Headlight Refurb

[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.

[Herman]

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.

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

[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...

[ksilver]

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...

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.

[Klaus]

Looks good!

Klaus

[ColinE]

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.

Sadly - in a skip I'd expect

[Estebes]

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!
Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-01-28 002.jpg


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

Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-01-31 001.jpg

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.

Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 018.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 019.jpg

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

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

Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 020.jpg

Next step, polish with Duraglit with a soft cloth.

Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 021.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 022.jpg


And the result:

Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 037.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 042.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 039.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 040.jpg Telemovel Range Rover - 2013-02-02 041.jpg

[LeRoiDeLaRue]

HeadlampLensClean270614 002.jpg HeadlampLensClean270614 003.jpg

... 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 ...

HeadlampLensClean270614 007.jpgHeadlampLensClean270614 009.jpg

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

[LeRoiDeLaRue]

headlampsPolished290614 001.jpgheadlampsPolished290614 002.jpg

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

[Nich]

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.