nice work :smthumbup
DIY Headlight Correction
7
Ok, having been pretty annoyed with the state of my headlights for some time now i decided it was time to do something about it, the lense's were very scuffed, stone chipped and turning yellow so having read a fair bit on the internet and asked a few questions on here i decided it was time to give it a go.
Here is a picture of 1 headlight done next to one untouched to try and show the before and after effect:
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So here's how to go about sorting your headlights:
1. Start by giving the whole unit a thourough wash, the last thing you want is a bit of grit to appear whilst you are wet and drying and to score the lense to a good wash should prevent this.
2. I decided to start with a 1500grade wet and dry paper, i could have went rougher to try to get out the deeper stone chips but seeing i hadnt tried this before i stuck with the 1500. I used a garden hose to continually feed water over the lense as when i started i was using a pray bottle and found the paper clogged up far too quickly and the hose helped wash the gritty water away better. i worked first across the light then length wise untill i was happy that the scratches and chips had been removed, there were a few chips which were too deep do sand out but they are very much improved compared to how they were before:
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3. I then used the same process as above with the garden hose and changed to a 2500grade wet and dry, again working across the lense then lenghtwise, tho this time to be sure i got everything i done a 3rd pass across the light:
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4. I then started buffing the headlight with a machine polisher using 3m fast cut compound with a dense foam pad, working back and forth acrosss the lense untill i was satisfied with the result, you can really begin to see your reflection in the lense when your nearing completion, i then used a very soft waffle pad with poorboys polish with sealant to finish off, again working back and forth across the lense untill he reflection became crystal clear:
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5. to finish off i gave the lense a quick coat of "jett acrylic" to give this final finish:
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I would say in total this took me an hour and a half from start to finish to do both headlights, well worth the efort if you ask me and the end result speaks for itslef. i still have a few stone chips in mine but overall im very happy with the result.
cheers mark
Here is a picture of 1 headlight done next to one untouched to try and show the before and after effect:
So here's how to go about sorting your headlights:
1. Start by giving the whole unit a thourough wash, the last thing you want is a bit of grit to appear whilst you are wet and drying and to score the lense to a good wash should prevent this.
2. I decided to start with a 1500grade wet and dry paper, i could have went rougher to try to get out the deeper stone chips but seeing i hadnt tried this before i stuck with the 1500. I used a garden hose to continually feed water over the lense as when i started i was using a pray bottle and found the paper clogged up far too quickly and the hose helped wash the gritty water away better. i worked first across the light then length wise untill i was happy that the scratches and chips had been removed, there were a few chips which were too deep do sand out but they are very much improved compared to how they were before:
3. I then used the same process as above with the garden hose and changed to a 2500grade wet and dry, again working across the lense then lenghtwise, tho this time to be sure i got everything i done a 3rd pass across the light:
4. I then started buffing the headlight with a machine polisher using 3m fast cut compound with a dense foam pad, working back and forth acrosss the lense untill i was satisfied with the result, you can really begin to see your reflection in the lense when your nearing completion, i then used a very soft waffle pad with poorboys polish with sealant to finish off, again working back and forth across the lense untill he reflection became crystal clear:
5. to finish off i gave the lense a quick coat of "jett acrylic" to give this final finish:
I would say in total this took me an hour and a half from start to finish to do both headlights, well worth the efort if you ask me and the end result speaks for itslef. i still have a few stone chips in mine but overall im very happy with the result.
cheers mark
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I know what you're saying mate but for most people, the automatic reaction to scraping a lense with rough is dread. Working in the manufacturing industry, you'd be surprised with the effects you can achieve with this technique and on several occasions, I've even resorted to using afile.
:lol: Works a treat too.:smthumbup Same process as painting, albeit in reverse order. Just gradually building up layers.
I had to take wet and dry to a £2k respray , that was enough to make me very nervousI know what you're saying mate but for most people, the automatic reaction to scraping a lense with rough is dread. Working in the manufacturing industry, you'd be surprised with the effects you can achieve with this technique and on several occasions, I've even resorted to using afile.
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