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A couple weekends ago, I rewaxed my car. This was my third time doing it and by now, my skills had honed in well enough to do it by hand quickly and efficiently. But each time I go through the 5-step paint care cycle, I try to do a little something new, and the experiment this time was headlight restoration. Using Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit by itself showed some mediocre results. So this time, I unleashed the full beans by applying wet-sanding techniques inspired by 97 Supra's original post on the process.
One of my headlights is newer than the other. The car's left light has been on the vehicle since inception and is much more yellow and oxidized than the other, so I made it my mission to get them looking the same. The following is a step-by-step picture-intensive process of what I did to turn Picture 1 into Picture 2.
Picture 1 (Before)
Picture 2 (After)
Equipment
- Painter's Tape (various sizes)
- 5 Gallon Bucket (Grit Guard optional)
- Stool
- Hose with Nozzle
- Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit
- Meguiar's Unigrit Finishing Paper (1200, 2000, 2500, 3000 grit)
- Corded Drill
- Extension Cord
- Microfiber Towels
- Cotton Terry Towels (optional, be prepared to get these dirty)
Process
1. Cut your sandpaper sheets into workable sizes (roughly the size of your hand). If you have Meguiar's unigrit paper, cutting them into thirds will do nicely. Soak them in a bucket of water for approximately 10 minutes so that they're properly saturated. If the papers start to curl, don't worry about it.
2. Mask off the surrounding areas of the headlight you're working on with painter's tape. Be liberal with your amount since you don't want to let the sandpaper slip and accidentally scratch the paint. (Optional: if the hood is going to be open, place as many large cotton terry towels to cover the engine bay as needed. Water is going to be involved and this step will protect your car's electrical parts from coming into contact with it. Reinforce with painter's tape if necessary.)
3. Apply rear to stool. Make sure your hose with nozzle, microfiber towels, and your bucket with sandpaper are within reach of your work area.
4. Begin by lightly soaking the headlight with water. Start with lowest grit paper relative to the severity of the oxidation on your headlight (1200 in my case) by folding it in half and applying it linearly in a single direction -- horizontal or vertical. Never both. Do not apply it in a circular motion. It takes a fair bit of elbow grease so put pressure on it.
5. After a fair bit of sanding, soak your hand and paper back in the bucket to remove loose particles. Soak the headlight itself with some more water.
6. Continue to sand until the headlight hazes up uniformly. Flush the sandpaper and your hand of loose debris often and keep the headlight wet with your hose.
7. Using a microfiber towel, wipe the surface of the headlight dry. Check for consistency in your sanding work. If it's not yet up to par, reapply water and sandpaper and wipe dry with your MF towel as many times as needed until you have a uniform surface.
Appearance after 1200 grit.
8. If the haze is uniform throughout the headlight surface, go ahead and change the water in your bucket. Soak your other unigrit papers inside and pick out the next higher tier grit paper. Fold it in half.
9. Soak the headlight and work the sandpaper in the direction opposite of your last applied sandpaper. So if you were sanding horizontally previously, apply this one vertically. And vice versa. Keep wetting the lens and your paper and hand clean by rinsing it in the bucket.
10. Sand until the surface appears evenly worked. Dry the lens with a microfiber towel to make sure. If you feel you missed a spot, repeat Step 9 until it is consistently sanded. The haze should be lighter than it was with the previous sandpaper grit.
11. Repeat Step 8-10 with the remaining sandpaper grits. Once done with all your sandpaper, you should have a somewhat cloudy look on your headlight. That's normal.
Appearance after 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit, respectively. Note the reducing haze.
12. Open your Headlight Restoration Kit. Attach the drill operated buffing pad to your corded drill. Plug your drill to an outlet (using an extension cord if necessary).
13. With the PlastX found inside the Headlight Restoration Kit, shake, and squeeze a dime-sized amount on the center of the buffing pad. Press the drill against the headlight before turning it on. Work the PlastX in a small section of the headlight at a time. Use common sense: the more pressure, the more you work it in, but you don't want to crack your own headlights either.
