3M headlight lense restoration

[clemsonfor]

i didn't know HF had a kit.. should shopepd around.

I had another idea as well.

when ;ooking, I saw two types of kits.

1 type was just a clear 'coating' you applied with a sponge tip applicatior.., the other was the sand and buff type.

i wonder if you did the sand and buff, thensealed it with the other type if it would last longer?

happy right now.. my two trucks have clear lamps not frosted...


soudnguy

The HF kit like i said had a 1000+ grit sanding disk for the drill. Thats got to be bettter than the rubbing by hand grit or any mirical polish that you see at the stores in my mind as your basically resurfacing the plastic to a shine.

Like i said HF has at least 2 kits . The one i got made by CCP and one by 3m and maybe another one, just not sure? The one i got looks cheap and i just got it cause it was only $6 or $9. I tried it on my old ranger before i put i to the the new highlander cause i did not want to ruin anything. It worked so well i bought it again to use on the TOY. I have seen at the parts places as well ad walmart some of the polishes that you use by hand and ther is no way that they can work near as well as the drill powed sanding ones like i got or sounds like you got!

 

[Soundguy]

The HF kit like i said had a 1000+ grit sanding disk for the drill. Thats got to be bettter than the rubbing by hand grit or any mirical polish that you see at the stores in my mind as your basically resurfacing the plastic to a shine.

Like i said HF has at least 2 kits . The one i got made by CCP and one by 3m and maybe another one, just not sure? The one i got looks cheap and i just got it cause it was only $6 or $9. I tried it on my old ranger before i put i to the the new highlander cause i did not want to ruin anything. It worked so well i bought it again to use on the TOY. I have seen at the parts places as well ad walmart some of the polishes that you use by hand and ther is no way that they can work near as well as the drill powed sanding ones like i got or sounds like you got!

i wasn't doing any hand rubbing. the 3m kit comes with a pad that chucks to a drill, then 2 sanding stages, and 2 polishing stages. last polish stage is the rubbing compound. before that is a 3000 grit sponge, and before that two harsher.. like a 400 and an 800 or something to that effect. yellow disc, then purple disk, then grey disk, then sponge and compound... grey disc is used with water.. etc.

soundguy

 

[clemsonfor]

i wasn't doing any hand rubbing. the 3m kit comes with a pad that chucks to a drill, then 2 sanding stages, and 2 polishing stages. last polish stage is the rubbing compound. before that is a 3000 grit sponge, and before that two harsher.. like a 400 and an 800 or something to that effect. yellow disc, then purple disk, then grey disk, then sponge and compound... grey disc is used with water.. etc.

soundguy

That should be better than the HF kit i got. It had a sanding step then a polishing grit on a foam pad. But the quality was still good.

There is A kind of mystery liquid you just rub on, and there is a kind you hand buff, neither of these can last anytime is what i think, not saying they may not look good till the liquid or juice wears off or whatever.

 

[WilliamBos]

Thanks for the review Chris!! What year is the Yukon?? My 04 Sierra is as clear as the day it was new.

 

[Soundguy]

That should be better than the HF kit i got. It had a sanding step then a polishing grit on a foam pad. But the quality was still good.

There is A kind of mystery liquid you just rub on, and there is a kind you hand buff, neither of these can last anytime is what i think, not saying they may not look good till the liquid or juice wears off or whatever.

yep.. I've seen some that are just a clear liquid like a thin fingernail clear polish. I hear they wear off over time.. kinda like those scratch restorers for glasses.

i think this sanding kind should work better.. should get you to a virgin plastic ( polycarbonate? ) surface much like the original lense had, minus of course any surface treatment it may have had.

soundguy

 

[Soundguy]

Thanks for the review Chris!! What year is the Yukon?? My 04 Sierra is as clear as the day it was new.

2000


soundguy

 

[CWOSCSU]

The first kit I ever used was made by Permatex. Worked great, but all the sanding and buffing was by hand. Not fun, but that was about 3 yeas ago, and I don't 3M had a kit at that time. Anyway, what I found to work very well to prevent dulling / yellowing is Mother's Plastic Polish. Just wipe on, light buff off, and the leans look good as new. The lens I did 3 years ago (89 F250) look just as good today. Used the 3M kit on my VW Jetta last year, and with the Plastic Polish, they also look just as good.

 

[Soundguy]

might have to look at that plastic polish

 

[dstig1]

There are really two issues at play here.
1. The surface is pitted, eroded, oxidized, etc and the kits fix that by re-smoothing the lens.
2. The lens is not quite what you think it is.

Let me explain. Almost all of the plastic headlight lenses are made from polycarbonate as it is very strong, super tough, can take the temperatures of a headlight, and is quite optically clear. It has a couple weaknesses as a lens material: it does not hold up to just about any solvent, and it scratches very easily.

There is a solution for this: They Hardcoat the PC lenses after molding to improve both of those weaknesses dramatically. It is a common siloxane-based coating (glass-like, is a simple way to put it) but it is thin and can be brittle to some degree.

So when you refinish a lens, you are basically buffing off this coating and any other surface defects. This is why the lens will likely not hold up in the long term. Unfortunately I do not know of any aftermarket hard coats as the original requires a precise coating and then an oven drying procedure.

Just so you know. Something like a hard carnuba wax, as one poster recommended, may help extend the life, but once the surface degrades that much you are in a cycle of wash, rinse repeat. But of course by the time you do this, the vehicle is already pretty old so it may not become a big issue for the remaining life.

Here, I found one for you:
http://www.momentive.com/momentiveI...les/Documents/Data Sheets/SHC5020 MB.indd.pdf

 

[Soundguy]

I was guessing they were polycarbonate.

I wonder if there are any clear coat laquer or other coatings that could be used on it that would not attack the plastic, yet offer it some protection?

soundguy