Jsmooth
05-01-2013, 04:40 PM
Ok I'm gonna start like this to get your attention
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps6bb0a3cc.jpg
Ever try to buff out something like this? Probably did not go well at all! These tricks are nothing new but at the request of some Detail buddies I'm gonna do a step by step for you.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps2b0c61f9.jpg
Things you'll need-
Sand paper
320 grit(rare you need this coarse but the one in the photo above did)
600 grit - This is where I started on the ones in the write up below
1000 grit
1500 grit
3000 grit
If doing this by hand a soft sanding block helps a lot.
Any machine polisher. I use a rotary but this can be done with a D/A.
I used BF SRC compound followed by BF SRC Finishing on 3' pads cutting/polishing. I used Opti Coat pro to protect the lens(Opti Lens is a better choice...been lazy on ordering it)
Masking tape is a must to protect areas around the head lights.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsabfe9398.jpg
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpse6b283cd.jpg
First off I can tell someone tried to scrub or sand these with something. Also you can see the UV line that is baked into the plastic. There is no way your polishing through that line with just a buffer and compound. You could make this look a little better but no where near perfect. I'll show you!
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps2b1aea02.jpg
A closer look shows you can actually see spiders looking cracks that appear to be in the lens. This is where the outer layer of the plastic is cracking.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps005d0740.jpg
This lens is the better off of the 2. I'm gonna take a wool pad and some 3m compound and lay into this for a few passes. This is a common practice for head lights. It works well if they are just starting to oxidize. But if they are actually cracking in the top layer....
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps31acdeda.jpg
Taping is key no matter which way your doing this. I always double up my tape on the sharp edges and leave kinda over lapped bubble at extra security from polishing or sand paper.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps838f2b4c.jpg
Common tools for a lot of head light restos. Lets see what happens.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps08c63a14.jpg
After quick wipe down with ONR. A good amount of compound(go heavy it helps with the heat, You can burn a lens. So better safe than sorry)
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps254c567b.jpg
Repeated said step 3 times and used my rotary on 1600rpm. Didn't touch the lines or cracks. Made them a little less yellow by removing the outer most layer of oxidation. Fail IMO. Ok i'll come back to this on in a minute. Lets tackle the hard one.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps598448d7.jpg
Up close you can see this really bad.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps24aea133.jpg
Starting with 600 grit, I sanded left to right. The goal in this step is knock down the UV line and all the patchy area's so that it appears uniform. Use lots of water in this step as your sand paper will load up with spent plastic very quickly so rinsing often really helps.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsa2d1d5f4.jpg
After stopping and drying the light off you can see on the edges I need to him them more because those lines have to be gone in this step. 1000 grit in my experience will take a VERY long time to knock them down so save your arm and make sure your checking your work often.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsb342b741.jpg
Getting there but still need those patchy spots to go away before moving on.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsefc73891.jpg
After this I hit the bottoms where it dips one more time with 600. Total time on this step including taping and documenting was about 30min. Take away documenting I did this step on the other light in less then 10 min.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps7b21e0c1.jpg
Now on to 1000. The reason I do 1000 is because it hard to remove 600 grit scratches with a higher grit. On this step you wanna go up and down basic cross hatch pattern so you can be sure you got rid of all the 600 scratches.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsd80ee7b8.jpg
You can see here the up and down 1000 marks on the left side. You wanna do this till you can see no more left and right scratches left over from the 600.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps0b28e9eb.jpg
After that go with 1500 again switching direction so you get rid of all the previous step standing marks.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsde961ebf.jpg
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps321da6f4.jpg
while you can do all these steps by machine and it is way easier. I always do my coarse 320-1500 by hand because of the risk factor. Any of those will go through tape pretty easy. 3000 on the other hand does not. So while you can do this by hand I use my Flex3401. The forced rotation is awesome on head lamps.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps6f16e75b.jpg
Lots of water with machine sanding to keep your paper for loading up. My flex was on speed 2. With a DA I would not recommend trying this one handed unless using a much smaller sanding disc.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps4a23de40.jpg
Time to polish them out and see what up! Using my BF SRC compound and my tiny wool pad...
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsc43f1796.jpg
Just compounding. After this I used a polishing pad and finishing polish. The lights will sealed later with OC Pro
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps216d4b57.jpg
Bling!
I was gonna do a Time lapse video but I didn't notice till was almost done I forgot to turn the camera on. Customer walked up when I was setting it up and well...
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps316afb71.jpg
Passanger side was done in the exact same order minus the attempt with wool and compound
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps5434f9b1.jpg
Hope you like this and if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Thanks for looking
Joseph Torbati
Orinda Auto Detail!
