Restoring Headlights with a Dual-Action Polisher


DV8

DV8

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Just thought I'd post up a quick how-to, especially as new honda lights are such a big rip off now... need some special kit to do it this way (and there are other ways of doing it) but I thought this could come in handy anyways:

1. One lovely milky looking headlight - mask off around the headlight as the polish has a pretty heavy cut and you don't want to unnecessarily remove paint

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2. I used a Meguiar's G220 with a polishing pad (there are cheaper alternatives) + a decent cutting polish (Menzerna in this case)

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3. Work the polish in at a slow speed and then increase to full speed... buff off with a MF cloth - this is the result:

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4. Finally seal with decent wax:

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5. Job done :nice:

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Feel free to move this to the appropriate area if required. :naughty:
 
Good post mate, that makes a serious amount of difference i need to get that sorted for my car, just out of interest where did you buy the electric buffer from? Thanks
 
good job mate. ive done this a few times using my rotary polisher and the headlights come up a treat every time. allways start off with the least aggressive polish(such as menzerna finial finish). if that doesnt work then you need a more aggressive polish such as menzerna intensive polish. also dont bother hand polishing as you wont see abig difference. either use a da or rotary polisher for effective results
 
V1KKM said:
Good post mate, that makes a serious amount of difference i need to get that sorted for my car, just out of interest where did you buy the electric buffer from? Thanks
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Google "DA Polisher" mate... there's a few about.

Firas said:
good job mate. ive done this a few times using my rotary polisher and the headlights come up a treat every time. allways start off with the least aggressive polish(such as menzerna finial finish). if that doesnt work then you need a more aggressive polish such as menzerna intensive polish. also dont bother hand polishing as you wont see abig difference. either use a da or rotary polisher for effective results
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Thanks mate :D

I only suggested Power Gloss as it will defiantly get the job done (especially with a DA) and I didn't want members to buy loads of kit for one job or buy a lighter polish and be disappointed with the results. If you were talking about paint I'd def agree - ALWAYS start with a lighter polisher unless you have a paint depth gauge and know what your doing. :nice:

tico_ek9 said:
in 2 months they will be back to ugly again!
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Disagree, if waxed properly it will last longer than that... not forever though and will eventually fade again.

If you have this kit though they are easy to maintain anyway... :nice:
 
Nice job:nice: Out of interest do you use the D.A polisher on the bodywork of your car also?
 
Vtec6000 said:
Nice job:nice: Out of interest do you use the D.A polisher on the bodywork of your car also?
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Yep... just not with that polish and pad combo, bit too harsh unless you have really bad swirls and know what your doing.

I use it with Autoglym SRP or Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze and a finishing pad once or twice a year and coat with a good wax... other than that it never needs any polishing. :nice:
 
DV8 said:
Yep... just not with that polish and pad combo, bit too harsh unless you have really bad swirls and know what your doing.

I use it with Autoglym SRP or Meguiars #80 Speed Glaze and a finishing pad once or twice a year and coat with a good wax... other than that it never needs any polishing. :nice:
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With the likes of Autoglym SRP and a finishing pad is it safe enough to use with a little pressure applied or could you cut into the paint easily if not carefull? Thinking about buying a DA polisher just a little weary of using one incase I mess the paint up:nerv: The jap cars seem to have relatively thin paint
 
Vtec6000 said:
With the likes of Autoglym SRP and a finishing pad is it safe enough to use with a little pressure applied or could you cut into the paint easily if not carefull? Thinking about buying a DA polisher just a little weary of using one incase I mess the paint up:nerv: The jap cars seem to have relatively thin paint
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It's fine mate... AFAIK SRP has hardly any cut in it anyway... it's mostly a filler polish... Your relatively safe with a DA and a light polish, that's the joy of using one. :nice:
 
Vtec6000 said:
With the likes of Autoglym SRP and a finishing pad is it safe enough to use with a little pressure applied or could you cut into the paint easily if not carefull? Thinking about buying a DA polisher just a little weary of using one incase I mess the paint up:nerv: The jap cars seem to have relatively thin paint
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you dont need to apply presure mate. thats the whole point of machine polishing. it does the work for you. depends on how swirled your car is really. srp only hides swirles as it contains filling compounds. to get rid of swirls your gonna need a different pad/polish combinations to get the best results. jap paint is thin so i would be very careful not to use something very aggressive.

i use menzerna polishes as they ahve worked for me very well. start off with the least abrasive polish then if that doesnt cure the problem use a more abrasive polish.

as for machine polishers the da is relatively safe as its random orbital. more care is needed with rotary polishers as they spin at very high speeds and are obviously not random orbital. however saying that it is still very difficult to burn off the paint even using a rotary polisher. if your not comfortable using a machine poisher then go to the scrapies and get a spare pannel to practice on.
 
Firas said:
if your not comfortable using a machine poisher then go to the scrapies and get a spare pannel to practice on.
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Good idea cheers:nice: I imagine its alot easier polishing the whole car with a DA polisher than by hand:woot:
 
Vtec6000 said:
Good idea cheers:nice: I imagine its alot easier polishing the whole car with a DA polisher than by hand:woot:
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no problem mate. actually it will take you longer to machine polish. you need to spend time working the polsih into each pannel, however you will never get anywhere near the same results hand polishing. if done correctly the paint will be as smooth as glass and as refelctive as a mirror.
 
Thats the results that I have got from using a DA on my paintwork, takes time, but well worth it, and there is no way you will get that finish with hand. If your going to use a DA I would recommend that you clay bar the car first, you will be amazed at how much crap comes out of the paint, and you will get a better finish also. My car is like glass now, so smooth.

Again this works well on the headlights and give them a new life. I also dont agree that they will fade straight away. Not true, its probably several years of grime etc on them to cause that, why after several days of removing it would it suddenly appear again, just doesnt happen. As said, if you seal them with wax or similar then any grime that gets on them will wash off easily anyway.

To put this into perspective, I washed and clay barred a '08 Mini Cooper S and the amount of crud in the paint you wouldnt believe, for a car that has less than 5k miles on it. So you can imagine what will come off an older car. Once this is done then the car will stay cleaner longer and the dirt washes off so easily also. I hardly have to touch my car now, the dirt that does manage to attach to it just rinses off.

Any more help, drop me a line, spent a lot of time,money and effort doing this. Well worth the time/effort.

Dont get a cheap halfrauds DA, you need a decent one, like the Meguair one above, something that has variable speed.

Ben
 
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