How To Restore Headlights PERMANENTLY | Easy DIY Step By Step Guide | No Expensive Tools Needed
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- Опубліковано 8 вер 2024
- If you are considering restoring your own tired dull old headlights then this step by step guide may just be what you are looking for.
In this video I will show you how I prepare and restore headlights taking them from dull, yellow, hazy and opaque to clear and bright and looking like new.
I prepare the lights by wet sanding to remove the oxidisation and contaminants before applying a 2K (2 part) Clearcoat with UV protection.
Once the Clearcoat has fully cured I will then wet sand again to remove the orange peel left by spraying the clearcoat before moving on to cutting and polishing to fully restore the lights to their former glory.
This isn’t some quick and temporary method using things like toothpaste or oil but a permanent restoration which will last many years to come.
There are no special tools needed and anyone can restore their own headlights with this method, all that is needed is a bit of care, effort and patience and the results are fantastic.
It’s a job that I love doing and I do get slightly engrossed doing it 🙂
The products and equipment I use are:
1. Wet and Dry Sand Paper (600, 1000, 2000 and 3000 Grit)
2. Masking Tape
3. Masking Paper (News paper will do)
4. Bucket, Sponge Pad & Water
5. Isopropyl 99.9% Rubbing Alcohol
6. Micro Fibre Cloths
7. Spray Max 2K Clearcoat 400ml
8. Respirator / Mask
9. Menzerna 1000 Heavy Cut Compound
10. Meguiar's Ultimate Compound
11. Meguiar's Ultimate Polish
If you enjoy or find this video helpful please hit that "thumbs up" like button for me and consider subscribing, I would really appreciate it 🙏
Thank you for watching
Kendric
Very detailed DIY work. I will try on my two cars
@mahendranr1317 good luck with your DIY 👍
Very nice video with a great demo of the correct techniques! I loved the music, too. Q: Do you anticipate or have heard any issues with thermal expansion on the hard coating? Is there perhaps some value in getting a great shine through sand/polish and then just applying a quality UV coat/cure product?
Thank you very much @picknswing 🙏 I did when I first tried out this technique consider the potential impact of the different thermal expansion coefficients of the materials. On balance I decided to go ahead with it on Range Rover headlights and see what I experienced first hand . I can say that a couple of years later I didn’t experience any issues but I do only use the Spraymax 2K brand of clearcoat on the basis it didn’t cause me any issues so I stuck with it 😊 You can as you suggest also get the best shine you can with sanding and polishing and use a uv coat product but I don't personally have any experience of that method.
thank you kendric. during the hour+ video i imagined what watching paint dry might look like. however, your patience (and mine) was rewarded with the great result.
do you have any thoughts about using an electric buffer for some or all of the sanding procedure?
@dr.tophbocchiaro5118 It is a bit long isn’t it 😃 maybe I should have edited about 99% of the video out 😊
Oh well you live and learn.
I’m painting in my next video so you can actually experience watching paint dry in that one 😆
Anyway...It doesn’t take long by hand so using electric one wont save an awful lot of time but I would definitely take the headlight out if you are going to use one and it is suitable for wet sanding. An electric buffer / polisher for the final stages would be useful.
OK, thank you very much for your good advice
@bernardindesienne6226 you're welcome 👍
Can you clearcoat a brand new headlight to prevent the fade? No wet sanding.
Hi @MegaHowtoMan , new headlights will already have a clear coat and UV inhibitor applied to them. It’s this coating that eventually breaks down and allows the acrylic lens to be further contaminated giving the dull hazy headlights.. It’s our restoration process in this video that is removing the contamination and opaqueness that is the result of the factory applied clear coat failing. So new headlights do not need clear coating as they should already have it. Restoring your old headlights is just a far cheaper option than replacing with new headlights.