sanding/buffing headlight lenses ???

So I was reading through the DIY forum and someone mentioned wet sanding and buffing lenses to get out the lil chips from rocks and whatnot. Anyone done this? How exactly is this done? I think I wanna give it a shot this weekend before i spend the money on new lenses.


Sam.

Im interested in this too.

haha

Here's a good writeup on this.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpos...33&postcount=2

I don't think its necessary to start at 600 grit but it depends how bad the covers are.

George @ DI

Do youself a favor and make sure you flood the surface with water as you sand. Even adding a drop of dish soap for added lubrication wouldn't hurt. If you can find it, finish sanding with 2500 or 3000. This will save you a lot of polishing time. You can polish out your sanding scratches with almost any plastic polish but my personal favorites are renovo & meguiars mirror glaze. All work can be done by hand but can be done much quicker with a drill polishing kit attachment. Just make sure to keep the drill speed very slow. plastic heats up quickly and you don't want heat. Heat and plasic don't mix. If you have any other question don't hesitate to ask. I have probably restored about 2-300 headlights.

Brett

I did this last weekend... I had some bad pitting, so i used 400 -> 600 -> 800 -> 1000 -> 2000. I couldn't find 3000 short of ordering 50 pieces on the net... So I didn't. The rest of the stuff can be found at any auto store. Of course, they're not as clear as original, but it looks a helluva lot better. The surface is uniform and pretty clear. I was very much impressed. I would have taken pics, but being that it was a clear lense... the camera will not focus on it well enough. I really recommend trying this though before buying new lenses. I'm happy with the results, spend $10 on paper/polish... saved $70 for new lenses. :-)

Originally Posted by Detailed Image

Here's a good writeup on this.

http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showpos...33&postcount=2

I don't think its necessary to start at 600 grit but it depends how bad the covers are.

George @ DI

I think Meguiars PlasticX (or whatever the name) works really well if you are starting from a decent situation; can't say if you have really whanged lenses. I've used it regularly since I bought the car a year ago; by that I mean around once every two months. My lenses shine! :-)