Scratched headlights

[Mikecivic78]

My Em1 has fine scratches on my right headlight. It looks like the previous owner had tried to clean the headlight with an abrasive material. (i dunno what but there are many fine scratches on the outer plastic lens).

Is there any way I can polish these out? At some angles the right headlight looks a little duller than the other side and it looks crap.

Are there any suitable products that you guys would recommend?

[nny911]

Materials Needed:

-Wet/Dry Sandpaper various grits:
*220, *320, 400, 600, ^800, ^1000, ^1500, *^2000 (*optional and based on project needs; ^recommended for minor scrapes)

-rubbing compound (3m rubbing compound usually found at automotive store) or plastic polish (same thing :))

-polishing/rubbing cloth...very fine...very soft...I personally use an ultrafine microfiber cloth that is like a very large piece of eyeglass cleaning cloth.

-Meguiars NXT wax liquid or any other modern polymer based liquid wax (OPTIONAL)
make sure you clean your headlight first, just use dish soap and a soft cloth.

1. Begin every project like this by cleaning the item...just use dish soap and a soft cloth, no abrasives yet.

2. Before we begin sanding here is some helpful tips to ensure a proper finish:

Tips/Rules for Sanding:
-sand face of entire surface, not just the scratched area...this creates a smoother finish that is free from depressions.
-it is preferable to wet sand under a light stream of water which is better than simply wetting the surface and the sandpaper.
-When going up in grit number (finer grit) wash surface, preferably with dish soap to make sure the surface is free of lower grit particles.
-When switching from one grit to the other...sand in a different direction (up and down, now left and right)...this way you can easily gauge your progress in removing the lower grit's sand lines. To view these lines while wet simply hold surface at an angle to the light.
-Use room temperature to cold water temps for wet sanding.
-on flat surfaces it is easier to wrap the sandpaper around a smooth wooden or hard plastic block...this gives you more leverage and can give a more uniform surface in the end on flat/square pieces.
-with plastics, BEWARE of the cutting power of sandpaper...you will be amazed how easy it is to sanddown plastics
-Wet sanding will cut less efficiently than dry sanding but produces a better finish and is all but required on 600 grit or higher sanding work.
-If dry sanding...remember to fully dry the surface to sand for the best results.

3. With Medium to deep scratches start with 400 grit paper, wet sandpaper and surface and begin sanding in whatever way feels comfortable. After only 15 seconds or so look at the scratch(es). If they are starting to soften or are even completely gone...keep sanding until they are gone. If no progress was made at all go to step 3a.

3a. Major scratches or plastics/resins that are exceptionally hard will require more time/effort and so starting at a lower grit sandpaper will reduce that time/effort. Jump down to 220, scratch for a few seconds, check, scratch some more, check. When the scratches are gone...IMMEDIATELY clean the surface and move up to 320 grit...different direction until the 220 scratches are gone. Then move back to 400 wet and use until 320 scratches are gone.

4. Work your way up slowly...from 400 to 600 to 800 to 1000 to 1500 and then to 2000 if you choose. Make sure to complete sanding the scratches left at a specific grit before going to a higher number!!!! otherwise you'll have to go back down and resand all over.

5. Now that you have a smooth finish that has a very light matte look...you are almost done :)...make sure to wash THOROUGHLY before the next step and wipe dry with a very soft cloth and give it a couple of minutes to let it air dry.

6. Take out the rubbing/polishing cloth and Rubbing Compound. Squirt a bit on the surface and a bit on the cloth. Begin to vigorously rub the compound on the surface as if you are sanding...rub until product completely dissapears or drys out...apply some more and rub some more until there is a PERFECTLY clear surface or Mirror shine, flawless finish on a colored plastic.

7. Lightly dampen the other end of the polishing cloth and wipe off excess rubbing compound from surface...again dry with soft towel and let dry for several minutes.

8. (Optional) Apply a layer of Meguiars NXT wax to really shine things up...let haze...and polish off, then let wax coat harden by letting the surface dry for a couple of hours.

