Well, my neighbor's g/f let me do her Jeep's headlights for free since I'm just starting out and still experimenting. I tried some 600 wet/dry and it wasn't even scratching the surface (no pun intended). Knowing my arm would fall off before any progress was made, I ran to Home Depot for some coarser grit (150/220/300). I wasn't able to get all of the crazing out but the major damage was eliminated. I followed up with the 600/1500/2400/PB SSR 3/Diamondite Plastic Enhancer/Spar Urethane Mix. I had to remove the first application of the Urethane because it would not self level correctly but the second attempt came out pretty good. On the driver's headlight, I was rushed so I have some sanding marks from the first few grades of sandpaper. A little more time and I could've come out like glass. Overall, I'm very happy with the passenger light. I'm sure the neighbor and his g/f are happy compared to what they looked like before and won't mind the sanding marks. After all, it was FREE. From start the finish, it took about 3 1/2 hours. 30 mins was to Home Depot and about another 30 mins spinning my wheels with the initial 600 grit. Anyways I'll let the pics speak for themselves and any input is appreciated....

 

Night and day difference, nice work. You'll only improve upon your technique with more practice.

 

Came out good i recently did this to my headlights with the 3M kit but didn't came out like this now they have like sanding scratches swirl and they are a lil dull.I just use plastic X today with a buffer to see if it removes the squirrels and gave the *new shiny look back* but no luck.Can u tell me what can i use to get rid of the swirl marks and get the shine back?Thank you

 

holy sheet. i want a product list and a step by step direction to what you did. my headlights didnt even look that good when i got the car

 

awesome work OP, thanks for sharing!





I got the same exact issue, I had to resand to 2000 grit and rebuff again with both the 3M plastic polish and then I tried the Mequiars Plast X still out of a perfect 10 the lights are a 8, still a bit too hazy and very very fine scratches but still visible.

OP you got any suggestions for us two ??

 

The first layer is always hard to get started. 600 Wet should have been all you needed. I like to finish with 1500 wet then buff them back. I have sanded with 1000 and cleared the headlight. It works ok but i like to buff them better. You did a very good job.

 

2000 is pretty fine stuff. What were your other grits you were using? I have yet to try a sanding disc. I'm limited to a cordless drill so I'm not going down that path because I'll run out of battery power before I even get to polishing with foam pads. The more grits you use and the closer you keep the different grades at, the better your results. For example, if you jump from 600 to 2000, you'll be there forever and the 2000 may not get all your scratches. Wet sanding also takes a little bit longer too. I tried PlastiX too but wasn't too happy with it. The SSR 3 is seen as equivalent to M105. I'm not sure what the Diamondite stuff is equivalent too but most people follow up the M105 with M205. Keep your different grades in a cross-hatch pattern to make sure your previous sanding is completely eliminated. Periodically wipe the lens with water and a terry cloth to remove any dust/water that may be hiding any scratches. Also, using a light parallel to the previous sanding pattern, will help you find any previous sanding marks. I promise to make a thorough DIY when I come across another set of really bad lights and have the time. Relatives are great volunteers until you ask them for money to just cover your cost for materials.

 

Trust me, 600 didn't phase these babies. That blotch you see on to the top right corner of the passenger headlight took dry sanding about 10 minutes with the 150 grit. I was about to rub gravel on it if the 150 didn't cut it. If you look at it closely, you can tell it's not like the rest of the "oxidation", almost like they spilled something and it either etched it or formed a hardy candy coating. That spot put up a good fight and really made me think twice about what I had committed myself to do... for free.

 

I just did my g35 and fx35 the other day, came out peeeeeerrrfect

 

Really nice job OP
I would have never thought you could get lenses that bad looking almost brand new!

I have no idea what you guys did wrong with the 3M kit... I had very good success.

My guess is you probably rushed from one step to the next without really finishing completely.

You want to make SURE you sand enough on each step, that there are absolutely no scratches from the previous step... and then a little longer just to be safe.
Also, you can't let the drill go too fast or apply too much pressure, or you'll just make a mess of it (or worse yet, you risk burning the plastic)

Here's my results: https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sed...100-000-a.html

 

that's very nice work there

 

thanks for info, I think my problem is I did this to get rid of scratches and scuff marks on the headlights, not to get rid of haze, I didn't have any haze before. The lights were already super clear prior to this, so I don't think I could ever get them back to that OEM like clarity and maybe it's unfair of me to expect that.

At first I used what I got with the kit, completely finished the whole process but even after final buffing up close I could see circular swirl marks from the sanding discs. So then I wet sanded using 1000, then 1500 and then finished with 2000. And then I buffed with the polish again and drill, this got rid of the circluar swirl marks but I can still see some haze and very fine lines from the sandpaper.

SO my question would be after your whole process, can you see any sandpaper lines and marks ? You think maybe skipping 500 grits between the 1000, 1500 and 2000 is the reason I still see the sandpaper marks and haze??

Because I'm thinking I could just drop off the lights to a detailing buddy of mine who has a buffer and all the right polishes, then he could finalize the process for me from here using his stuff.

 

I think your issue might be using Meguiar's PlastiX causing the haze. Were you inspecting each step to see how it's progressing and if you're eliminating or creating more sanding marks? I use 3" yellow foam pad with the SSR 3 and then a yellow foam pad with the Diamondite polish and like I said, I use a drop light to see how it is coming along.

500 grit is not a huge jump. Even my MicroMesh kits come in increments of 400-600 which is some quality stuff. Do you know what grit the 3M kit comes with? Honestly, there are some very fine marks that can be seen if you turn on the lights but for the most part, the lens looks clear. At an arm's length away, they look almost new. I doubt customers will be out there with a magnifying glass or doing a fluorescent penetrant inspections afterward (especially after knowing what they looked like before). I will try to get a macro shot of the lens and let you judge for yourself.

 

that is very nice work and for little to no practice that's really good work for a beginner