Should I sand my headlights? Help me out.

P

Preachers Sheets

New member
When I purchased my car there were a ton of little pits in my headlights. I am looking to make my headlights new without spending 499.60!!!!!!!!!!!! :mad: I don't like the way they look when my car is freshly detailed, they really stand out.



Can I sand my headlights with a very light sand paper then use a plastic polish until they look new?



I sanded my shifter, used a wheel polisher then a metal polish to make my shifter look new, does the same idea apply here?
 
that depends... how deep are the chips?? got pics we could use to determine the extent of the dammage?



also I'm sure there are alot of junked LS1-style camaros around in junkyards (even v6's have the same headlights) maybe you could get some used ones that are in better shape for less than ordering from GM parts...
 
If you sand too much off there wont be much UV protection left since it resides on the top layers just like paint.
 
My concerns would echo SLD's. How deep are these "pitts"?



My first impression is that if the surface damage is that wide spread (basically the entire light) and goes down into the structure of the plastic sanding is probably not the best option for your case.
 
Almost like the pits on your windsheild but much smaller. If you ran your nail across a new headlight and my headlight they would feel the same. They are really really tiny but there are so many of them.
 
Are you sure they are on the outer part of the lens? I ask because you say you can't really feel them. If they are on the inner part of the lens that's a whole different ballgame.
 
I am sure they are on the outside but they are so small that your nail won't get caught in them like a scratch or anything. They are not deep at all.



I didn't know if it was possible to sand or not. Even if I try it a little with a very weak sand paper I can still fix the marring the sand paper will cause with a plastic polish right?



Ever use a clearcoat polish on plastic?
 
Joe,



You can use a paint polish on plastic. I have used FI2 to buff lenses before. It was to remove oxidation though, never actual surface damage.



I you really want to try sanding give it a whirl. Let us know how it comes out. :)
 
We'll see how fast I break down and spend the 499.60 :)



I'll try my best to get pictures of before and after. I plan on using a very very very light sandpaper. Using a plastic polish to get rid of sanding marks doesn't seem like a 5 minute process.



I don't use my car throughout the week so I am going to remove the headlights and put them in my room and spend a few hours a day on them.



I'll let you guys know what happens for sure!
 
Have you tried using Plexus on the headlights? Because the pits are so small, I'm wondering if the Plexus might fill it and make things less noticable.



-ema
 
Polish the original lens to the best shine and appearance available without damaging the UV protectation and optics and than purchasing some clear headlight covers which are/may still be available for 98 and up Camaros. Jeg had some left last November at a discount ( they are not listed in their catalog but a phone call will tell you if they are still available). These lens covers are plastic and are easily maintained with Plexus. Not only do they offer protection but will re-establish that detailed light appearance that you can only get, from your description, now unless you buy new fixtures. Just a thought.:wavey
 
I had similar problem before on my headlight covers, but it was just yellowish problem. I dont remember if I had any pits but I just wanted it to be nice and clear.

What I did was,

1. wet-sanded with 2000 grit sandpaper.

2. Novus #3,#2,#1 scratch remover.

3. Apply Plexus.

and turned out to be clear covers.



However I need to apply Novus once/ 1-2 months because somehow they become Yellow again after car washes.



I'm not sure if Plexus helped at all. I like the smell but I'm not a big fan of Plexus. However I can say this, Novus scratch remover worked great on my headlights.:up
 
I think your yellowing problem is not related to the Plexus.



I tried to wet sand the headlights on my wife's mini van. I tried in a really small area. A coating was on the lights which when I looked a little closer, I realized that the coating was making the lens' sparkle. I stopped sanding quickly!



Apparently, there is some kind of reflective coating on the headlights that makes them shine. I can see very clearly where this coating in failing and is wearing off, leaving a dull lens below. I used Meg's # 9 and a buffing wheel on a drill to polish up what I could.



It turned out OK, but the layer that is breaking down concerns me.:confused:



Has anybody else seen this problem???:nixweiss
 
I've been thinking about sanding mine also. I had the right side headlight replaced when my car got wrecked and you can see the left side headlight is dulled by tons of little pits. Regular polish certainly isn't strong enough to remove them.



I may test a small area and see what happens.
 
Scott, sounds you know exactly what I am talking about. The light is dull because of the pits, that are that many small pits to make the light look dull.



When do you plan on doing this? I am going to try this upcoming week, sounds like I'll go with 2000 grit, maybe even a bit more mild.
 
I was going to get the 3M wetsanding kit they sell at Autozone-mostly because it is closer than my Meguiars distributer who has the uni-grit system.



Maybe in the next few days. Depends on the weather and how much time I have.
 
Well if you sand before me let me know how long it took you, I'll just add three days on top of that hahaha



The 3M kit is what I'll end up buying as well.



Kind of stinks that my headlights have those "hairs", almost like they were poured from a mold. If that wasn't the story I could take my PC to the headlight without tearing up the pad.
 
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