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps6bb0a3cc.jpg
Ever try to buff out something like this? Probably did not go well at all! These tricks are nothing new but at the request of some Detail buddies I'm gonna do a step by step for you.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps2b0c61f9.jpg
Things you'll need-
Sand paper
320 grit(rare you need this coarse but the one in the photo above did)
600 grit - This is where I started on the ones in the write up below
1000 grit
1500 grit
3000 grit
If doing this by hand a soft sanding block helps a lot.
Any machine polisher. I use a rotary but this can be done with a D/A.
I used BF SRC compound followed by BF SRC Finishing on 3' pads cutting/polishing. I used Opti Coat pro to protect the lens(Opti Lens is a better choice...been lazy on ordering it)
Masking tape is a must to protect areas around the head lights.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsabfe9398.jpg
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpse6b283cd.jpg
First off I can tell someone tried to scrub or sand these with something. Also you can see the UV line that is baked into the plastic. There is no way your polishing through that line with just a buffer and compound. You could make this look a little better but no where near perfect. I'll show you!
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps2b1aea02.jpg
A closer look shows you can actually see spiders looking cracks that appear to be in the lens. This is where the outer layer of the plastic is cracking.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps005d0740.jpg
This lens is the better off of the 2. I'm gonna take a wool pad and some 3m compound and lay into this for a few passes. This is a common practice for head lights. It works well if they are just starting to oxidize. But if they are actually cracking in the top layer....
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps31acdeda.jpg
Taping is key no matter which way your doing this. I always double up my tape on the sharp edges and leave kinda over lapped bubble at extra security from polishing or sand paper.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps838f2b4c.jpg
Common tools for a lot of head light restos. Lets see what happens.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps08c63a14.jpg
After quick wipe down with ONR. A good amount of compound(go heavy it helps with the heat, You can burn a lens. So better safe than sorry)
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps254c567b.jpg
Repeated said step 3 times and used my rotary on 1600rpm. Didn't touch the lines or cracks. Made them a little less yellow by removing the outer most layer of oxidation. Fail IMO. Ok i'll come back to this on in a minute. Lets tackle the hard one.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps598448d7.jpg
Up close you can see this really bad.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps24aea133.jpg
Starting with 600 grit, I sanded left to right. The goal in this step is knock down the UV line and all the patchy area's so that it appears uniform. Use lots of water in this step as your sand paper will load up with spent plastic very quickly so rinsing often really helps.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsa2d1d5f4.jpg
After stopping and drying the light off you can see on the edges I need to him them more because those lines have to be gone in this step. 1000 grit in my experience will take a VERY long time to knock them down so save your arm and make sure your checking your work often.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsb342b741.jpg
Getting there but still need those patchy spots to go away before moving on.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsefc73891.jpg
After this I hit the bottoms where it dips one more time with 600. Total time on this step including taping and documenting was about 30min. Take away documenting I did this step on the other light in less then 10 min.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps7b21e0c1.jpg
Now on to 1000. The reason I do 1000 is because it hard to remove 600 grit scratches with a higher grit. On this step you wanna go up and down basic cross hatch pattern so you can be sure you got rid of all the 600 scratches.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsd80ee7b8.jpg
You can see here the up and down 1000 marks on the left side. You wanna do this till you can see no more left and right scratches left over from the 600.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps0b28e9eb.jpg
After that go with 1500 again switching direction so you get rid of all the previous step standing marks.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsde961ebf.jpg
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps321da6f4.jpg
while you can do all these steps by machine and it is way easier. I always do my coarse 320-1500 by hand because of the risk factor. Any of those will go through tape pretty easy. 3000 on the other hand does not. So while you can do this by hand I use my Flex3401. The forced rotation is awesome on head lamps.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps6f16e75b.jpg
Lots of water with machine sanding to keep your paper for loading up. My flex was on speed 2. With a DA I would not recommend trying this one handed unless using a much smaller sanding disc.
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps4a23de40.jpg
Time to polish them out and see what up! Using my BF SRC compound and my tiny wool pad...
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zpsc43f1796.jpg
Just compounding. After this I used a polishing pad and finishing polish. The lights will sealed later with OC Pro
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps216d4b57.jpg
Bling!
I was gonna do a Time lapse video but I didn't notice till was almost done I forgot to turn the camera on. Customer walked up when I was setting it up and well...
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps316afb71.jpg
Passanger side was done in the exact same order minus the attempt with wool and compound
http://i1047.photobucket.com/albums/b479/gavsauto/null_zps5434f9b1.jpg
Hope you like this and if you have any questions feel free to ask!
Thanks for looking
Joseph Torbati
Orinda Auto Detail!