sanding headlight??

sean1141

ok so i had condinsation in my headlight the other day. i went about drying it with a heat gun but i kind of melted the plastic lens a little bit. could i use some really fine wet/dry sand paper to sand out where it rippled a little from the heat??

high horse

Don't forget that it will have the same ripple on the inside of the lens so the light will be distorted even if the outside looks fine after sanding

sean1141

i had the lights apart today and there is no ripple on the inside

Owen

Snap a photo, post it up.

cgarrad

Sand it flat, use 800 grit to get it smooth then use a mop on a drill to polish with t-cut. Loads of water and slow speed.

I did it with a police light bar, it came up new.

Great for headlights that have plastic lenses which have dulled due to uv light.

sean1141

will get a pic 2moro.

would 800 not be a bit rough??

tossy

Sean recently sanded out a little scratch in one of my headlights on the new bus,i was with Neil who had a pad on a cordless drill and and some plastic compound from his magic box of tricks,i used wet and dry 1000 grit in between and we got the worst of the scratch out,i would have preferred 1200 grit but we had none handy.

I miss glass headlights!

bmw535d

this is what you need to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw5KSum28dc

sean1141

tossy wrote: »

Sean recently sanded out a little scratch in one of my headlights on the new bus,i was with Neil who had a pad on a cordless drill and and some plastic compound from his magic box of tricks,i used wet and dry 1000 grit in between and we got the worst of the scratch out,i would have preferred 1200 grit but we had none handy.

I miss glass headlights!

sound shane. i might give it a try!
i havent had glass headlights in a long time....:(

Hal1

A combo of wet & dry followed by some T cutting should help rid any scratches.

Matt Simis

Got to wonder on the recommendations of 800 and 1000 grit sandpaper! I was trying to get my old headlight looking as "fresh" as a new one on the opp side. Spent about 5hrs over a period of days working on this.

I had upto 1500 W&D grit paper followed by Cutting Compound (actual "sandpaper in a tube" type cutting compound, not T Cut) and I would say that to get it right, you need 2000 grit minimum, others online who have done it were recommending 3000 grit. I couldnt find 2000, 3000 or Mequiers Plastic Care/Headlight in Halfords and doubt a motorfactors has any of it either. If you use 1000 grit as a max on your headlight you are going to be left with a cloudy mess.

I did find Aluminium Polish though, which despite the name is whats also recommended.

Finally, if you sand part of the headlight you will likely leave a different mark that still stands out. Does your headlight have a plastic protective layer over it (look real close, dont assume it doesnt)?

sean1141

thanks for the replys guys. its more than a scratch im trying to get rid of..
no protective layer...

Wibbs

bmw535d wrote: »

this is what you need to do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw5KSum28dc

Cheaper option again is good oul fashioned Brasso metal polish. Same job, a fraction of the price.

If it's beyond fine sandpaper and t-cut/meguiars/brasso and actual rippling has occurred then TBH I'd say head for a scrapyard sorry to say.

VolvoMan

I just use conventional T-Cut on plastic lens headlamps and find it works fine.

Voodoomelon

Where's the best place to get one of those pads above that you can attach to a drill?

MetzgerMeister

Voodoomelon wrote: »

Where's the best place to get one of those pads above that you can attach to a drill?

www.detailer.ie

Or contact Seperate on here.

frans crash repairs

I'd try 2000 paper wet, then a good cutting compound like G6, for headlamps I wouldn't bother with a buffing head if you haven't got one, just rub it by hand.

sean1141

ok here 8is the damage. cam phone pics so not the best..