Headlight restoration without tools, 7 month update pg 4

[deano55]

that sound pretty good to me

[Grimm]

Looks good. I've been thinking of trying it. If I don't miss my guess (been a while since I read the threads on this), but doesn't it work better by not polishing? I seemed to recall the urethane really needs a rough surface for proper bonding.

[crash93ssei]

I can't for sure say it was better, but I know it was at least equal and because of the extra step saved nobody polishes anymore.

I can say this, if you try it you will love it! Oh, also only about a teaspoon of each is needed to do a headlight, and even at that amount you will likely have some leftover

[kristie_jeff]

Did this to my wife's Saturn Vue this past weekend. I was so excited to try it that I forgot to take pictures. I can't tell you how much time I've spent wet sanding headlights, different brands of headlight restoration kits, etc...

It took me right around an hour for both headlights, and that includes re-doing one of them (I didn't like the way it turned out).

Man, nice and clear and pretty. Like night and day.

I do have a question for those that have gone this route: Are the finished headlights supposed to be smooth or tacky?

It looks like glass, but when I touch it, my finger doesn't glide like I expected. Does it need wax or something, or should I be worried about debris getting stuck to the headlight?

Thanks for the write up on this crash.

[00Beast]

It's a furniture finish, so it should be like running your finger over a finished board or table. Some wax wouldn't hurt, but give it a few days/week to fully cure.

[crash93ssei]

Mine is hard as a rock, I let it sit in the house about 9 hours while I was away at work though, crazy cold outside and I am not so sure how it would cure in those temps. Most people that do this method do it for the major advantages of price, time, durability, and the fact that you can do it on the vehicle. Some of them though also adjust their spar / spirits solution though accordingly for temperature and humidity.

No problem for the write up, I hope it helps all of us! I know these cars are plagued with nasty looking headlights...

[kristie_jeff]

It's not just ours though, I've seen a ton of cars with yellow/hazy headlights. My sister-in-law's were so bad, I don't see how any light got through.

[crash93ssei]

Definitely, pretty much any vehicle with plastic headlights will likely fail and in time look terrible and yellow. This method will work on all of them.

[DCJREDLINE]

I have been on the fence with this method. Maybe next time my car needs it I will, it seems to be holding up well from this last round of sanding and polishing. I just wax the headlights every 3-4 months along with the car. Seems to be ok for now. Thanks for the write up Ryan.

[kristie_jeff]

I finally got around to doing this on my car, and I remembered to take pics this time. Driver's side wasn't too bad, it was replaced a couple of years ago, but had started to discolor (top of the lens in the 3rd pic). I used 400, 1000, 1500, and 2000. I did both at the same time, and it took a little over an hour for the sanding. They turned out great. I never would have though of using Minwax on plastic headlights.

Before:







After:

[crash93ssei]

Looks really good!

[Archon]

I've been using Future acrylic floor polish on the headlight, and that lasts about a year. Hadn't tried it without polishing, though. I'm going to try this method next time.

[nubuilder]

Before





After







Now I just need to get a new fog light, then do the same thing to both of them.

For me, the hardest (by hardest, I mean clogging the sandpaper the most) part was just starting out with 400.

I'll be attempting this same thing on my mom's horribly-hazzed '97 Dodge Stratus. Hopefully it's OK to post pics of that even though it isn't even a GM. lol

[crash93ssei]

Looks really good, huge improvement! I would like to see the outcome of any lights anyone does with this method. This isn't just for Bonnevilles, but for any vehicle with plastic headlights

It has been a month now since I have done mine (still haven't done the drivers side yet, but looks plenty good to wait until spring) and it still looks perfect. It has been sitting outside in the snow, driving around getting pelted with salt and sleet, no scratches or any signs of failing at all.

[BonnieBoy08]

Went to Home Depot after work today, they had a satin, semi gloss, and high gloss. Which was used here? Spendy stuff for that little can. Instead I bought a spray can of the same stuff. I picked up semi-gloss. Is that going to look dull? Will it work thru a spray can or do I need to do the can and mineral spirits? I would think thru the can maybe its a little thinned to be able to spray?

[crash93ssei]

High gloss is what is used. Spray cans have been tried and do fine, but the benefit to the normal container is that it can be applied without masking anything off, no risk of overspray.

[BonnieBoy08]

I'm not worried about overspray, the headlights will be coming out. Is there going to be a noticeable difference between high and semi gloss you think?

[crash93ssei]

I would take it back and get the high gloss just to be sure.

[BonnieBoy08]

Got this all done this weekend. They look amazing! Thank you for the tip.

Before:

After:

After 3rd coat waiting to dry:

[kristie_jeff]

Nice job. They sure do look a lot better now.