Evillusion Supersonic January 21, 2022 Share January 21, 2022 This guy took too many short cut but result still ok ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamburger Hypersonic January 21, 2022 Share January 21, 2022 Toothpaste is what it is intended for. To brush our teeth. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 (edited) 18 hours ago, Evillusion said: I did it own my own. Buy water proof abrasive paper, grit 400, 600, 800, 1500 and 2000 each. Cut them to smaller size. Spray paint lacquer clear coat (Good ones not MIC brand). Thrash bag to protect the car frontpaint work. 1. Use water proof paper 400 + water to remove the initial layer of the headlight till rather smooth. Best is use straight stroke as the initial layer of plastic will be very rough due to usage. Headlight plastic cover will be very dull and cloudy. 2. Continue with the remaining water proof paper 600 and so on so forth until the headlight plastic is really smooth. 3. When using 800-2000 grit paper, try to use circular motions to make the surface as even and smooth as possible. 4. Cover the headlight with the plastic thrasbag and cut according to the headlights shape and use masking tape to cover all expose cars paintwork around the headlight. 5. Make sure the headlight is free from water dust and water. 6. Spray the headlight with the clear coat. You will need to spray 3 layers of clear coat minimum. PS* I used a MIC spray paint and it dried like maps on the headlight....but its ok as it is very light and can only be noticed if you take a very close look. Thats why i suggested to buy a good spraypaint brand. It looks kinda new....better than the rough yellowish surface it once was. Total damage was less than $20 for both headlights and it gave ne a good exercise while using the abrasive papers. Sounds very similar to what I did except for step 4. For step 4, for the 3 levels of sandpaper grit, I used horizontal, vertical, and then horizontal. No circular motions at all. Main problem encountered is when the first pass is done and the headlight lens become cloudy - it gets hard to distinguish which areas have been done and which areas haven't. Once all sanding is done, for step 5 I used 70% isopropyl alcohol to clean the lens from all the contaminants from the sanding prep work. Unfortunately if there is crazing within the headlights, restoration won't be able to eliminate that at all. The "maps" like thing you mentioned sounds more like due to the coats being sprayed on too thick - leading to overspray and uneven drying. It is always very tempting for the first pass to do a "gao gao" layer and cover as much as you can in 1 pass, but one has to always remember that the best effect is to have several thin layers which dry fast and gives a smooth effect, and to spray from side to side, starting with the spray directed at nothing - then sweep across to the lens - and then end the spray after the nozzle is out of the zone of the lens. This is because the start of the spray and the end of the spray will always be thicker than in the middle of the spraying. And never spray starting directly on the lens surface! Edited January 22, 2022 by Comage 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 17 hours ago, Evillusion said: This guy took too many short cut but result still ok Anyone can do restoration - just need to remove the oxidized layer of plastic. But doing a good job that lasts - that's the key. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BanCoe Hypersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 18 hours ago, Evillusion said: I did it own my own. Buy water proof abrasive paper, grit 400, 600, 800, 1500 and 2000 each. Cut them to smaller size. Spray paint lacquer clear coat (Good ones not MIC brand). Thrash bag to protect the car frontpaint work. 1. Use water proof paper 400 + water to remove the initial layer of the headlight till rather smooth. Best is use straight stroke as the initial layer of plastic will be very rough due to usage. Headlight plastic cover will be very dull and cloudy. 2. Continue with the remaining water proof paper 600 and so on so forth until the headlight plastic is really smooth. 3. When using 800-2000 grit paper, try to use circular motions to make the surface as even and smooth as possible. 4. Cover the headlight with the plastic thrasbag and cut according to the headlights shape and use masking tape to cover all expose cars paintwork around the headlight. 5. Make sure the headlight is free from water dust and water. 6. Spray the headlight with the clear coat. You will need to spray 3 layers of clear coat minimum. PS* I used a MIC spray paint and it dried like maps on the headlight....but its ok as it is very light and can only be noticed if you take a very close look. Thats why i suggested to buy a good spraypaint brand. It looks kinda new....better than the rough yellowish surface it once was. Total damage was less than $20 for both headlights and it gave ne a good exercise while using the abrasive papers. Wah ! Abang Evillusion is back …after you kilat2 your lens U went from 29 to 28 🤣… must have been buzy with the Madhatter n rakan 2 4 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 @Comage i actually waited for more than an hour to spray the 2nd layer. While waiting after the 1st coat, the 'maps' emerged eventhough it was not thick. Same thing happened after the 1st coat on the right headlights. I just guess its due to the mic spraypaint as i have been regularly using spraypaint in my course of work and i had never had this issue with the spraypaint bought by through our normal vendor. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 (edited) @BanCoe eh...you dont start with the Levi's 28" hor....i trying to get to 29" by end of this yr. Bro MazdaOwner had been supportive through the hell i went through this past 2 yrs and its time i pick myself up and live my life. 🤲🤲🤲 Edited January 22, 2022 by Evillusion 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Comage said: Anyone can do restoration - just need to remove the oxidized layer of plastic. But doing a good job that lasts - that's the key. Thats why i tried to do it on my own and save a bundle....result not that great but still ok. 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmdsea1 Clutched January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 Used the following 3M headlight restoration kit on my wife's Subaru at 10 years old when we renewed the COE and for an afternoons effort the results were outstanding. If you are going to make the effort to try and restore them then I think its worth using a reputable product and for less than $20 its not a big investment to try. We kept the car for another 2 or 3 years and there was no noticeable deterioration in that time... https://www.amazon.sg/3M-Headlight-Restoration-System-39008/dp/B001AIZ5HY/ref=asc_df_B001AIZ5HY/ 11 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 @cmdsea1 wow...look nice and brand new! But the 1st picture.....your headlights really looked tired! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mkl22 Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 A friend sent his to get done at doctor glass. He said they used some mist coming out of a heated bottle to clear up. Likely is chloroform. For sure will cause crazing of the plastic when chloroform is used. best method is still the good old sand and polish and then coat with some uv protection. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 2 hours ago, Mkl22 said: A friend sent his to get done at doctor glass. He said they used some mist coming out of a heated bottle to clear up. Likely is chloroform. For sure will cause crazing of the plastic when chloroform is used. best method is still the good old sand and polish and then coat with some uv protection. The other alternative is bug spray right... But no good solution - it melts the plastic and creates a sticky mess down the road. ChrisFix created a video discussing this some years back. My conclusion is - acrylic clear coat paint works to seal in the sanded off plastic lens. If you have UV clear coat paint, even better. Ceramic coating works as well since it's supposed to offer protection for your paints as well (UV protection). 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Comage 5th Gear January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 (edited) 43 minutes ago, awhtc said: I just ordered some sandpapers and a bottle of ceramic 9H coating. I will give a try by hand polishing. If everything fails, I will just change install a new pair of headlights to last another 7-8 years. I suggest watching Ammo NYC's guide before you start... This is by far the best guide I've seen around. Edited January 22, 2022 by Comage 3 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mkl22 Supersonic January 22, 2022 Share January 22, 2022 49 minutes ago, awhtc said: I just ordered some sandpapers and a bottle of ceramic 9H coating. I will give a try by hand polishing. If everything fails, I will just change install a new pair of headlights to last another 7-8 years. Easier if you have a drill attachment to polish and sand. 1 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Evillusion Supersonic January 23, 2022 Share January 23, 2022 @awhtc it gives me a sense of pride to do some things on my own........learning a simple skill is another! Qia yu.......you can do it. 2 Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobakrie Neutral Newbie January 26, 2022 Share January 26, 2022 Hi Guys, You may want to try out Meguiar's Headlight Restoration Kit, a D-I-Y Kit that brings back the clarity and shine of the headlight. Available on-line at Lazada, Shopee, Amazon and at major retail outlets including Autobacs, NTUC FairPrice, Cold Storage and others. See how easy the process is. https://youtu.be/CeUlRNPndOc ↡ Advertisement Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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