How much can i wet sand ?

[Gcleov]

Seems to me its a stupid question but i have to ask ... how much can i wet sand back please a paid of headlight before causing damage ?? how much material can i remove fro the surface ??

[FUNX650]

•If/When you're going to sand polycarbonate lenses...
-You only have to (totally) remove the UV-resistant
OEM Coating--/which is only ~1mil thick.


•But, IMO:
-That's really just the beginning, and least
important, segment of this project.

-Replacing the (OEM) Coating, with one that
is also UV-resistant and durable: is where the
rubber meets the road!


Bob

[Setec Astronomy]

There's plenty of substrate for you to sand.

[VincenzaV]

Stop when you hit the bulbs...

[GSKR]

There's plenty of substrate for you to sand.

headlights are not like paint,they can take a lot of correction abuse.

[Mike Phillips]

headlights are not like paint,they can take a lot of correction abuse.

That's accurate. Sand till you have removed all the yellowing and haze and then compound and polish till the lens is clear.

If there "was" an OEM coating, sand till ALL of the coating has been sanded off and then compound and polish till the lens is clear.


Optimum makes a headlight coating to seal the lens after polishing.


Optimum Opti-Lens Permanent Headlight Coating, headlight coatings protectants


At my class last weekend I show machine sanding with Mirka Abralon starting at 500 grit and working up to #3000 grit, then compounding with a rotary buffer, then polishing with any DA polisher and then sealing with Optimum Headlight Coating.

[LSNAutoDetailing]

Recently a customer had yellow fogged headlights.
In lieu of sanding them, I decided to grab an orange 4" LC CCS spot buff pad, XP (on #6 setting) and some Megs 105. They cleared up 100%, all fogging and yellow was gone. Then I put a sealant on them.

That was 3 months ago and the customer is still raving about them and how he can see at night now.

Have you considered trying that before sanding?

[Legacykid]

Recently a customer had yellow fogged headlights.
In lieu of sanding them, I decided to grab an orange 4" LC CCS spot buff pad, XP (on #6 setting) and some Megs 105. They cleared up 100%, all fogging and yellow was gone. Then I put a sealant on them.

That was 3 months ago and the customer is still raving about them and how he can see at night now.

Have you considered trying that before sanding?

+1

As the saying goes least aggressive first. Sometimes a little 105 is all you need.

[Gcleov]

Actually i used recular clear coat with very good results.. Cant find the product you mentioned here in cyprus

[Calendyr]

Clear coat will give the best result, it's just so much of a pain to do. You have to cover the whole car to protect from overspray...

I think any coating would do a good job. I personally use Opti Coat 2.0 (until I run out). When I do I will switch to Opti lens or maybe an other coating.

As far as sanding, I don't see how you could sand so much it would damage the plastic. Just make sure to sand all the surface equally.

Never tried only compounding, but the headlights I get calls for are always in horrible shape. So for me it's usually 500 grit and up.