Cordless drill or Orbital polisher for headlight restoration

[Red97Z28]

Ever since I restored my headlights,I have had a lot of friends and family asking if I can do there headlights. I use my Dewalt cordless for my headlights,but I really don't want to use it for numerous headlight restorations.
So I'm looking for either a compact cordless drill (lithium ion,12v,18v,etc) or an Orbital polisher. I already have a Griots Random Orbital polisher,so maybe getting a backing plate and a few pads to use it is what I was also thinking. What do you guys think? Let me know.Thanks

[mybuick6]

i would stay with the drill all companies that use sand paper and polish has the kit ti go with a cordless or corded drill.

[AGOatemywallet]

Buy a 2 7/8" backing pad and Meguiar's 3" Sanding Interface Pad for your DA.

You will get the headlights done more quickly & you will also now have the ability to use 3-4" polishing pads on your DA for paint.

You can buy 3" sanding discs on AGO and the sanding discs that are available at your local retailer are also 3".

[kaliagent2001]

Ever since I restored my headlights,I have had a lot of friends and family asking if I can do there headlights. I use my Dewalt cordless for my headlights,but I really don't want to use it for numerous headlight restorations.
So I'm looking for either a compact cordless drill (lithium ion,12v,18v,etc) or an Orbital polisher. I already have a Griots Random Orbital polisher,so maybe getting a backing plate and a few pads to use it is what I was also thinking. What do you guys think? Let me know.Thanks

Im looking into getting a drill right now. Why don't you want to continue using your drill?

[Calendyr]

For sanding and compounding steps I use a drill with a 3" drill backplate. For polishing I use my 3" Griot Garage DA.

A drill is basically a very small rotary, it will correct faster than a DA. And the DA will give you a better finish for the polishing step.

Side note, once you have the backing plate for your drill, get yourself orange and red foam pads for it. It's also very useful to compound and polish small areas like door jambs and other places where a DA doesn't fit.

[Mantilgh]

I always thought a cordless 90deg angle drill would be good for this. That and some small Flex backing plates and pads.

FLEX Rotary Backing Plates 1, 2, 3 Inch Diameter (http://www.autogeek.net/flex-rotary-backing-plates.html)

FLEX PE8 Rotary Foam Pads 1, 2, 3 Inch Diameter (http://www.autogeek.net/flex-rotary-foam-pads.html)

The one inch set up would be nice for some of those tight corners.

[KB in MD]

I always thought a cordless 90deg angle drill would be good for this. That and some small Flex backing plates and pads.

FLEX Rotary Backing Plates 1, 2, 3 Inch Diameter (http://www.autogeek.net/flex-rotary-backing-plates.html)

FLEX PE8 Rotary Foam Pads 1, 2, 3 Inch Diameter (http://www.autogeek.net/flex-rotary-foam-pads.html)

The one inch set up would be nice for some of those tight corners.

I agree and recommend this.
I just purchased the 2" setup because the 3" wouldn't get into the corner of the headlights. Now I wish I got the 1" also :(

[jwgreen6]

I've restored headlights using the GG 3" mini polisher with sanding disks and polishing pads. The downside is the product sling and dusting from the sanding. I'll spend another 15 minutes just cleaning the car afterwards.

Now I sand/polish by hand using a Meguiar's 3" sanding pad. Remember the headlight lenses are soft plastic, not painted metal like a car's surface so you don't need an aggressive ablative method. As my grandfather once said (he was a Swedish carpenter) "power tools allow you to make mistakes MUCH faster than by hand".

[Rsurfer]

[QUOTE=jwgreen6;1372093. The downside is the product sling and dusting from the sanding. I'll spend another 15 minutes just cleaning the car afterwards.



Have you tried wet sanding?

[Mike@ShineStruck]

I sometimes use a cheap ryobi cordless or my Rupes mini
Mini does better as the ryobi doesnt hace the Rpms

Plan to get this
https://www.milwaukeetool.com/power-tools/cordless/2705-22

[goldenlight]

I would pick up a cheep Dual Action polisher from Harbors Fright tool. or just buy your self a nice polisher and do the whole car.