[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Regarding sealing with the wax. Wax is not durable and once it wears off the headlights will start becoming yellow since the factory plastic protector coat is removed during wet sanding. Look for dedicated headlamp restore kit(Turtle wax has one IIRC) which has some sort of plastic sealer which acts as the protective top coat that lasts long.

Thankyou for this suggestion . I will definitely try to procure the turtle wax headlight restorer protectant. For the time being , I am currently applying the liquid wax every week till I get the protectant or PPF applied.

Originally Posted by saisree

A nice diy there and hope it helps many here. Those headlamps looks neat and clear

Thankyou Sir.

Originally Posted by viXit

Waiting to do the same. Where did you buy the sandpaper from?

Thankyou Sir, I managed to get the sandpapers from my local hardware store . Luckily he had the 3M branded Sandpaper.

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

Great job! Did you consider applying a later of clear coat? That would ensure longevity and you would not have to do the restoration for a long time.

Thankyou, Although I didn't need to apply clear coat as I already polished the headlights with the orbital polisher. In order to apply clear coat I would need to sand it again with 2000 / 3000 grit paper for the clear coat to stick to the headlight else it would just flake off. This particular method doesn't need clear coat spray.

Originally Posted by AJ56

Easiest and longest lasting protection for the lens after stripping the old clearcoat would be a quality ceramic coating, again you can get Carpro Cquartz kits off Amazon. Make sure you IPA wipe the lens thoroughly before application.

I did check this option out on amazon but it looks out to be expensive. Thanks for the suggestion by the way.

Originally Posted by AJ56

Wouldn’t recommend without the right equipment and a paint booth. You can use clear but to do it properly you’ll need an HVLP spray gun, and a completely dust free environment to ensure no contaminants stick to the clear while curing.

Indeed you are right. This is primarily the main reason I didn't opt for the clear coat spray method. The method which I opted seemed much efficient although I need to find a good Plastic protectant.

Originally Posted by headers

Awesome job, But applying PPF on it would dull the HL in the long run. PPF does like heat and tends to yellow over a period of time.

Oh, I need to check more on this. Thanks for the heads up ! I've heard people tell about the slight yellowing part when applied on the body of a white car, but it usually happens after 3+ years.

Originally Posted by shankarbn

bought brand new headlight lenses from aliexpress instead for around 15 dollars shipped. Sure, it meant an even harder DIY but I've never had to redo this for 3 years now.

AliExpress option was also considered but it being banned here made me look for alternatives. Thanks for the suggestion!

Originally Posted by Aish_4761

Before:
Attachment 2238666

After:Attachment 2238667

Wow, the result looks good but as you mentioned, removing the bumper would not obstruct the orbital polisher when buffing. Thankyou

Originally Posted by @og_adi

I remember reading somewhere about WD-40 being used to clean hazy headlamps. Has anyone tried it? Is it an effective solution?

Had tried this earlier on my dads Rav4. It looked good for a minute or two but then when the WD40 wore off, it returned back to how it was initially. Bummer!

Originally Posted by Sebring

I use the Meguiars Headlight restorer. This even protects from future haze. All you need is a towel to wipe it off the surface. My two decade old Zen had a real bad build-up, and this did a great job

Wow, is it possible for you to share a link of the product? I'll see if this available locally, This looks to be a good option for the Headlight protectant.Thanks for sharing!

Originally Posted by AJ56

Wanted to post some before and after shots of an old Sunny’s lights we had recently restored.
The reason PPF isn’t a great solution on lens is cause it adds orange peel (optical distortion) in the finish (just like with paint) and more importantly it yellows out within a year, also you can see the edges around the lens which looks ugly.

I’ll also add that the clearcoat on plastic lens only yellows and breaks down when not cared for over the years, as UV radiation breaks it down. If you apply protection regularly be it sealants or coatings, you car won’t have any yellowing/hazing on the lens. To prove my point you can see my own car below (black Amaze) it’s almost 9 years old and these are the original lens, zero loss in clarity.

Those are some Spectacular before and after shots AJ56 ! Thankyou for sharing. So what do you think about this being applied on the headlights ( Bike Ceramic Coat Kit) ? 1 bottle costs about 1200rs and I feel it should be enough for both headlights. Do Let me know your thoughts.

https://superceramiccoating.com/buy-...c-coating-kit/

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

Those are some Spectacular before and after shots AJ56 ! Thankyou for sharing. So what do you think about this being applied on the headlights ( Bike Ceramic Coat Kit) ? 1 bottle costs about 1200rs and I feel it should be enough for both headlights. Do Let me know your thoughts.

https://superceramiccoating.com/buy-...c-coating-kit/

Thank you for the kind words! I’ve never heard of or used this brand before but from their site and low pricing I’m almost certain it’s a cheap Chinese rebranded coating that is being repackaged and sold, otherwise no quality ceramic kit is this cheap.

Also, they don’t mention the volume of their bottles, how are 2 bottles required for 1 small car? For a mid size car like say an Accord, you need around 18-22 ml of liquid, bottles are either 30 or 50ml for most brands. They claim 3 bottles for a large vehicle, having done dozens of Land Cruisers I can say one 30 ml bottle is more than enough, even for large vehicles. So something is way off, even if I assume they’re giving 2 coats per car, for a hatchback two 30 ml bottles = 60 ml which is enough for 4 coats.

If you don’t want to buy the entire kit from Amazon, you can take it to any good detail shop that specialises in ceramic coatings and have them apply it to both your lens, every shop will have open bottles and it should be much cheaper than buying a 50ml kit. Cheers.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by AJ56

Also, they don’t mention the volume of their bottles, how are 2 bottles required for 1 small car? For a mid size car like say an Accord, you need around 18-22 ml of liquid, bottles are either 30 or 50ml for most brands. They claim 3 bottles for a large vehicle, having done dozens of Land Cruisers I can say one 30 ml bottle is more than enough, even for large vehicles. So something is way off, even if I assume they’re giving 2 coats per car, for a hatchback two 30 ml bottles = 60 ml which is enough for 4 coats.

If you don’t want to buy the entire kit from Amazon, you can take it to any good detail shop that specialises in ceramic coatings and have them apply it to both your lens, every shop will have open bottles and it should be much cheaper than buying a 50ml kit.

Now that you mentioned it , it indeed seems shady. I'll go and ask a detailing shop to ceramic coat the headlights if possible.

Regards
Ashton Castelino

[Oppanna]

Bumping an old thread. Please let us know how are the polished headlights holding up now?

Did you redo the process again in the last two years?

[Sherlocked]

Originally Posted by Ashtoncastelino

Hope this DIY helped and I'm waiting to see the before/after photos of your headlight restorations

You didn't clear coat the lense after the restoration? How is it holding up? Kindly update.

Thanks.

[Ashtoncastelino]

Originally Posted by Oppanna

Bumping an old thread. Please let us know how are the polished headlights holding up now?

Did you redo the process again in the last two years?

Originally Posted by Sherlocked

You didn't clear coat the lense after the restoration? How is it holding up? Kindly update.

Thanks.

The headlights are still in the same shape and it hasn't shown any signs of aging, did not need to redo the process again. You can either go ahead with the procedure i've mentioned or you can do it the ChrisFix way of using clearcoat after sanding them. I have installed Projector Headlights and have followed the clear coat method on the spare headlights I procured. More updates to follow up on the Swift ownership log

Regards
Ashton Castelino