Hi Guys,

Ok I bought the 3M headlight restoration kit and did one of my lights yesterday. Now once I finished I could see the results weren't great, I can still see fine scratches around certain areas and it seems like I haven't sanded the headlight good enough in the first steps I believe it was using 500 and 800 sandpaper. (came with the kit)

I wanted to ask what's the best way to go about clearing the headlight and sanding scratches?

Do I go back and start from Step 1 i.e. going back to using 500 grit paper, then move on to 800 grit?

I feel that I didn't put enough pressure in the first 2 steps when sanding, and so some of the scratch marks are probably from the 500 grit paper.

I also feel that maybe I didn't rotate the drill bit fast enough to get a more even sanding? how fast is 1200-1600rpms

So would you guys recommend I start again from step 1 on the 3M instructions manual?

Or would you say I should wet sand the whole light by hand and put some sort of sealant?

I also have Maguires Restoration kit with Plastic X so if that will help me reduce the scratch marks I'd appreciate it.

 

plastx FTW.. definitely takes A LOT of elbow grease and "oomph" to get the job done..

 

I have the same problem OP, I am going to get my friend who does it professionally to do it.

 

Yeah I've been reading up, and I think the best thing would be to wet sand with 500 or 600 again by hand and then move up to 2000 and then probably some plastic X or something like that.

If anyone can recommend a better solution I'd appreciate the help, or does anyone recommend NOT to re-sand the headlights all over again?

 

i used turtlewax headlight restorer. it works okay (by hand)

 

yeah but I don't think it'll get rid of the sanding scratches, I think I need to re-sand again by hand

 

Plastx is a Adhesive polish, you would need some compound to remove 2000 grit sandpaper.

 

ok I'm new to these products, so by compound do u mean Plastx? or do u mean some other product?

and I'm a bit confused are you saying that Plastx adhesive polish will or will not remove the sand paper marks?

 

IMO that is probably your best bet, unfortunately. I don't think any of the products mentioned here will get out sanding marks, and certainly not without a power polisher. Maybe a heavy-cut polish (compound) with a power polisher, but I'm not sure what access you have to stuff like that. An example of a compound would be Meguiar's #105 Ultra-Cut which claims to remove 1200-grit or finer sanding marks.

 

Yes you need to sand again & +1 to what SH mentions.

ALSO...
If you can get Meguiars unigrit paper you will get a better job.
With Unigrit paper the particles are all the same size.
With regular paper is just an average of the particle size.



Autogeek


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ok so my best bet would be to wet sand everything all over again correct?


(This time I'll do it by hand because with the drill I find it hard to control)

 

Thanks for that dude, appreciate the help.

The main problem I found here is trying to get hold of sand paper, they just don't seem to stock the grade of papers I'm looking for, it's sometimes ridiculous on the amount of products I have to get imported over here, it makes me think what the hell do people use here for sanding anything

 

Always wetsand by hand. Also, headlight's come from the factory with a clear coat, just like paint. The clear coat contains UV inhibitors that prevent the plastic under it from yellowing and fading. Anyway, by wetsanding it twice you probably removed the clear coat, and unless you want to be restoring them ever so often, you'll need to get them re-cleared at a shop.

Why were you wetsanding the lights in the first place? Unless there are deep chips or yellowing, sanding really isn't necessary and a simple polish would have worked fine. EDIT: Did you use sandpaper with a drill? You might have some deep pigtails(uneven pressure causes the one side of the paper to dig in) from that, those would be very hard to get out. You might want to consider going to a detailer.

 

^ Hey thanks for the feedback,

The reason I sanded the headlights was because they had deep chips, no yellowing was visible.

The 3M instruction told me to sand it down with the drill and it didn't mention putting any water, it just said place the 500 grit paper onto drill and sand down the headlight.

If anyone has used the 3M kit did u guys wet the headlight with the 500 or 800 grit sandpaper? because in the instructions it only says to wet the 2000 grit (final grade paper)

and Darkstar yes it was messed up trying to get the drill straight onto the curved surface, I think that's why I got the imperfections, I'll try and take a pic today and post it up.

can u believe I went to my local DIY store and all they had was 600 grit sandpaper!!! everything else was lower, it drives me nuts that I couldn't find anything above 600 in 2 different stores (the best ones in this country) I hate this place sometimes, if I was in the UK I'd have everything I need

 

No need to go back to the 500 grit.

Use the 800 grit. Wet sand the area all over. Til it hazes up.

Then use the headlight polish with a cotton towel and rub the entire area.

If that doesn't help, pick up a 1000 grit sandpaper and wet sand the headlights. Then use the polish.

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What I did on my old s2k was 800 grit and 1000 grit. 500 seems a little rough. You're not suppose to create more deep scratches, just even everything out. Always keep the sandpaper wet.. Rinsing it out every now and then. And you're suppose to wet sand by hand. Not sure wth you were doing.