Most liked posts in thread: Headlight oxidation...

I have 3M clear bra on my headlights the haven't become foggy or chipped.

 

The PC 7424 polisher is my beater machine.

I use a Rupes polisher for paint work. :lol:

 

LOL...

Just yesterday I was using the mighty fine BD polisher to add a fine coat of wax to some HR steel counter tops....

And whut wax am I using you might ask? Nothing but the finest....

 

The lenses on my 2003 R50 with Halogen bulbs feel like glass rather than plastic to me,
and they're in great shape with nothing done to them except for routine cleaning.
On the other hand, I've had to do the lenses on my wife's 2001 VW Cabrio
a couple times already with the same mileage.

 

You win, I only have a iPhone 'potato" camera. :lol::lol::lol::lol::nonod:

 

I'm a Harbor Freight rotary buffer guy It is a bit loud, but it works for me

 

I do it a little different. Sand the lenses smooth with 1500 and paint with high quality clear. Then buff the lenses. They last longer than the original lenses.

 

OK. I am thrilled at how the lenses came out!

I started with a kit from Mothers called "NuLens". I paid $25 for the kit that came with a drill attachment, a foam ball for polishing, several grades of sandpaper disks and some plastic polish. I also bought 2 packs of wet-dry sandpaper from Lowes (800 grit and 1500 grit).

• 4 passes with the 800 grit disks from the kit with a cordless drill and detailing spray as lube (it was handy). My lens (12+ years old, stored outside in TX) was so yellow that the sanding residue from the first 2-3 passes came out tan-ish/brown.
• 4 passes by hand with some 800 grit wet-dry paper from Lowes, wrapped around a 3m fiber paint stripping pad for padding (helps with the round surface...3-4 layers of cloth would work as well... just something to be a bit of a cushion to help the paper conform to the curved lens) and detailing spray
• 4 passes with 1500 grit disks from the kit w/ detailing spray
• 4 passes with 1500 grit by hand (again wet-dry paper from Lowes) w/ detailing spray.
• 4 passes with a 3000 grit padded disk from the kit and detailing spray
• 4 passes with the foam ball and the mother's plastic polish.
• For good measure, I got out some thicker plastic polish from Meguires, an orange pad and the PCDA... probably 3-4 minutes of polishing there. If I didn't have the PCDA, I probably would have done at least 4 more passes with the ball. I think I could have gotten a very good finish with just the ball, but the PCDA and orange pad gave a quick, even, beautiful finish.
• I added a coat of Zaino for UV protection, but several more will be coming when the rest of the car is through the paintshop and ready for sealant.

The process above (the polishing only) took me 45-60 minutes per lens, being slow and methodical... sand a little, clean, inspect, repeat if necessary until everything is even and smooth at each step. The 800 grit paper steps scare the hell out of you (the glass should look evenly frosted when you are done with the 800 grit), but don't worry... it WILL get better! Each 'pass' was done at a different direction... first up and down, then left to right, then diagonally (both ways). Hand sanding was done with a circular motion, to even everything out well.

I started, just as an experiment, trying to do this by hand only (not using the drill and the sanding disks). I've gotta say that this is one place where automation is a wonderful thing. I could have done it by hand, but I spent 10 minutes mucking about with 800 grit and wasn't getting a clean surface. 2-3 minutes with that disk from the kit got me farther than I would have in 20 minutes by hand. I wouldn't skip the hand steps as they really evened out the finish (probably because they conformed to the curved surface better), but the sanding disks were a serious time saver.

Another tip that I've learned from working with vinyl wraps. Isopropyl Alcohol is a wonderful thing (I keep a chem-proof spray bottle filled with IPA handy in the garage now). Not only does it help remove grease/oil from a surface, but it dries off VERY quickly. This makes inspection of your work between sanding steps easy... sand for a while, wipe the lens clear of sanding sludge, quick spritz with IPA and wipe w/ clean paper towel. The liquid dries within 5 seconds, giving you a clean, dry surface for you to look at.

Here's a before and after shot, with the freshly covered trim ring as well:

 

Quite the difference.