Headlight Trouble

"Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available" (whoistheleader2) 06/21/2020 at 12:27 • Filed to: headlight restoration

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I bought a headlight restoration kit to get rid of the fogginess on my headlights.

To be more specific, I bought this kit (review pending).

It worked great when I tested it on my dad’s 02 Tundra headlights. However, my car has the post 2010 style plastic composition with a much tougher UV protection that as a result is much tougher to sand off. Here’s what it looked like before.

I couldn’t remove them because that involves taking the bumper off. So I masked around them a lot.

Here’s what they looked like before I applied the polish. It is supposed to be vaguely foggy by this point and is consistent with the excellent results I achieved before on much less finicky plastic.

Here’s what they came out like. As you can see, the main part of the headlights are actually less clear than when I started. It is uniformly slightly foggy instead of being very clear in one spot while very yellowed on the horizontal surfaces.

What they looked like before for reference. I did much more sanding on every level of grit than I did with dad’s truck because I knew these would be much trickier. You can’t see it in pictures as well but there are noticeable marks from the circular motion of the drill and there are spots of uneven fogginess. The complex shape made it difficult but I was very careful to keep wiping the face down so I could tell where to direct my attention. Any thoughts?

I have thought about masking off the good vertical area for the other headlight and just defogging the bad area at the pointed tips. Do you think this is a good idea?

Nibby > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 12:32

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burn the car and get a new one

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 12:34

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You need fog lights, big ones like my Miwi

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 12:39

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I had my passenger side headlight done awhile ago and it’s come back even worse. Thinking I’m just going to get a replacement light from Ebay again as I did for the driver’s side one (though I replaced the driver’s side one due to a crack, not due to UV damage).

I thin it was like $160 or $180 or something? But my headlights can be removed without taking the bumper off...so that helps in my case...

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/21/2020 at 12:44

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I don’t want to be spending that kind of bank without actual irreversible damage. Do you think that I could just mask off the part of the headlights that are good and do the partial defog on the bad parts?

My mom’s Volvo’s headlights are held in with two easily removable stakes and they have never once fallen out. Why is this so hard? Volvo isn’t even known for making their cars easy to service, unlike Chevy. Dang you Daewoo!

Also I have bigger problems now because all my photos in Google photos that I have ever edited using the in app tools have duplicated as many times as I’ve edited them. Basically, I now have about 1,000 duplicate photos spread out over years. :(

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Nibby 06/21/2020 at 12:44

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Or I could burn the headlights and get new ones. Of course that means taking the bumper off. Sigh.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/21/2020 at 12:45

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That is an arms race of light that I am not prepared to win.

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 12:47

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You can win!

FSI > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 13:15

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There are headlight restoration kits which use wet sanding. Maybe try that

Edit: I'm blind. 

gokstate > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 13:16

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I’ve done this a couple of times. I’ve found the kit makes a big difference in the end result (Turtle wax-no good, 3M-good). I’ve also found that sometimes doing the whole process twice gives a better result. The progressive finer grit leading to the polish should eliminate the sanding marks. Sometimes, go back to coarser , then finer again---persistent marks may mean a deeper sand wasn’t taken off before moving to the next stage?  I’m not an expert but good results should be somewhat attainable.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > FSI 06/21/2020 at 13:17

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Yes, it was a kit designed to use wet sanding and I did not forget the water. You're good.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 06/21/2020 at 13:18

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But at what cost? AT WHAT COST?!?! 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > gokstate 06/21/2020 at 13:18

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I am on the fence whether I want to redo the passenger side before the driver to see if I should try just masking off the good part on the remaining headlight. Perhaps a few repeats are in order. Thank you.

RacinBob > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 13:41

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I used that kit on my ‘07 Si and ‘07 Uplander with satisfactory results a year ago . I do think you need to invest a lot of time with the wetsanding. Also I would cover anything under the hood because the wetsanding plastic spray is such fine particulate that it really does not clean off of under hood plastic parts once dried.

One thing I noticed this spring is that they were hazing again, that makes sense as there is no longer any protection. As such I repeated the process. I also bought this kit to provide a coating.It works but the method of application was a hassle and left an irregular coating with application lines.

