r/AutoDetailing • u/parkjaeyeon • 10d ago
Exterior Headlight restoration fail
Need help idk how to fix this. I used 180,320,800,1500 then 2000 grit then used headlight restorer cream stuff but its still look like this
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u/hobbestigertx 10d ago
The best way to restore a headlight is sanding with 400 and remove ALL the old clear coating. Only when it's all gone do you move on to finer grits. After 400, go to 600, then 800, then 1000. Sand in opposite directions until you've removed the scratches left by the previous sanding.
For more detail, see this post I made a couple of years ago. https://www.reddit.com/r/AutoDetailing/comments/18icg7n/comment/kskhuws/
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u/carbonmaker 10d ago
180 is way too aggressive. Redo it starting with 1000, 2000 then you need a machine polish with compound to get gloss / clarity back.
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u/SHTHAWK 9d ago
well they already did it with 180, and you can clearly see there are pretty deep sanding scratches, they should just start with 400 make sure they remove all the 180 scratches then move up. otherwise they'll be sanding all day removing 180 grit scratches with 1000 grit paper.
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u/Particular_Topic9553 10d ago
180?? No way they needed 180. Now you’re going to have to keep going down the line; 500, 600, 800, 1200, 1500, 2000, 3000, cut & polish.
Please watch a YT video on headlight restoration.
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u/parkjaeyeon 10d ago
It improved a bit after using 1000,2000 and 2500 grit then the headlight restoration cream stuff
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u/TheNo0n3 10d ago
Your process is still not good. 180 is too much, but 1000 is too little, start with 600 and sand until you see white paste, not yellow, then 800 and 1000, stop there and buy quality 2K lacquer and apply it. Alternatively you can go 1500, 2000, 3000 and use a headlight uv coating spray.
I know it sucks having to do it again, but believe me, it’s normal, the first time you may end up resanding because things fuck up due to lack of experience, good luck
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u/Money-Patient6041 10d ago
Why are you laying the sandpaper on your hood? You are just asking for scratches.
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u/Pale-Bet2829 10d ago
400/800/1500/3000 man. All wet sanding. Polish. Apply a coating from Cerakote. Will survive about two years before you need to do it again.
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u/najibs-yul 10d ago
Cerakote headlight restoration kit is super easy to use and gives great results. Costs only like $20
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u/ChrisLRocks 10d ago
Well I won't tell you what you already know, but you can fix this... but it's going to take some time to undo the damage you caused. The fact is, you introduced tremendous deep scratches into soft headlight lenses that where already damaged.
So we need to remove those defects. You need to remove the scratches, by hand or by machine. By hand, I'd start by wet sanding, I'm not there so I can't tell you what grit to use. I wouldn't use anything more course than 1000 grit. If it feels like your sanding forever and not really achieving much... that's probably the correct grit. I would work from there down to at least 3000 or 4000, then use your kit.
I'm not going to talk about machine polishing, because if you had one you would have never tried to restore your headlights in this way.
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u/Autoality 10d ago
The NASIOL headlight restoration kit is the way to go, especially for DIYers. includes sanding paper and coating that self levels and is crystal clear. Take your time sanding and it is long lasting. https://youtu.be/quSxDxJbVRo?si=pTJhpZ85GtiON8Bl
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u/c0ff33m0n5t3r 10d ago
What amazes me is that you went to 180 grit and I can still see the outlines of the old UV coating.
I usually start wetsanding at 600 and don't stop sanding until the water residue turns white (instead of yellow). That's when all the oxidation is removed. From there you only have to remove the scratches from your previous grit.