Headlight polishing
 

I've also bought some de-tango'd headlights from the for sale section on here (thanks to Arch, they were a bargain). They were in great condition, but I thought I'd give them a buff before fitting them on Monday.
So I bought this:


https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...43e038f705.jpg


Meguiars headlight restoration kit.
It's great. Easy to use, effective and it even smells good.

15 minutes later they're ready to go on.

https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...ca7fe30d49.jpg

looking good, do you get a sealer as well as the polish?

Just need silver indicator bulbs now to fully de-tango....

As above if they've been heavily cut with a wool pad you'll need to seal them to prevent them yellowing.

Something with a good degree of UV protection is ideal, preferably a ceramic coating to give the highest degree of protection.

I didn't know that! Any products you'd recommend?

Gtechniq G1 & G2 would be ideal. You can use the excess to coat your windscreen and Windows

Thanks for the tip, I'll get some on order.

Got some:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...602365a0f2.jpg

It smells a lot like nail varnish remover (acetone). For the price I hope there is something else in there!

It went on easily:

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...545dffa8fe.jpg

And buffed up nicely. Here's hoping it prevents them going yellow.


https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...5a67d415e2.jpg




Can see my face in them.

Where did you buy it from cambs_stuart ?.

From roll up and shine on ebay. I had a money off voucher and their shipping is very quick.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item...829046&alt=web

Looks top work fella :) I'll look into buying this kit too. :thumb:

Cheers Cambs_Stuart just bought some and G4 Glass Nano Polish:thumb:

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I'd post this to show what can be done. It's amazing what you can do with a bit (or a lot in my case) of elbow grease.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...pskrhl8pws.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psk5u9xrwd.jpg

My method was a quick wash and clay followed by wet sanding using 800, 1200 and then 2000 grit. I sanded with 800 until there was no more yellow residue. Dried them off and applied some Megs PlastX. Took 3 applications until I was happy with the outcome and then applied some of this; https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00A3S1RGU. I might also apply a layer of Collinite 476S wax over the top to add a bit more weatherproofing.

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psuwfoqqhy.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...pstuxv4twk.jpg

http://i165.photobucket.com/albums/u...psrdh3svys.jpg

Much better I'm sure you'll agree. The headlights do have some internal scratches somehow but look absolutely worlds apart from before. Took about 2 hours to complete.

I agree, they look superb. I have to say I don't think mine are weathering well, despite the G1 and G2 treatment and regular applications of paste wax. If it stops raining I'll try to get some pictures.
If I try to polish them again I was going to see if I could find some lacquer to go over the top for more protection

Interesting to hear about how yours have turned out. You do read a lot of horror stories about polishing/sanding and removing that UV protective layer, but surely for a headlight to start yellowing in the first place, that layer has gone.

Does the G1/G2 state it offers UV protection? I wonder how well sun cream would work? I'm sure a bottle of SPF50 would last a while :D

These are how my lights look now, about 4 months after using the wool pad and the G1+G2. The pictures aren't too bad but in the flesh there is a yellow tinge.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...f5ffb9314f.jpg

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.sco...22e19eda49.jpg

Wow this is weird. Remember buying some of this stuff but with the G4 polish as well, putting it in a draw and forgot about. Re-reading this thread and the stuff's still in the draw unused lol. How did it finish up with this stuff with you Cambs_Stuart or did you use something else ?.

I did use the G1+G2, but I have found the lights are tarnishing again, so probably will need to be re-done at some point. Would they have tarnished quicker without the G1+G2? No idea. I'll experiment with something else next time...