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Farkel
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2019
- Threads
- 8
- Messages
- 395
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- Location
- Cartoon City, Nirvana
- First Name
- Marc
- Vehicle(s)
- '20 GT Premium PP1, 2012 Jeep JK, 2022 Harley 48
Firsttexan
Well-Known Member
Use a high speed polisher and buff it out just like the paint job with the same compounds and polishes.
JohnnyGT
Well-Known Member
Depending on how bad it is, you may need to wet sand them with 1200 - 2000 grit paper. Then hit them with finer and finer polishes and compounds. Spray with clear coat to restore with UV protection to finish it off.
DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
Headlights can certainly be polished. But just know that when you do, you will remove the UV coating that was applied when they were manufactured. In which case, I always say only polish them as the last resort. That said, if they are to the point where they are yellowed or hazy, the UV coating is gone anyway.
In most cases, a polishing compound with a medium to hard pad will remove most of the haziness and yellowing. If that doesn't get them to where you are happy, the next step would be to wet sand and then polish them.
These headlights on my Ranger have a factory defect that meant they oxidized earlier than they should have. The bumper needs to be removed to replace them, so I would rather polish them every 12 months than go to that trouble. It's only the top surface is affected, that is the only section I polish so as to not interfere with the UV coating elsewhere on the light.
As you can see, I have the area taped off to avoid polishing the surrounding areas.
While this can be done by hand, it way more fun using a machine. Here, I am using Sonax Cutmax on a yellow Rupes finishing pad -
Even though the finish was acceptable, I followed this up with a quick go over with Sonax Perfect Finish.
The next step is to apply something to reduce or slow down the return of the oxidization. (It WILL return by the way, probably faster). Sealants and ceramic coatings help but the best way to stop it returning is PPF. That's not a skill I have mastered so I used some McKee's Headlight Protectant.
Headlight Protectant Spray - Free Applicator! - McKees37.com
McKee's 37 Headlight Protectant Spray 236ml (detailingshed.com.au)
Meguiar's also sell a more advanced headlight coating that is said to last 12 months. It can be bought in kit form or singularly.
Search results for: 'headlight' (meguiarsdirect.com)
If it were me, use the polishing method above and buy the Meguiar's coating on it's own.
Having gone into fine detail with the Ranger above, I want to show a less involved method.
The headlights on this Mazda needed to be cleaned up in preparation for sale.
Because the price I was charging did not allow for extensive treatment, I did not mask them up or bother with a multi-step process. I used Sonax Cutmax on a cutting pad, did a few passes and then called time.
Same deal with this Suzuki Swift -
And these Subaru ones too, these seem very prone to oxidation.
So, long story short, yes can polish headlights. Just consider what you intend to put on them afterwards to limit the future yellowing or hazing.
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Cobra Jet
Well-Known Member
@DFB5.0Headlights can certainly be polished. But just know that when you do, you will remove the UV coating that was applied when they were manufactured. In which case, I always say only polish them as the last resort. That said, if they are to the point where they are yellowed or hazy, the UV coating is gone anyway.
In most cases, a polishing compound with a medium to hard pad will remove most of the haziness and yellowing. If that doesn't get them to where you are happy, the next step would be to wet sand and then polish them.
These headlights on my Ranger have a factory defect that meant they oxidized earlier than they should have. The bumper needs to be removed to replace them, so I would rather polish them every 12 months than go to that trouble. It's only the top surface is affected, that is the only section I polish so as to not interfere with the UV coating elsewhere on the light.
As you can see, I have the area taped off to avoid polishing the surrounding areas.
While this can be done by hand, it way more fun using a machine. Here, I am using Sonax Cutmax on a yellow Rupes finishing pad -
Even though the finish was acceptable, I followed this up with a quick go over with Sonax Perfect Finish.
The next step is to apply something to reduce or slow down the return of the oxidization. (It WILL return by the way, probably faster). Sealants and ceramic coatings help but the best way to stop it returning is PPF. That's not a skill I have mastered so I used some McKee's Headlight Protectant.
Headlight Protectant Spray - Free Applicator! - McKees37.com
McKee's 37 Headlight Protectant Spray 236ml (detailingshed.com.au)
Meguiar's also sell a more advanced headlight coating that is said to last 12 months. It can be bought in kit form or singularly.
Search results for: 'headlight' (meguiarsdirect.com)
If it were me, use the polishing method above and buy the Meguiar's coating on it's own.
Having gone into fine detail with the Ranger above, I want to show a less involved method.
The headlights on this Mazda needed to be cleaned up in preparation for sale.
Because the price I was charging did not allow for extensive treatment, I did not mask them up or bother with a multi-step process. I used Sonax Cutmax on a cutting pad, did a few passes and then called time.
Same deal with this Suzuki Swift -
And these Subaru ones too, these seem very prone to oxidation.
So, long story short, yes can polish headlights. Just consider what you intend to put on them afterwards to limit the future yellowing or hazing.
With your headlight cleaning notes above - can you add if you were doing a manual hand polish or using a mechanical method - and if mechanical, what pads for cutting/buffing?
Thanks!
DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
All of the pics above were done using a machine polisher.
For the Ranger headlights, I'm using the Rupes iBrid Nano Long Neck. Pad choice there was the Rupes yellow. As I was only working a small strip of the light, I was using the machine in rotary mode and 1.5inch pad. The Rupes yellow pad is considered a finishing pad. You could also use the Rupes Blue as well.
When polishing the whole light, I prefer to use my 3-inch Shine Mate EB351-3/12 cordless D/A machine. This polisher has more grunt than the Rupes iBrid so can be more effective on heavier oxidation. Pad choice here is the Shine Mate Yellow, which is considered a moderate to heavy cutting pad, similar to a Lake Country Yellow or Rupes Blue.
In most cases, you would use a 3-inch machine, any larger and it would become harder to be contain the polishing to just the headlights. For lights as slim as the Mustang or some of the newer Mazda's for example, a smaller 1.5 or 2.5 inch would offer more control.
The Rupes iBrid is pretty overpriced for what it is, I love it but understand it's a big outlay for something so small. Adam's and Griots make smaller machines for much less -
Adam's SK Pro Micro Cordless Swirl Killer Polisher 2.0 - Adam's Polishes (adamspolishes.com)
G8 Mini Random Orbital Polisher - Griot's Garage (griotsgarage.com)
DFB5.0
Well-Known Member
The Rag Company posted this video today on headlight restoration.
(151) Understanding Headlight Oxidation and How to RESTORE them
No Replacement Needed! - YouTube
(151) Understanding Headlight Oxidation and How to RESTORE them
No Replacement Needed! - YouTubeSponsored