Lights Refurb

[muld]

Just a few shots after tidying up my lights a little

Armed with various grades of sandpaper. Menz Power Finish, AG SRP and plenty of tape.

Off side, plenty of damage!

Same light, another angle

On side just as bad!

On side again.

After a bit of sanding, most of the scratches removed and a nice bit of hazing now to sort out.

My weapon of choice, the DAS6

On side after a bit of the Menz Power Finish + AG SRP

Now to the off side!

Off side after polishing

Final pic of a job well done

I did experiment with the rubbing compound on the off side to see if i could get better results but tbh the sanding worked much better, I used mostly the 800 grit followed by 1200 but in hindsight would have started with 600. The beer is of course optional but imo it helped the process more than the rubbing compound .

 

[Adz172]

really good job mate, looks really good! I`ve got mine to do at the weekend.

 

[ScarySquirrel]

WOW! I really need to do this. Is it difficult?

Is it possible to do it without a machine polisher?

 

[Liquid yellow 182]

Looks amazing, mine could do with that tbh

 

[muld]

WOW! I really need to do this. Is it difficult?

Is it possible to do it without a machine polisher?

I don't see why not, was pretty easy tbh, will just take a bit longer and a bit more elbow grease! I'd swap the Menz polish with something easier to apply by hand though such as scratch X. The key will be in the sanding as you won't get the cut from the polish that you would with the DA. I'd suggest 600 grit, then 800 then 1000. Shouldn't need anything finer than that tbh. I used 800 mostly and a little 1200 to finish. I'd say it took me a couple of hours all in all and i wasn't exactly rushing.

 

[Quid]

i did mine by hand, but i used a rubbing compound instead. still really good results tho

 

[ScarySquirrel]

i did mine by hand, but i used a rubbing compound instead. still really good results tho

So you did the wet sanding and then polished with a rubbing compound? What did you use and how long did it take?

Thanks

Also, where can I buy that blue tape?

 

[Leeshez]

Well corrected.

 

[SaraJ]

That looks much better!

Mine aren't bad at all, compared to a lot of 172's we viewed! Still, will probably be something i do next year before they get bad

 

[Quid]

So you did the wet sanding and then polished with a rubbing compound? What did you use and how long did it take?

Thanks

Also, where can I buy that blue tape?

Yes i used 1000 and 2000 wet n dry, then rubbing compound and finished it off with two layers of wax

 

[Knuckles]

I really need to do this, sorry if its been answered but what do you use specifically after the sanding? I'm a complete noob to any kind of car cleaning lol.... whats that menz stuff your on about?

 

[ch!ppen]

Very good pal. Mine aren't too bad but could do with doing. Shall have to tackle this within the next couple of weeks.

 

[ferrett]

good job makes such a difference

 

[rich-6]

Every one seems to be doing it now lol, Al i'l say to those having a go shortly is becareful, you can sand back too far and then end up with a hazy headlight you cant sort out

 

[Dave..]

Lol, you been playing football while sanding the lights?

Onside and offside?

 

[Ralphizzle]

I really need to do this, sorry if its been answered but what do you use specifically after the sanding? I'm a complete noob to any kind of car cleaning lol.... whats that menz stuff your on about?

It's a polishing compound the Menz that is; to bring back the gloss after the final 1.200 grit wetsanding... the blue tape is just a 'blue' painters (crepe) tape.

 

[p@blo]

Looking nice muld

Did you get it completely haze free? Being picky mine still has a few minor imperfections from the wet/dry 600-1200 if you look closely.

Might start again and try using some 2k grit this weekend.

 

[harribo66]

looks alot better, i really need to mine!

 

[muld]

Looking nice muld

Did you get it completely haze free? Being picky mine still has a few minor imperfections from the wet/dry 600-1200 if you look closely.

Might start again and try using some 2k grit this weekend.

