[IMC]

Hey folks,

I know there are a lot of text threads / expired pictures, so just wanted to put this together in case anybody wants some pictures to follow along with. Many ways to do this, but here's how I did mine:

Mods: feel free to move or delete as necessary


Final comparison picture first:

0. Remove headlights

- Optional, but this made it a lot easier​

Looked like this to start with:

1. Wet sand headlights

- I went with 600 grit -> 800 grit -> 1000 grit -> 1500 grit -> 2000 grit​

- I did this by hand​

​

Pretty yellow:

In progress:

​

Pretty gross, this was after like 1 minute with 600 grit:

They'll look pretty scratched up (obviously) even after 2000, but don't worry:

2. Polish

• I used a random orbital for this, not sure if it can be done by hand
• I started with a light cutting pad (orange, for me) and Meguiar's 105 compound
• The 105 is about ~95% of the work
• I followed it with a polishing pad (white for me) and Meguiar's 205 compound. Just 1 pass
• Ended with a buffing pad (black for me) with Collinite wax, but feel free to use whatever wax you like

Here's what it looked like after 2000 grit, no polishing yet

Here is a one quick pass with the 105 + orange pad (pretty amazing stuff)

Here is after a few more passes. A lot better, but still has some scratches if you look closely

Continued in next post, hit the image max

 

[IMC]

I used a LED to see the minor scratches.

Still some scratches:

Few more passes with orange pad, 105, and most importantly more pressure:

I found the 105 is really pressure sensitive. I wasn't seeing any improvement until I put a lot pressure. I put enough pressure to slow the RA down a bit (but not stop it). I did all of this at speed 5 (my Porter Cable 7424 goes up to 6). Ended up here:

Not perfect, but I'm happy

After wax and test fitting..

Hope this was helpful. I still need to find some time to do the other headlight heh.

Good luck!

 

[FasTTurbo]

Nice thread, I need to do this on my new car 😬

 

[bitshftr]

Looks much better. I did this many years ago on my NA by hand and left the headlights on the car, but taped up the paint around the headlights for protection. I used 1000 grit, then 2000 grit, then 3000 grit (wetsanding), followed by Meguiar's PlastX polish. Came out looking brand new with no scratches...smooth as a baby's butt. Then I put PPF over them (can't remember the brand...they made a combined kit for Supra headlights & clear turn signals) and they still look the same as the day I polished them.

On my TT's 98-style headlights I did a modified version of this procedure. They weren't yellow, but I wanted professional PPF put on them (same as the entire rest of the car), so with the headlight off the car this time, I sanded only with 3000 grit and polished with Meguiar's PlastX. Still looking perfect 3 years later.

 

[SoarerTT]

Great job! Don't forget to throw some UV coating to keep the headlights clear. It's the UV rays that turn the plastic yellow after the factory coating has worn off. They will oxidize and turn yellow again if left out in the sun.

 

[bitshftr]

Great job! Don't forget to throw some UV coating to keep the headlights clear. It's the UV rays that turn the plastic yellow after the factory coating has worn off. They will oxidize and turn yellow again if left out in the sun.

Yep. That's why I put the PPF on them. I was originally going to have a body shop spray a few coats of clearcoat over them, but decided to go PPF instead.

 

[IMC]

Yep. That's why I put the PPF on them. I was originally going to have a body shop spray a few coats of clearcoat over them, but decided to go PPF instead.

Oh thats a good call. I'll look into PPF or some UV coating. I don't want to do this again lol.

Any recommendations for either?

 

[bitshftr]

I want to say that the PPF headlight kit I bought was Suntek. But anybody who does good PPF work can custom cut some film for the headlights.