Clearing healdights, and etc.
 

Im gunna be clearing my headlights soon, as well as a few other vehicles lights. I know there have been a thousand threads of this but this is my version. It seems there are a few different methods. One, is to get sandpaper and wetsand the lights, then use a plastic restore. Another seems to be use a plastic enhancer buffed on, then a restorer. And the last is basically clearcoat them. My question is, which lasts the longest, which is the most effective usually, and if i were to clearcoat them, how would i do so? Besides simply spraying them with clearcoat. Any info appreciated.

I think sanding would be the most effective way to go about this. First of all with the other methods you are just covering up the problem, by wet sanding you are taking the oxidation from the lights off and restoring the plastic. I'm not sure exactly what the plastic restorer does or how it works so I don't have much to say on that part.

Applying a clearcoat over the contaminated surface doesn't make sense, I'm sure it works but wouldn't last long or look very good either.

Also, I don't know what a plastic enhancer is. I could only guess that it works like rubbing compound while you buff out the imperfections. Clearcoating isn't bad unless you don't take the proper procedures to get rid of the foggy oxidation.

I know of reallllyyyyyy professional detailers (that charge like thousands of dollars for ONE car and do things like old-school Lambos, Porsches, etc.) who just use an orbital polisher with basically a rubbing compound on the headlights. Same concept you'd use for paint.

Sanding would work too, but a lot of work put into that one and its not like the build-up is THAT hard to get off. Just use rubbing compound and then a final polisher and voila!

Where do you get shit like that? No fucking clue lol.

I go to autogeek.net for allot of my shit. They sell damn near everything car care related. My car isnt the bad one, but it feels rough to the touch, because of big ass grasshoppers tearing the plastic up. But some of the other cars im working on are damn near piss yellow. I figure if im gunna clearcoat it im gunna wetsand to get the oxidation off, then clear it. On mine id tint them a bit as well cause i just ordered an HID kit from spike.

Isn't this almost exactly what I just said.

The only thing I really was disagreeing with was the 'let me just clearcoat these and call it a day' method that deathdiesel had learned about.

If I was going to do my own personal headlights I would more than likely just use the wet sanding method and then PlastX as a follow up. Or if I found out that a rubbing compound for plastic worked well with getting off all the oxidation I would do that instead of sanding because obviously it would be alot less work involved with potentially the same result.

Go to Tap Plastics, ask them for their 3-stage plastic polish. You can apply and use it with a paper towel if you want. Works great takes minimal effort, very hard to screw up the job.

The main reason why im wanting to clearcoat it, is it looks smoother, i can tint it to whatever % i like, and i already have a quart of it. The only thing im worried about Plastcx is that it will leave a residue or cause the clearcoat to not stick or peel over time. And r3d, wheres tap plastics at? Website or in person store? With the other headlights im open to polishing and etc, then restore with plasticx, but because i wanna tint mine sometime, why not do it while i have the chance?

http://www.tapplastics.com/

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=113& is the specific product I'm talking about. A german buddy of mine turned me onto it. The only liquids that were good enough to recondition DVD's that had been scratched up pretty bad. Now I can write those DVD's. It says not to use the most coarse of the 3 (#3) on the types of plastic that you're playing with but if you're careful and gentle and the scratches are deep enough then you have both a reason and a method.

I love the stuff. Takes less effort and leaves a cleaner finish than anything else I've tried. Works on metals too but only with #2 and #1 compounds and takes a bit more effort or an orbital polisher.

A little bottle goes a long way.

So think i should do that to clear headlights? Would i be able to follow after that with a clearcoat? And how long does it last if not?

they'll clear up nice. I would not spray clear coat on them as there is no need if they're polished they're polished. The polishing will last longer than a clear coat and when you scuff them again you can just buff them out instead of stripping them and then re-clearing them as you would with the coating option.

I don't like coatings on headlights.... they always seem to yellow. If you want to you can but you'd also need an adhesion promoter mixed in the clear or the whole coating is likely to flake off regardless of if you polish them first.

So, polish, don't paint (cleacoat=paint). Cheaper, easier, better, longer.

Grr, maybe ill hold off on my headlights then, but do the others. I really dont like my headlights atm, the chrome housing ones ftl...i wish there were fucking junkyards nearby so i could atleast pick up the black housing ones. Alright thanks for all the help guys. Ill update you guys on what happens.

Have you checked craigslist? I see them for sale all the time here, maybe you will have some luck.

Very true, ill have to take a look.

Nope. Not all.

You said to wetsand.

I said sanding was too much work, there are polisher compounds that do way better jobs. And wetsanding would only be needed if extreme.

Then you said to just use a rubbing compound instead of sanding.

The link r3d gave you is the link the detailer I was talking about sent me as well. So r3d knows his shit, once again.

What a shocker. Lulz Also should i even bother buying the level 3?

I don't feel like getting into an argument over this so I will end it here.

From seeing your siggy I dont think you'll need the level 3. You should be good to go after you use the 2 and 1. I see what you mean now, I think you will be better off buying some used 01-04 headlights and restoring those. It cant cost too much.

You said you didn't even know what plastic restorer was...so how could you agree with me? Lol

And no deathdiesel, it never surprises me when r3d is right about something lol.

I say just get the stage 1 and 2, if you encounter some really hard stuff just put some extra elbow grease into it lol.

for 3 bucks, get the level 3 too. You can fix the fading that ALWAYS happens to the high-mount 3rd brake light lens with it. You'll need the level 3 to get that done. But like I said, it's 3 bucks. Get it. THen you'll have the whole thing.

BTW, level 3 is pretty fine in its own right. It's coarser than 2 but it's still a liquid and not quite sand.