Headlight Restoration - I NEED HELP!!

[Lilskeezer]

I'm a bit of a newbie to the auto detailing world, but I've been trying to perfect all aspects since I am going to take up a side job of mobile detailing. That being said, my first adventure into the headlight restoration realm has been a discouraging one. After watching a Headlight Restoration video on another car care site I was convinced that the 4 step process: Wetsand w/ 1000 grit and 3000 grit sandpaper, apply cleaner (Meguiars Plastic Cleaner), and finish up with a polish (Meguiars Plastic Polish) would be a success. I even came back with a Meguiars wax I had in the garage since I wanted to try everything before I quite. I only got about half way there (in terms of quality) before I threw in the towel. I've attached the before and after shots of the headlights and am hoping someone can help (they weren't more yellow after, unfortunately I just had to change the light source). As you can see, the tops of each lens turned out pretty good, but there was an extra oxidized/weathered portion near the bottom of the lens that was very stubborn. I can't charge anybody for a job of this low quality, so let the comments/advice fly! Thanks!
BEFORE>>
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c226/lilskeezer/P1000696.jpg
AFTER>>
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c226/lilskeezer/P1000714.jpg

[gary26]

I used the Mothers Power Ball with the same products you did and it came out pretty nice. I used an electric drill with the Power Ball. Good Luck

[longdx]

I just did a headlamp restoration on a mid Nineties Dodge Stratus ( what is with Chrysler headlamps? The all do that). I was able to get the driver's side headlamp at about 90% improvement. The passenger side about 75% (it still has a light oxidation line near the bottom. Turns out that it was on the inside of the lamp). On yours, I would recommend Meguiars 105 or UC after wetsand but before Meg. plastic cleaner.

[MazdaTech]

It almost looks like you might need to sand it a little more.A coworker of mine asked to have the lights on his 350z done and after using 1000 grit i could see somthing similar to what you have in the after shot. After several passes with the 1000 grit, in alternating directions, it finally disapeared. i followed up with 2000 then 3000 and a buff with meguiars diamond cut and wool then poorboys ssr 2 and a white pad. and yes i know what i describe is alot of work but im ocd when it comes to clarity on headlights. Im just a hobbyist when it comes to detailing so hopefully someone else with more experiance with lights could chime in.

EDIT: forgot to mention i used a rotary with a 4 inch wool pad and a white 4 inch spot buff.

[Lilskeezer]

Thanks for the comments...keep em coming! I failed to mention that I applied both the cleaner and polish with a Porter Cable 7424 which I would have to believe would yield the same or better results than the Mother's Powerball. I used 1000 grit sandpaper and spent what seemed an eternity on this lens without getting better results. You think this is on the inside? I considered that but I could feel a change in texture on the outside when I ran my finger over the extra-oxidized part. I have to say these were probably some of the worse headlight lenses I've ever seen, so I don't know if they were too far gone to bring em back.