It might be the best stuff, as it went on thick.

https://www.amazon.com/SYLVANIA-Headlight-Restoration-Headlights-Protection/dp/B01KIVYE6G

If it starts failing next year, I would consider something like this next time. https://www.amazon.com/Meguiars-G17804-Clear-Headlight-Coating/dp/B01M4RVVX6/ref=pd_lpo_263_t_1/140-8651258-9242705?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B01M4RVVX6&pd_rd_r=72e811bb-9de4-4cc6-9f01-546ec449a6fa&pd_rd_w=J28rI&pd_rd_wg=xOEg5&pf_rd_p=7b36d496-f366-4631-94d3-61b87b52511b&pf_rd_r=GHRCPY6VH02XSZNQR743&psc=1&refRID=GHRCPY6VH02XSZNQR743

Here is my headlight.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 13:50

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Hmmm...I may have a weird solution to your duplicate problem....what OS are you running?

415s30 W123TSXWaggoIIIIIIo ( •_•))°) > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 14:02

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Your dignity 

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RacinBob 06/21/2020 at 14:08

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Thanks for the tip about the plastics. I’ll cover them next time. I’m afraid I may not have wiped them down all that well this time.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/21/2020 at 14:09

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Google Photos app through Chrome but most of the editing was done on my android phone (Moto G6+). 

avalonian > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 15:15

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There’s a place in Georgia called certifit, I’ve recommended them here a few times. I got 2 brand new headlights for 100 bucks. And it’s done tremendous wonders for my 05 accord call looks brand new!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > avalonian 06/21/2020 at 15:17

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I'll look into it but if I'm going to spend 100 bucks it'll be on some real good brake pads. I've been putting that off. Rear drums are at least economical to operate since they don't need to be serviced as often. Not that they really do much.

Mid Engine > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 16:19

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I bought the Griots kit to do my Cayman, I’ll get er done this week. It’s supposed to be the best because the last step is spraying new UV protecta nt on the clean headlight.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Mid Engine 06/21/2020 at 16:25

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The one I bought uses a wax and buff application of UV protectant.

Thisismydisplayname > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 16:27

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You may have to step up to some 800 grit to get all the yellow off, then it’s just a matter of backing back out the grits till you get to 3000 and then polish.  Or get some 2k clear to spray over after the 3000 grit, or even spray at the 1500 or 2000 grit phase and use the 3000 to wet sand after the clear to get rid of any orange peel, then polish.  I had some Cadillac headlights that were way gone and that was the route I took, but sprayed clear at the 1500 grit mark then did a light wet sand after clear and polish.  They turned out great and lasted well for the 3-4 years I drove the car.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Thisismydisplayname 06/21/2020 at 16:37

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This more modern plastic compound is much more difficult than the other headlights I’ve done this one. I’ve wet sanded on the grit levels that came with the kit using the included cordless drill attachment. I may just have to repeat a few times since the surface damage is still visible.

Thisismydisplayname > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/21/2020 at 22:48

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Yeah might just be a matter of rinse and repeat.  Until all the yellowing and damaged areas are gone and smoother out, not sense to back out to the polish.  Unless you clear coat, that will give you a bit to fill in some bad spots and allow you to polish it out, but you really need to get the yellow gone first.  

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > Thisismydisplayname 06/21/2020 at 23:10

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I did about four passes with the 800 grit. No yellow after the first. I think I may need a few more 800 and a whole lot of 3000 to cut deep enough. Whatever they put on from the factory felt pretty thick. I'm going to keep working on the one before I try the other.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/22/2020 at 07:18

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Hmmm.....can’t help you then. If Google Photos was compatible with the Windows Google Backup & Sync app, I could’ve suggested something.

The only other option I can think of is that you could (and this might sound insane, depending how organized your photos are within Google Photos) DOWNLOAD ALL of your photos from GPhotos to your PC, DELETE THEM from GPhotos, so they are only on your computer and use the Duplicate Commander Windows app to look for duplicates and delete them in your downloaded GPhotos folder, then re-upload ALL OF THE PICS back to GPhotos?

Would be a PITA if your Photos in GPhotos were all organized by albums and such, but if not, this would speed things up rather than you having to go through them all manually. D.Commander works really well - I’ve used it before!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/22/2020 at 08:51

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Huh. That might work but I think it would just barely be faster to do it manually. Thank you though.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/22/2020 at 09:44

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No worries, but if it’s literally a thousand duplicates, I still think this might be quicker, haha!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars 06/22/2020 at 09:48

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It’s only two or three and occasionally four depending on how many times I’ve tweaked the photos. Very strange. I can’t find another case of just edited photos duplicating online.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available 06/22/2020 at 10:00

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Very odd!