10-27-2017, 04:12 AM
Decided to give a shot at restoring some of my headlight lenses. The outers mainly, but did a half job on the inners too. The headlights I purchased brand new from ford around 10 years ago but the car has hardly been driven so they are still like new.
Thought of some of the quick fixes and different kits, but decided to do the thorough sand and clearcoat process. Spent some decent money for very fine sandpapers and got a UV resistant clearcoat. I am very happy with the results. Like anything, if you put the time into something and don't rush it you will end up with decent results. However my lack of attention to where I left the outers to dry left me running back outside to move them out of direct sunlight.... It was too late and I now have some spider webbing on them. That being said they still turned out awesome, so I will revisit them another day to re-sand and clear.
My process was wetsanding, the rough sand down with 600grit, again with 1200, then finish with 2000 grit. I did a circular motion and before moving to a higher count sandpaper I did finishing horizontal (side to side) passes to help with the clear to stick on the lenses. I used a water bottle to keep wetting the sandpaper and lens to clear the debris. I would do about 1/3 of the lens, soak it all down, keep doing to 2/3, soak it all again, finish the surface and soak it all. Then do the horizontal sanding, then soak that. Cloth dry, and move on to a higher count doing the exact same wetting process. When I sprayed I did very light layers of clear at a time, 4 or 5 times total.. To try and prevent running or beading. I just used aerosol can stuff and was careful to keep an appropriate distance from the lens to apply. I let about 10 minutes to dry before throwing another layer on.
Before
[Image: ba1hi.jpg]
After
[Image: sebp6h.jpg]
And the inners
[Image: 2060ml5.jpg]
Thought of some of the quick fixes and different kits, but decided to do the thorough sand and clearcoat process. Spent some decent money for very fine sandpapers and got a UV resistant clearcoat. I am very happy with the results. Like anything, if you put the time into something and don't rush it you will end up with decent results. However my lack of attention to where I left the outers to dry left me running back outside to move them out of direct sunlight.... It was too late and I now have some spider webbing on them. That being said they still turned out awesome, so I will revisit them another day to re-sand and clear.
My process was wetsanding, the rough sand down with 600grit, again with 1200, then finish with 2000 grit. I did a circular motion and before moving to a higher count sandpaper I did finishing horizontal (side to side) passes to help with the clear to stick on the lenses. I used a water bottle to keep wetting the sandpaper and lens to clear the debris. I would do about 1/3 of the lens, soak it all down, keep doing to 2/3, soak it all again, finish the surface and soak it all. Then do the horizontal sanding, then soak that. Cloth dry, and move on to a higher count doing the exact same wetting process. When I sprayed I did very light layers of clear at a time, 4 or 5 times total.. To try and prevent running or beading. I just used aerosol can stuff and was careful to keep an appropriate distance from the lens to apply. I let about 10 minutes to dry before throwing another layer on.
Before
[Image: ba1hi.jpg]
After
[Image: sebp6h.jpg]
And the inners
[Image: 2060ml5.jpg]