14. Repeat Step 13 until you've applied PlastX throughout the entire lens. With a new microfiber towel, wipe the product off.
15. Typically, one application of PlastX is not enough. For the best clarity, repeat Step 13-14 until it looks the way you want it to. It is not a one-time miracle product.
16. Once you're done with PlastX, go ahead an remove the painter's tape.
(17. If the other headlight needs work too, go ahead and reapply the sandpaper steps starting with Step 3.)
18. Clean up your supplies. You're done.
Afterword
Every car's headlights and their condition is going to vary between each one. Some will be harder to remove than others. The best thing you can do is not let your headlights go yellow in the first place. That means proper maintenence and frequent care. Nothing taught me that more than doing this whole headlight restoration process.
I actually went through this process twice in the very same day (which is why some of the pictures aren't very consistent). The first time was not a success and I posted in the Detailing 101 forum for tips and advice. The second time went well. But in the end, I learned that some oxidation was inevitably inside the lens itself and I would never be able to remove it. Overall, though, it is over 90% of an improvement and both headlights will appear brand new to the average set of eyes.
It was funny how my sister was outside talking on her cell phone remarking to her friend on the other line how I was apparently making my headlights worse. She watched for a good amount of time and didn't really take my assurances when I told her that this was normal. Only once I completed a go with PlastX did she really say "wow, the lights are better now than ever before." So this stuff really works. I'm ready to clean her lights now. :P
As For The Rest of the Car
The following day, I washed the car and went through the steps. I opened up a new gallon of Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner and used it for the first time and was very pleased with the way it acted like real shampoo. This stuff lathers up real well. The rest of the car was detailed the way I normally do by hand:
- Meguiar's Aluminum Wheel Cleaner on the wheels
- Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance Tire Gel on the tires
- Meguiar's Ultimate Compound spot treating various paint defects
- Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish
- Two layers of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0
The results speak for themselves:
Extra
I went and did a little photo shoot after this detail. Just thought I'd share.
So clean that BMW sports cars want to park next to you at work!
Thanks for viewing.
One of my headlights is newer than the other. The car's left light has been on the vehicle since inception and is much more yellow and oxidized than the other, so I made it my mission to get them looking the same. The following is a step-by-step picture-intensive process of what I did to turn Picture 1 into Picture 2.
Picture 1 (Before)
Picture 2 (After)
Equipment
- Painter's Tape (various sizes)
- 5 Gallon Bucket (Grit Guard optional)
- Stool
- Hose with Nozzle
- Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit
- Meguiar's Unigrit Finishing Paper (1200, 2000, 2500, 3000 grit)
- Corded Drill
- Extension Cord
- Microfiber Towels
- Cotton Terry Towels (optional, be prepared to get these dirty)
Process
1. Cut your sandpaper sheets into workable sizes (roughly the size of your hand). If you have Meguiar's unigrit paper, cutting them into thirds will do nicely. Soak them in a bucket of water for approximately 10 minutes so that they're properly saturated. If the papers start to curl, don't worry about it.
2. Mask off the surrounding areas of the headlight you're working on with painter's tape. Be liberal with your amount since you don't want to let the sandpaper slip and accidentally scratch the paint. (Optional: if the hood is going to be open, place as many large cotton terry towels to cover the engine bay as needed. Water is going to be involved and this step will protect your car's electrical parts from coming into contact with it. Reinforce with painter's tape if necessary.)
3. Apply rear to stool. Make sure your hose with nozzle, microfiber towels, and your bucket with sandpaper are within reach of your work area.
4. Begin by lightly soaking the headlight with water. Start with lowest grit paper relative to the severity of the oxidation on your headlight (1200 in my case) by folding it in half and applying it linearly in a single direction -- horizontal or vertical. Never both. Do not apply it in a circular motion. It takes a fair bit of elbow grease so put pressure on it.
5. After a fair bit of sanding, soak your hand and paper back in the bucket to remove loose particles. Soak the headlight itself with some more water.