I managed to get all the hazing out but I was careful not to sand too much, i'd rather be left with a couple of very minor blemishes than a ruined light So yea, all hazing was sorted but there are if you look closely a couple of marks (stone chips) that would involve sanding too deep to remove. It does highlight a few imperfections on the inside though! may have to take the lights apart at some point, hehe.

 

[Tunst]

Its off side and near side :rasp:

This looks to difficult... il just buy some new lights...

 

[p@blo]

I managed to get all the hazing out but I was careful not to sand too much, i'd rather be left with a couple of very minor blemishes than a ruined light So yea, all hazing was sorted but there are if you look closely a couple of marks (stone chips) that would involve sanding too deep to remove. It does highlight a few imperfections on the inside though! may have to take the lights apart at some point, hehe.

Yea,think its the coarser grits that's done it, but needed to use it to shift the patina as it was surprisingly deep. It certainly looks infinitely better than before bud, good effort.

Taking it apart was a bit of a chore on the one I'm making into a duct-the backing plastic got damaged on the one i removed. :S

Its off side and near side :rasp:

This looks to difficult... il just buy some new lights...

Isn't that difficult dude, just a bit time consuming-well mine will be once I've redone it

Well worth the effort imo

 

[muld]

Its off side and near side :rasp:

This looks to difficult... il just buy some new lights...

I had just come back from football actually, haha.

Only takes a couple of hours, considering the improvement i think the time to reward ratio is pretty good! The trick is not to seek perfection and just be happy knowing they will look infinitely better than before. Quick sand, quick polish, job done It's actually made a notable difference when driving at night too (something I didn't even consider)!

 

[muld]

had a few PM's so here is a bit more info, there is a guide in the guides section tho

In terms of the lights it's pretty straightforward to be honest, what you need is a few different grades of sandpaper, 600,800 and 1000 are probably the best combination. You can go to 2000 if you like (and are prepared to put the effort in, i didn't) You need to apply the sandpaper with lots of water, literally soak the sandpaper in water and keep it wet as you use it. Start with the most harsh sandpaper, the 600 (the lower you go the harsher it is, you can go the other way till u get to about 2500 which feels like paper! You don't need anything that fine though).

So yea, its best to tape up the area around the lights so you don't accidentally scratch the paintwork! Masking tape is fine for this. You can buy detailing tape which is blue but basically the same thing.

Use the wet paper and start sanding, till the scratches are gone, if there are any really deep ones it may be best to leave these as you could be in danger of sanding too far and ruining the light, the light will go all hazy and there will be white looking paste coming from the lights, this is normal, this is where you need the other 2 sandpapers, do the same again and it will get pretty smooth by the time you done it with the 1000 grit. It will of course look really hazy.

This is where the polish comes in, the polish I used is Menz Power Finish which is a heavy cut polish, by this I mean it strips back the top layer of the paint (or plastic in this case), so the hazy layer is removed by the polish leaving the nice and shiny layer underneath. There are many types of cutting polish, the Power Finish is one of the more aggressive ones out there, Menz generally needs a machine polisher to work properly though, there are however stuff designed to work well by hand, you'll need a foam applicator pad and something like scratch X (some people say rubbing compound can work too but i find the finish not quite as good). I'd get scratch X if i was doing it by hand, be prepared for a good 10-15 mins of hard rubbing by hand tho.

Once that's done you will want to use something like AG SRP (Auto Glym Super Resin Polish), this is another polish but it doesn't remove layers like the Menz stuff, this polish instead has fillers in, these will fill in any imprefections in the finish and also give it more of a glossy look.

You may then add a layer of protection such as wax/sealant or even mr sheen apparently!

 

[Mr Pants]

Cracking job mate really tidies it up at the front! Was thinking of tackling mine soon actually so the guide is a great help!

 

[aucky]

Might start again and try using some 2k grit this weekend.

2k is very mild tbh. Doesnt even do that much to paint. 1500 comes in big packs from halfords though..