[mook1178]

Does anybody have a good suggestion for headlight restoration?

I've seen the wipes, are those any good? I'd rather not have to tape up and use a drill kit.

[Lashko]

Originally Posted by mook1178

Does anybody have a good suggestion for headlight restoration?

I've seen the wipes, are those any good? I'd rather not have to tape up and use a drill kit.

Depends on how bad your headlights look. I always get very good results by wet sanding the headlight with 1500 grit sandpaper then buffing with Meguiars 105 compound then polishing.

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Wipes won't help. If they're oxidized, an orbital buffer and polishing compound will do wonders. It'll take 2 minutes. You can keep them permanently clear with some Lamin-X.

If they're pitted, you'll have to sand them to remove the pitting.

[colorado.e9x]

Used McGuire's headlight restoration kit (drill) on some pretty hazy lights before and it worked pretty decent. Well worth taking the extra 5 minutes to tape up the surrounding areas

[Thorin]

A couple years ago I used the 3M kit. Looked good, but faded sooner than I expected. Recently I've used a Sylvania kit, and found the surface activator and UV block really were improved over the previous kit.

The only catch was the fogs were not playing nicely with the kit (to be fair, that may have had to due to the UV block having been opened months before and not as aqueous). However fogs are cheap enough that replacement is a viable option.

[apexit4]

Originally Posted by Lashko

Depends on how bad your headlights look. I always get very good results by wet sanding the headlight with 1500 grit sandpaper then buffing with Meguiars 105 compound then polishing.

Do you do the wet sanding by hand or using something else?

Also, is this the Meguiars 105 compound you are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Mirr.../dp/B001O7PNW8

[Lashko]

Originally Posted by apexit4

Do you do the wet sanding by hand or using something else?

Also, is this the Meguiars 105 compound you are talking about? https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-Mirr.../dp/B001O7PNW8

I do it by hand. If you are gonna use a drill or DA sander for wet sanding just be very gentle. You only need the sandpaper to just glide lightly over the headlight. If doing my hand it's the same thing, but let the sandpaper do the work not your hand. Yes, that's exactly what I use. They sell it at Harbor Freight.

[MPOWER5266]

I would search facebook for local detailers that offer it. I did mine but I have all the polishers and everything. The proper way to do it, is to wetsand the UV coating off (that is whats getting hazy) and then compound, polish, and reclear them. You can clean them and polish them all you want but if you dont replace the coating, they will haze up again and soon.

[mweisdorfer]

I've seen DIY's where you sand it with 1500 and then spray it with 2-3 coats of UV rated clear coat & then take 1500 & 2000 and sand off the orange peel of the clear coat. Polish it after that.

[Wolf 335]

I just polished mine with some Sonax Perfect Finish.

It removed a bit of hazing i had on my passenger headlight, and gave them a very nice clear look overall.

Prior to this i was going to use the 3M drill kit or Sylvania kit, but no need after Sonax polish. Yes there are a few pits but not bad enough.

My fog lights though, polishing did absolutely nothing. They look like they've been sanded with a 800 grit paper. Might do a sanding correction on those or just replace with new lights.

If you do decide to sand your lights just make sure you apply a UV coating afterwards.

3M makes a good one: https://www.amazon.com/3M-Quick-Head...d_i=2687788011

And so does Sylvania: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[je335iau]

Use 1000,2000,3000 and 5000 sand paper alternating directions on each paper grade. Then polish with meguairs 210 polishing compound. Finish with mckees 37 ceramic headlight sealer. I have tried the megu Uv headlight spray but it yellowed after a year. Still clear but yellow.

[E92William]

I used to do this for people as a side job.
Way to go for long term is:
3m kit use every step of it
Then seal with Meguiars headlight sealant spray they sell it at Walmart.
Ready to go for years to come

[mook1178]

Sounds like wet sanding by hand would be good for me. I'm always worried with a drill, I'd apply to much pressure or slip into the paint, going through the tape. I'll definitely get the Meguiars sealant

[Nando_e90]

Originally Posted by E92William

I used to do this for people as a side job.
Way to go for long term is:
3m kit use every step of it
Then seal with Meguiars headlight sealant spray they sell it at Walmart.
Ready to go for years to come

This is what I did to my headlights with excelent results. Just be sure to use enough water while sanding to avoid an interior smoke coat because of the heat. At the end, it is a must the Menguiars headlight coating to seal the micro scratches and achieve cristal clear look. Also for UV protection. Someone suggested a ceramic coating which I think would be equal or even better than the Menguiars coating.