Each step will take 3 to 5 mins on each headlight. The pads for wet sanding you will want to have on hand is a 1500 grit, either a 3000 or 5000 grit, and a finishing foam pad. You will want to make sure that the pads are safe for wet sanding.
Use headlight sandpaper along with Sand E-Z as one of the first steps to restore cloudy headlights. Use 600 and 800 Grits for very heavy oxidation. 1,000 Grit is typically enough to remove most oxidations. 1,500 and 2,000 are used as finish steps prior to buffing.
The headlight will become clearer and will be ready to wet sand with the Norton Ice 3000 grit disc. These discs are ideal for polishing out even faster in spot repair applications, thanks to the uniform cut, smooth finish and lower scratch depth.
The longer you spend on this step, the better your results will turn out. Again like the 800 grit and 1000 grit sandpaper, you will take the 2000 grit sandpaper and begin sanding the headlight, making sure to go in one direction.
Wet sand with 1,000 grit sandpaper: Using your water spray bottle, apply water (serves as a lubricant) on the surface of your headlights, and lightly wet sand using the 1,000 grit wet or wet-dry sandpaper.
Special 2K clear coat is a protective coating for polycarbonate lenses suitable for fixing scratches, yellowness or foggy headlights. Highly transparent, light-fast and weather-resistant clear coat. Increases resistance to environmental influences (UV light, salt water, car wash, etc.) and protects against new damages.
A cleaning solution of baking soda and vinegar is a great DIY option for cleaning foggy headlights. Household vinegar is effective in dissolving dirt, grease and debris. Vinegar as a cleaner is also environmentally friendly. This works best on oxidized or very cloudy headlights.
If your headlights are as bad as ours were when we started, slap some 400-grit sandpaper (800, if they're not so bad) on an orbital sander ($19 at Walmart) and start sanding your headlights. Yes, sand your headlights. As you sand, you'll begin to cut away the yellowed, oxidized plastic.
Toothpaste and baking soda can be effective cleansers for cleaning headlights. Both products are abrasive enough to take off the fog without scratching or damaging the headlights. Polishing compounds such as Rain-X might also be effective enough to remedy UV damage.
Sand Paper Grit Usage: 600 Grit: Should be used for heavily oxidized headlight lenses, as this is the most aggressive. 800 Grit: Should be used after 600 grit sanding paper, or as the first choice if headlight lenses have medium oxidation.
The dry sanding really is what should remove the actual UV coating itself. For that reason, I wouldn't really go too overboard with the sandpaper alone (using too much grit), because sandpaper alone will create scratches that were not already on your headlight once the UV layer is gone.
The grit level can go as low as 12 and as high as 600, but most home sanding projects should call for a grit size between 60 and 220. Coating indicates the density of the abrasive particles on a piece of sandpaper.
If the cloudiness you are seeing is in the corners of the headlight, you may just not have fully sanded out the oxidation or buffed out the sanding marks with your compound for fear of catching the paint. You can mask off the paint and compound those areas by hand if you can't get in with a buffer.
Professionals restore headlights in much the same way you do it at home, using a headlight restore kit. First the surface of the lens is cleaned and sandpaper is worked into the lens to remove the deteriorated coating on the lens. The headlight is then washed again to remove any residue which might remain.
Tape off the paint or plastic around the headlights using automotive masking tape. Dry sand the headlights using the lowest grit sandpaper. Wet sand the headlights using the next highest grit sandpaper. Wipe down the headlights with water and a microfiber towel to remove contamination.
Rust-Oleum Wipe New Heavy Duty Headlight Restore provides the ultimate solution to transform heavily oxidized lens covers to look new for any car, truck or automotive vehicle.
Armor All® Ultra Shine Headlight Restoration Wipes easily get rid of oxidation, restoring your headlights like new in two easy steps. Pre-moistened wipes eliminate the guesswork out of how much to use and require no tools or sandpaper.