the idea came from this thread
http://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/sho ... -idea.html
stuff used:
- sandpaper (400, 600, 800, 1000, 2000)
- bowl of warm water
- isopropyl alcohol
- Minwax Helmsman Spar urethane (clear gloss)
- mineral spirits
- blue Scott shop towels
- plastic polish / compound of your choice

I was lucky enough to have the shitty 04 headlights, and they really looked like hell



the problem is that the clear coat "uv protection" coating has began to break down and haze/flake off. So I started by wet sanding off the original coating with 400 grit sandpaper. 400 is pretty coarse to start out with, so if what your working on ain't that bad, start with 600.


sand the length of the light and keep all your sanding the same direction.


also, soaking the paper in warm water helps speed up the process...


follow the 400 with 600 grit...


follow the 600 with 800 grit...


now the 1000 grit...


and now the 2000 grit....


-- Wed Feb 24, 2010 12:36 pm --

now you can polish out the sanding marks...




i decided to use my Megs 105/205 combo on a PC7424 with an orange 5" LC CCS pad.
after compounding the lights, I wiped them down with isopropyl alcohol to remove any oils left behind from the compounding.

next, mix a little urethane with a little mineral spirits 50/50 in a dixie cup....



and use a blue Scott shop towel folded up into a square to dip into the urethane mix and wipe onto the light, going end to end, and using thin coats.


they look better than new and the uv protection in the urethane is far superior than the shit from the factory

Great write up! I may have to re-do mine this summer with this process. I was able to clean mine up a little bit , which was better than what they were, but nothing compared to the like new look that you ended up with.

_________________
Mods so far: Intake, 104's, 180*, Overkilled 4.0, Alt. Re-wire and voltage booster, F&R STB's w/DR's brackets, GMPP front sway w/poly links, TA's, HID's, Tints, 3.6 MPS, AF scan gauge, boost and oil pres. gauge, upper poly mounts, f-body upgrade, D/S rotors, SS hoses.

nice job!

_________________

Why have more money than brains? Cuz RACE CAR :

Wow nice write up and they do look better than stock I'll being trying this soon or I'll just get new headlights either or since mine have water in the inside

_________________

Wow...those look really good. I tried to do that with a headlight restoration kit in the summer and got decent results, but then they just turned shitty again. I'll have to try this method and use a UV protectant this summer....I was about to break down and just buy some off ebay, I guess I'll have to try this out first

_________________

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3808127

I did this back in October and they still look perfect, even after all the salt that's been on them so far this winter.

Looks great! And I really like the idea about the mineral spirts and urethane. I wont do any good to clean the lights if you dont protect them after they get clean.



HOLY SIHT!!! I just got some of that Meguiars PlastX stuff. I saw it for like 5 bucks figured what the heck I would gice it a try. I didnt have the mineral spirts and urethane yet, so I wasnt even going to try it out. BUT, I got curious, and I gotta say, this stuff works! The thing that was real neat was that it is more like a chemical reaction rather than having to polish the crap out of it.

_________________
2004 Grand Prix GT1, F&R STB's, GMPP R. Sway Bar, GMPP Trailing Arms, 180* stat,

WOW...major props for the write up!!! i will definitely be using this soon!

_________________

Great writeup.
I'll be using some of these steps myself.

_________________
2005 GT owner [Non S/C] with a "big DIC".
Two years later and I still love the car.
Thanks Pontiac...Bleen is keen!

i dont have a power buffer thing tho how do i do it without the power buffer.

_________________

All sho no go...

yes i agree, great job. we have all the stuff at my work to do it, ive only seen/done it once and it was on a Park Ave. and like yours, looks great.

well to be honest yours look, well, new

-- Tue Mar 02, 2010 10:12 pm --

so now were the marshmellows a part of the process?

_________________

Behold the majestic beast as it strides

you don't really need a buffer..... if you have a power drill, you could use one of those 3M headlight restoration kits with the buffing pads, compound and pad backing plate for your drill.

sealed bulb ftw?

_________________
Anyone think they can make a better?
|
V

how long did it take to dry before you could reinstall them?

-- Tue Mar 09, 2010 4:44 am --

also i was looking up that Minwax helmsman and it also comes in Aerosol form. any thoughts on that?

_________________

I let mine dry overnight.

don't know about the aerosol can version, the wipe on method allows you to thin the Urethane with mineral spirits so it flows out well once applied to the light (in other words, smooth). I have no idea if the aerosol only will work.

just did this l;ast night and it works like a charm. but i do suggest sanding with 400 grit if you have rock knick in the plexiglass. it gets them out wondefullly. great write up.....

_________________

Great write up I had done all the steps besides the urethane sealer before with pretty poor results just finished putting the lights back in and it looks fantastic

yeah, i'm doing this soon.

_________________

'07 GP Base SD Headers - hv3 - open cone - HPTUNERS user

good question do you think you can use that helmsans on niteshaded taillights?

and this write up just gave me a new way of doing lights thanks!!!!

-- Mon May 03, 2010 3:37 pm --

opps i need to read more lol, i clicked the link and somebody confirmed it works on taillights but didnt say they were tinted but i assume they are about the same just has a translucent paint vs no paint

_________________
http://www.cardomain.com/id/lacboi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Wow thats amazing.Nice job.

_________________
2007 Black on Black GP-Smoked Led tails,SPO spoiler and grills,tint,d+s rotors,autostart with alarm,Hai

where did you guys get the 1000 and 2000 grit sandpaper? The finest i can get around here is 600 wet/dry.

_________________

DIY intake-HV3-3" catless dp-180 tsat-DIY shift kit-murphy custom tune

walmart has 2000 and 1000 and any other parts store

_________________
http://www.cardomain.com/id/lacboi" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Can we get a mod to please sticky this?? Thanks.

_________________
2009.5 SBM G8 GT
November 2011 Car of the Month

Here here!
That's one hell of an idea.

_________________
2005 GT owner [Non S/C] with a "big DIC".
Two years later and I still love the car.
Thanks Pontiac...Bleen is keen!

This works very well. My lights look brand new...makes the car look much nicer!

_________________

http://www.cardomain.com/ride/3808127