[nny911]

i got this off autosalon magazine issue 73 pg 128 its for polishing headlights - to remove that cloudyness u get in old headlights.

step 1. with some medium cut polish,we dabbed some on a clean rag. microfibre cloths can also be used and a deeper cutting compound might be necessary for headlights with more degradation.

step 2. the cutting compound was applied in small sections at a time. circular motions were key to ensuring a consistent finish without leaving harsh scratches.

step 3. when the fibres on the cloth becomes black, you know it is working. When the area became filthy black, we moved onto a clean area of the rag.

step 4. our plastic polish of choice (mothers plastic polish) was applied to a clean rag or microfibre polishing cloth. the same circular buffing motion in step 2 was used with the plastic polish.

step 5. we finished off the much improved headlight with a fresh lick of wax for some extra protection.

we fixed the problem of cloudy lights by using polishes we had lying around, and they worked a treat. the aim is simply to remove that top layer of oxidisation, though some might argue that a specific headlight cleaner should be used. if your headlights are in worse condition, you may need to use sand paper. start off with 600 grit, move to 1000 the to 2000, while all the time making sure they are wet (wet sanding is less abrasive)


dont forget to rep me :)

[vinnY]

^ how often will you have to do that after you've done it before though
that's what's been stopping me from bothering to fix my ek lights

oxidation is gone but since the factory protection is gone it'll come back quick won't it?

[flipfire]

Yeah it will start getting dull again after a few weeks. When i take my car to the carwash at night i notice that it immediately reacts and oxidizes once you use the high pressure spray. Its very noticeable as it only happens to the drivers side headlights.

I use autoglym paint renovator to polish the oxidation off and use NXT2.0 wax to protect it, which is good for 3 months or so. I use NXT wax for my laptop too!

[nny911]

well in general as long as you wash your car once a week, at the least twice a week, + waxing n polish+ dont let it hang in the hot sun too much + garage your car. youll be able to keep wear and tear to a bare minimum

[nny911]

and how bout after restoring the headlights use a clear tint film over it.

[EK1.6LCIV]

best investment is to go to the dealership and buy some plastic headlight covers for around $50 to prevent any further damage rather than messing around with sand paper and whatnot

[Mikecivic78]

Remember guys, the right headlight isnt oxidized, its been scratched by something abrasive ( i cant even guess, looks it was a cutting compound or an abrasive sandpaper maybe?)

Apart from that, the headlights are crystal clear. You can see however, that the factory coat has mostly come off though. Its only on in little spots.

The headlight still looks ok, but it doesnt shine (when u look at it during the day, appearance wise i mean) as well as the other one due to these scratches.

I would have to cut into some of the surface in order to get them out.

Thanks for the responses, but im still unsure on what to do. If u could suggest something very mild, maybe I would try it.

In any situation, i dont want to risk making it worse.

[Mikecivic78]

Bump!!!!

[Chriskoss]

Bump!!!!

y bump... the questions been covered 3 times now

[Mikecivic78]

y bump... the questions been covered 3 times now

I wanna know some more opinions. Get off my case.

I have got some mechanical experience, but i don't know shit about detailing.

[vinnY]

there's no real way to go about it
if it's been scratched then all you can do is either live with it or take down the scratch to level out the surface which you'll end up having to use the instructions from nny911 above to do

they're just plastic lenses, scratch easy and oddly enough a common problem on 6th gen civics is that the headlights yellow from the factory coating being worn away

[Mikecivic78]

there's no real way to go about it
if it's been scratched then all you can do is either live with it or take down the scratch to level out the surface which you'll end up having to use the instructions from nny911 above to do

they're just plastic lenses, scratch easy and oddly enough a common problem on 6th gen civics is that the headlights yellow from the factory coating being worn away

cheers

[vinnY]

if you're gonna restore them this guide (http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2263291) seems to be fairly comprehensive, with pics too

[Mikecivic78]

if you're gonna restore them this guide (http://www.honda-tech.com/showthread.php?t=2263291) seems to be fairly comprehensive, with pics too

Great DIY article with decent video too, deserves some rep :thumbsup: