Well Im done renewing my headlights and just thought Id throw in a couple other things not mentioned in the teg tip.
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A sanding block is your friend. Dont buy the cheapo $3 one, by the $5 3m one. It flexes more. I did the first headlight entirely by hand and getting off the clearcoat took entirely too long. So I used a block on the second one and it went much much faster. You will miss spots with the block. So when ou think you are done with the 400 grit stage, wash off the lights and wipe them down. Let them dry and you will be able to see the spots you missed. I went back to just using my hand for 600,1000,1500. At this point it becomes really easy.
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After the clearcoat is gone, it becomes very easy. If you start this project and getting the clearcoat off seems like a PIA, dont worry, after its gone its very easy. Doing this by hand, getting the clearcoat off was rough. With a block it was pretty fast and easy.
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You can remove all the scratches,nicks,scrapes etc with sanding. So, if your headlights look good but are scratched up, this will fix it. My headlights were clear, not yellowed, not hazy. However, they were nicked up and scratched up. I didnt think I would be able to get out the scratches and nicks because they looked pretty deep. After the 400 grit wet sanding…all scratches and nicks were gone.
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You wont get an idea of just how clean/clear your headlights will look until you start polishing. When I used the mothers rubbing compound (red stuff), I thought this looks pretty good but not what I expected. Then I moved on to the 3m rubbing compound (takes out 1500+ grit scratches and finer) and I thought, things are starting to shape up, but still not what I expected. Then the last step I used turtle wax instead of meguiars and I buffed it with a highspeed buffer. After this final step it was so much shinier/clearer. I was really impressed with the results. These lights now look like new or better.
I did this project at only 30 min to 1 hr at a time. I didnt want to rush things or do a half ass job. Alot of the 1-pieces I see on this site dont look very clear. I always wondered about this and I was hoping my wouldnt look like everyone elses. So for those of you who want to renew your lights, be patient and it will turn out great.
Sorry, no pics…