Refinishing headlight lense vs buying new/near new headlights?

[tmontague]

I've sanded, polished and then clear coated my headlights on both my card and have had no yellowing or clouding come back. If you do it properly it will work for a decade. The key is to re coat with a non yellowing uv resistant clear coat with multiple coats applied. The sanding strips off the faxtory coat which is why the yellowing and clouding happens.

Like you said, not much will protect against rocks and bolts though.

[tarkus]

Originally Posted by tmontague

I've sanded, polished and then clear coated my headlights on both my card and have had no yellowing or clouding come back. If you do it properly it will work for a decade. The key is to re coat with a non yellowing uv resistant clear coat with multiple coats applied. The sanding strips off the faxtory coat which is why the yellowing and clouding happens.

With the lenses newly polished by a professional body shop, I found a very subtle yellowness compared to a brand new lens. But this is really subtle and wouldn't be noticed without placing a brand new one right beside. Overall, I highly recommend repolishing.

Sent from my LG G2 with CM13 using Tapatalk

[tmontague]

Originally Posted by tarkus

With the lenses newly polished by a professional body shop, I found a very subtle yellowness compared to a brand new lens. But this is really subtle and wouldn't be noticed without placing a brand new one right beside. Overall, I highly recommend repolishing.

Sent from my LG G2 with CM13 using Tapatalk

I haven't compared my results to brand new lenses but I sand them with various grits for about 3 hours and the whole process takes me about 5 hours. I suppose a professional could also use power tools to speed it up but generally time is of the essence with them so it could be possible that they didn't take enough off. Or it may not be possible to get them the same as brand new lenses.

[tarkus]

Originally Posted by tmontague

Or it may not be possible to get them the same as brand new lenses.

I believe that to be the case, as it looks like the clear plastic has slightly altered in color over time all the way through - its a 2006. Keep in mind that the lens is subjected to a lot of heat from the halogen bulbs, from the inside. But you wouldn't know without directly comparing to a brand new lense.

The body shop who did the job are family friends of mine, and their standard of work is phenomenally good.



Sent from my LG G2 with CM13 using Tapatalk

[othater]

Originally Posted by tmontague

I've sanded, polished and then clear coated my headlights on both my card and have had no yellowing or clouding come back. If you do it properly it will work for a decade. The key is to re coat with a non yellowing uv resistant clear coat with multiple coats applied. The sanding strips off the faxtory coat which is why the yellowing and clouding happens.

Like you said, not much will protect against rocks and bolts though.

Hi, What brand clear coat with UV protection did you use?

[miiser]

Originally Posted by othater

Hi, What brand clear coat with UV protection did you use?

It's American accents


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk