HOW TO: Refinish Your Headlights.

[bubba1983]

Im currently refinishing my spare set of headlights, as they were quite fugly, the coating on them was chipping off and it jus needed some TLC and love. SO...ill be adding to this writeup as time goes on, as this will take me awhile, untill i get the right result i want....

First Step
Wet Sand entire headlight with 1500 Grit Sandpaper untill you come to a result which you are satisified....my result was to take off all the coating on teh headlight...Wipe with alcohol once done
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20019.jpg

Second Step
Wet Sand entire headlight with 2000 Grit sandpaper again, and wipe down with alcohol once finished
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20021.jpg

Third Step
I would recommend trying to source out 2500 and 3000 grit sandpaper and repeating step 1 and 2. I could not find any in my area, so i went to a local paint shop and asked for some help with a compound for plastic to take out 2000grit swirls. Once you have your compound, apply it to your headlight with either an orange cutting pad or a cloth of some sort.

Fourth Step
I opted to put a coat of meguiars plastx on after the compound, as the plastx has fillers in it i believe.

Fifth Step
Buff that shit real good!!

Half way there
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20014.jpg

Finished product
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20022.jpg

[skunk2]

did the stock headlights come with any UV coating from factory?

[bubba1983]

i honestly don't know, but common sence tells me more than likely yes

[skunk2]

not sure if you have considered this already:
http://www.eshine.ca/185-wolfgang_plastik_lens_cleaning_system.html?cat=13

[bubba1983]

way out of my price range, i can get similar results using teh stuff here
i coudln't find 2500 or 3000 grit paper around town, so i went and bought some compound today along wiht a drill adapter.....finish product so far
untouched
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20020.jpg

Finished product
http://raptor.golden.net/~barnes123/Picture%20018.jpg

[mleblond]

That came out really good! So you got a spare set to install angel eyes...I was thinking of doing that!

Could you update the OP with the products used? I will have to do this sooner or later.

Thanks!

[skunk2]

good job, looks good.

[bubba1983]

i will update with all products used once both are done....2nd light is taking a bit longer, hahahah

[kaval]

Simply amazing! Wicked job man. That Farecla stuff is fantastic.

[sauga_kid]

Very nice job Bubba!

[3GFX]

Looks good bro, wanna do mine ;) lol

[bubba1983]

sure...take your bumper off!! lol

[Kevin@nextmod]

Good stuff adam..... you didn't find teh G3 too rough? I find the G3 too abrasive, so i usually use G6 for plastics. But i guess i'm wrong.... good job there.

[bubba1983]

i probably could have gone with less abrasive, as there are still a fair bit of scratching, but ive never used this stuff before so i was jus going by what the guys at the store said

[Kevin@nextmod]

i would start with G6 then G10 then the meguiars

[Axelaspeed]

good stuff, i need to refinish my headlights, there starting to fade away and looks like crap

[-RJ3-]

Thanks for the write up Adam!!! If it wasn't for MEth telling me you made a write up, I would have scrapped my Custom headlight mod.... I used an orbital buffer for the final step... the cloudyness after the sanding and drying came off perfectly with plastx.!!!

[lil_zoom3]

Became New
Question. If an internal dirt, is it possible to clean it up?

[bubba1983]

huh?

[lil_zoom3]

huh?

I mean, you've cleared externally

But is there a way to clean them from the inside?

[S.F.W.]

I mean, you've cleared externally

But is there a way to clean them from the inside?

you would have to heat them in an oven or with a heatgun to break the seal, then clean, then reseal.

[lil_zoom3]

you would have to heat them in an oven or with a heatgun to break the seal, then clean, then reseal.

ok, is there Gulw advised to use to close tightly?

[S.F.W.]

ok, is there Gulw advised to use to close tightly?

silicone would be the best thing to use to reseal.

[wouc89]

Hi I also looking to get myself a spare set of factory headlights for my mazda 3. did yours come with the car or u bought them after?

[Default User]

You would have to purchase a second set.

[Migeta22]

where can I find 2000+ grit sand paper? Canadian tires only has up to 600.

[Default User]

where can I find 2000+ grit sand paper? Canadian tires only has up to 600.

No way!
Double check Automotive (body work section) or Hardware

[Dave_The_BMXER]

Hardware will not have up to 2k automotive section does.

[bubba1983]

correct, ct has it all

[sreekar]

Looks great!

[davepolak]

good job :thumbsup

[oraor]

wow it looks just like new.

[FD22]

Holy batman resurrection. A 2013 and a 2015 thread bump. I see a trend here. INB4 2017 bump