6. Continue to sand until the headlight hazes up uniformly. Flush the sandpaper and your hand of loose debris often and keep the headlight wet with your hose.
7. Using a microfiber towel, wipe the surface of the headlight dry. Check for consistency in your sanding work. If it's not yet up to par, reapply water and sandpaper and wipe dry with your MF towel as many times as needed until you have a uniform surface.
Appearance after 1200 grit.
8. If the haze is uniform throughout the headlight surface, go ahead and change the water in your bucket. Soak your other unigrit papers inside and pick out the next higher tier grit paper. Fold it in half.
9. Soak the headlight and work the sandpaper in the direction opposite of your last applied sandpaper. So if you were sanding horizontally previously, apply this one vertically. And vice versa. Keep wetting the lens and your paper and hand clean by rinsing it in the bucket.
10. Sand until the surface appears evenly worked. Dry the lens with a microfiber towel to make sure. If you feel you missed a spot, repeat Step 9 until it is consistently sanded. The haze should be lighter than it was with the previous sandpaper grit.
11. Repeat Step 8-10 with the remaining sandpaper grits. Once done with all your sandpaper, you should have a somewhat cloudy look on your headlight. That's normal.
Appearance after 2000, 2500, and 3000 grit, respectively. Note the reducing haze.
12. Open your Headlight Restoration Kit. Attach the drill operated buffing pad to your corded drill. Plug your drill to an outlet (using an extension cord if necessary).
13. With the PlastX found inside the Headlight Restoration Kit, shake, and squeeze a dime-sized amount on the center of the buffing pad. Press the drill against the headlight before turning it on. Work the PlastX in a small section of the headlight at a time. Use common sense: the more pressure, the more you work it in, but you don't want to crack your own headlights either.
14. Repeat Step 13 until you've applied PlastX throughout the entire lens. With a new microfiber towel, wipe the product off.
15. Typically, one application of PlastX is not enough. For the best clarity, repeat Step 13-14 until it looks the way you want it to. It is not a one-time miracle product.
16. Once you're done with PlastX, go ahead an remove the painter's tape.
(17. If the other headlight needs work too, go ahead and reapply the sandpaper steps starting with Step 3.)
18. Clean up your supplies. You're done.
Afterword
Every car's headlights and their condition is going to vary between each one. Some will be harder to remove than others. The best thing you can do is not let your headlights go yellow in the first place. That means proper maintenence and frequent care. Nothing taught me that more than doing this whole headlight restoration process.
I actually went through this process twice in the very same day (which is why some of the pictures aren't very consistent). The first time was not a success and I posted in the Detailing 101 forum for tips and advice. The second time went well. But in the end, I learned that some oxidation was inevitably inside the lens itself and I would never be able to remove it. Overall, though, it is over 90% of an improvement and both headlights will appear brand new to the average set of eyes.
It was funny how my sister was outside talking on her cell phone remarking to her friend on the other line how I was apparently making my headlights worse. She watched for a good amount of time and didn't really take my assurances when I told her that this was normal. Only once I completed a go with PlastX did she really say "wow, the lights are better now than ever before." So this stuff really works. I'm ready to clean her lights now. :P
As For The Rest of the Car
The following day, I washed the car and went through the steps. I opened up a new gallon of Meguiar's Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner and used it for the first time and was very pleased with the way it acted like real shampoo. This stuff lathers up real well. The rest of the car was detailed the way I normally do by hand:
- Meguiar's Aluminum Wheel Cleaner on the wheels
- Meguiar's Gold Class Endurance Tire Gel on the tires
- Meguiar's Ultimate Compound spot treating various paint defects
- Meguiar's Deep Crystal Polish
- Two layers of Meguiar's NXT Generation Tech Wax 2.0
The results speak for themselves:
Extra
I went and did a little photo shoot after this detail. Just thought I'd share.
So clean that BMW sports cars want to park next to you at work!
Thanks for viewing.
Looks Nice!
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