Trouble Getting the Results I Want on a Head Light Resto

[ShineTimeDetail]

So I did a car back in may and I pointed out that the head lights needed to be restored and they agreed. I usually just use a 4 inch wool pad to a foam pad with a rotary for most of my head light restorations. Well it cleared the head light some but still was heavily oxidized. I came back to do another car of theirs and I gave it a second attempt. I used 1000 grit paper and it cleaned it up but it is still not what I would consider anywhere near acceptable. Can I go down to 500 grit then 1000 and up from there?

Here's a few pics

[IOMCAMARO]

I thought that most people started at 800 grit? At least that's what I started at when I worked on my dad's van. I thought I read that on a recommendation some where.

[Rav777]

Are the lights still pretty rough to the touch? Some people start at 400 and work their way up, but the lowest I have gone is 600, 1000, 1500, I then polish them with compound and finish with either 2500 or 3000 depending on what I have on hand. These just might need some more work time with lower grits.