TomP

Tried the 3M kit to restore my headlights. First one went pretty well, although I bought another kit for more sandpaper (dumb, I know).

The second headlight did not go well. Wasn't paying attention and I think the speed control on my drill got bumped. Led to really deep scratches. I stopped working on it and took it to an autobody place that specializes in headlight repairs. They worked on it for a while but gave up. Didn't even charge me for their time!

So what are my options?
- Try another headlight expert? Who?
- Try it myself with more aggressive sandpaper? (Or are there any chemicals I can use to at least minimize the scratched-up look?)
- Wait a while until they go bad again and just replace it when prices go down some more?

Ideas?

tom

alpine003

Pics would help but more aggressive sanding would probably do the trick, as long as there's no deep gouges going through majority of the depth of the lense.

fpena944

When I did mine you have to remember it is going to look like a disaster before you actually polish them. It might just need some more work.

Halfway through mine I thought I had ruined them but magically it clears up and looks great when done.

RaginBull

Bust out the sandpaper. Depending on how deep the scratches are, will
determine what grit to use. for most surface moderate scratches wet sanding with 1500 will suffice. Then hit it with a rotary polisher, polishing foam pad and 3m Rubbing Compound. Then hit it with a polish compound using a polish foam pad.

jrrhdmust

It should be fine. Start with 1000, then 1500, then 2000 grit sand paper. Then polish with the headlight polishing compund. I prefer slower speeds on the polishing unit.

alpine003

If it's the 3M kit I'm thinking of(they have a few lines) with the red packaging, I believe they have you start with a 500 grit pad so you'll most likely have to start with 400 and move your way up. Once you get to 1500grit, it's time to start polishing. You can use 2000 grit and wet sand but to me it's a waste of time if you have access to a polisher and some good polishing compound like M105.

Once again pics would be helpful for us to diagnose your situation.

Or... you can just order the "Wipe New" product out there and call it a day. LOL j/k

ECS Tuning

We offer a few kits that will help you out. The Osram/Sylvania seems to be the most popular one though. I would advise putting some Lamin-X over the headlights though once you get them cleared up though. For more information Click Here.

sandersd

I started with 150 grit and an orbital sander and worked my way up through 3000 grit, then two different compounds.

For maintenance I use medium cut compound followed with Diamondite.

Capt. Obvious

Start over again at the grit you were on when you damaged the headlights. Use that grit until you have sanded the gouges away. Then, start working your way back up. The thing to remember is to not move onto the next grit until you've sanded away all the scratches from the previous grit (meaning, don't move from 800 grit to 1000 grit until you've sanded away all the scratches from the 400 grit).

FLY996

What he said....the key is to use an orbital sander....not the 3M kit...

particlewave

It's already been said, but sanding will get you back to like new. Orbital and progressive grits.

I've done a few of these and what I would do is start with 500 grit if necessary and work up to 1500, always wet sanding.
Polishing is not necessary if you apply a new UV clear coat because the clear coat will fill any fine scratches from the 1500 and give them a smooth glass-like finish.
It's going to take time, but it is fixable. For deep scratches, it can take me an hour or two, easy.

sandersd

Great idea! I'll try this next time I clear the headlights.

Pcargo

Dumb question, but what UV clear coat do you use?

pordlanzer

I used the Sylvania headlight restoration kit I found on eBay. Worked just fine and it comes with the UV clear coat. Saw a thread on the 997 forum seemed to work fine and was still clear after 7 months.

https://rennlist.com/forums/997-foru...storation.html

Sure you can find a good clear coat from another source though.

I had already tried another kit with orbital sanding pads and didn't like it. The plastic would get to hot. I really preferred sanding by hand. Not that much more effort for the added control.

Hope this helps.

fpena944

This is what I used:

https://www.xpel.com/products/headli...&submodel=1544

Works great because it protects not only the UV issue but also is a film to protect the lens from breaking due to rocks or gravel.