removing light haze and didnt take much effort.

https://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/two-step-headlight-restoration-kit-2/

* One thing I didnt notice when I bought the kit is the clearcoat is only "UV resistant) for up to 1 year which doesnt seem great. I guess I will just have to keep an eye on it and if/when it starts to oxidise again get out the sandpaper and some proper 2k clear for the light.
 
Don't knock it, but mint toothpaste does a reasonable job and smells good as well. Try it and you will be surprised.
 
A bit of made a huge improvement to my 3 Series headlights. :)
 
Mike6 said:
Don't knock it, but mint toothpaste does a reasonable job and smells good as well. Try it and you will be surprised.
Click to expand...
Is that with fluoride and enamel whitener or without? ............. :rofl:
 
I wet sand by hand, working through the grit sizes and then polish with machine. Think sanding by machine is how damage is mostly caused? But like the idea of using a scrap yard headlight if you're unsure :thumbsup:
 
mate for the sake of a few quid (maybe 40-60) i wouldnt even wash my own car
my time is far too valubale to do anything for myself that someone else can do
puts a few quid in someone elses pocket plus gives you the hours back to do more valuable things
hence why nowadays everyone has a cleaner and a gardener
just pay someone else to do it
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom