Headlight Refurb

My headlights have been fogging up with chips, scratches and general wear due to the miles I've been racking up.

Got a headlight restoration kit and what a difference.

I did take some before and after pictures but the befores didn't come out too well, but this is "after"

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/galler..._Headlight.jpg

I'm really pleased with the result and when only one light was done, the difference between the two was really noticeable. In total it took about 45 minutes, it's not yet perfect and I may give it another go soon.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ksilver

My headlights have been fogging up with chips, scratches and general wear due to the miles I've been racking up.

Got a headlight restoration kit and what a difference.

I did take some before and after pictures but the befores didn't come out too well, but this is "after"

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/galler..._Headlight.jpg

I'm really pleased with the result and when only one light was done, the difference between the two was really noticeable. In total it took about 45 minutes, it's not yet perfect and I may give it another go soon.

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Thanks for that, may have to give mine a go soon as well.,

The lights on her 180 ZT-T (now sold to my daughter, Amelia) were really bad after 160,000kms in the Aussie sun. They were becoming quite opaque and discoloured. Her partner Ross bought a similar kit and spent a similar number of hours to bring them back to clarity (see photos). Not sure how long they will last though - that sun is pretty intense! It would be nice if the covers could be bought separately from the whole light fitting. I assume they just clip off, but most threads on this issue indicate that you have to buy the complete lights to get new covers. This might need to be a future product for the shop.

I spoke to Hella about new covers and they said they couldn't help because although they made the original units all of the original moulds had ended up with MGR. Anyone know where they are likely to be now?

Nich.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nich

I spoke to Hella about new covers and they said they couldn't help because although they made the original units all of the original moulds had ended up with MGR. Anyone know where they are likely to be now?

Nich.

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China ??...........

Looks good, but how did it deal with stone chips on the headlamps?

I have wondered as this kind of damage isnt just surface deep quite often...

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Originally Posted by Coasting

Looks good, but how did it deal with stone chips on the headlamps?

I have wondered as this kind of damage isnt just surface deep quite often...

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I didn't have any nasty chips, but the surface was quite rough and dirt was caught clouding the lenses.

The process is a bit like T-cutting, polishing out the roughness. I would hope that with the surface smoothed out it will help keep the lenses clear long term, but a bit like claying and polishing paintwork, it will probably be best to do it on a regular basis.

I would say that a day later after the polish has dried out, there is still more work to be done, but it is without a doubt better than it was.

Looks good!

Klaus

Quote:

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Originally Posted by ksilver

My headlights have been fogging up with chips, scratches and general wear due to the miles I've been racking up.

Got a headlight restoration kit and what a difference.

I did take some before and after pictures but the befores didn't come out too well, but this is "after"

https://www.two-sixties.co.uk/galler..._Headlight.jpg

I'm really pleased with the result and when only one light was done, the difference between the two was really noticeable. In total it took about 45 minutes, it's not yet perfect and I may give it another go soon.

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I bought the Turtle Wax equivalent for my ZT-T today. I'd used the Macguires cream with some limited success, so decided the full kit was necessary. Have also had he machine buffed to get swirl marks out of the royal blue paint, and she looks stunning!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Nich

I spoke to Hella about new covers and they said they couldn't help because although they made the original units all of the original moulds had ended up with MGR. Anyone know where they are likely to be now?

Nich.

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Sadly - in a skip I'd expect

Just a little up in the acrilic polishing.

I found a very rare item, an old "mobile" phone from a Range Rover Classic, from around 1988/9.

It was a mess!
Attachment 4520


And I even did worst when I was cleaning with Alcohol!

Attachment 4521

After a search on the web, I found that with cheap products, we can have the same reults with much lesser waiste of money.

Firts step.

Attachment 4522 Attachment 4523

Just rub the acrilic face with wet sand paper (1000 grade), gently!

After that the acrilic face seems a little milky! Don't worry!

Attachment 4524

Next step, polish with Duraglit with a soft cloth.

Attachment 4525 Attachment 4526


And the result:

Attachment 4527 Attachment 4531 Attachment 4528 Attachment 4529 Attachment 4530

Attachment 6457 Attachment 6458

... then after using Meguiar's 4 small sanding pads, not a little elbow grease, then their cream and drill bit attachment tickling stick, after an hour ...

Attachment 6459Attachment 6460

.... then the rain came so i will have another bash tomorrow

Attachment 6470Attachment 6471

and this after a second polish with the Meguiar's Plast Px topped off with a sliver of Autoglym polish. Lots of fine scratches from the polishing but the opacity is much less and the surface feels smoothe. Might have a go with the duraglit idea some time too

The trick to successful polishing is to use the appropriate abrasive material reducing in grit size (increasing fineness) and only move onto a finer abrasive once all of the 'scratches' from the previously used abrasive material have been removed. This can often most easily be achieved by applying the abrasive at right angles (90 deg.) to the previous operation, this will show up any previous 'scratches' that need to be removed. The quality of the final finish will depend on the fineness of the final abrasive and whether all of the previous marks have been removed.
Polishing plastic can be achieved by initially using silicon carbide paper (wet and dry) increasing in fineness from 600 to 1200 to 2400 to 3000. This can be done by hand but must be done wet with plenty of water, the abrading action generates heat which will cause the plastic to soften and 'drag' you can then finish off with something like Duraglit or even T-Cut. You can get specialist compounds for the final polish, 3M do one as well as Meguiars.
If you use a machine polisher for the final polish use a slow speed and avoid too much pressure, the generation of heat during this process can be a disaster.
My next 'How To' will be based around teaching Grandmas to suck eggs. :)

Nich.

Thanks Nich
It will be years before i rub all the plastic off completely :D

Hi,

the link in the first post doesn't seem to work now, what product did you use ?

One's a year when I polish the car I polish my headlight too with Sonax polish and sonax wax and mine are in mint condition. I do use a polish mashine.
As my car is inside during the winter they last longer but for those of you who use it all year you should polish and wax them at least twice a year to keep them from degrading.

Attachment 6512