[Pittbull]

... But i ruined my headlights

ok so despite all the sh*t ima get for this idc bc im at a loss..

so i wanted to tint my headlights nc my driver side head light looked like sh*t. so i bought a headlight restoration kit. cleaned em both up, but on the driver side light there is some kind of foggyness that remained no matter how many times i wet sanded it.. might b sin damage or something idk. so i figured wtf ill continue with my plans and start tinting. So i sprayed one coat of VHT Nightshade, let that dry, then sprayed two coats of clear coat on them. Stepped back and took a look at what i had done and at first i was like "ok looks good, not great but good." But as time goes by and everytime i look at the i wanna throw up! they look all foggy I tried another two coats of clear coat.. didnt work. i tried Meguiars PlasX plastic polish... didnt work. ALRIGHT so get all ur insults out and help me out here!

heres a link to some pics

Had A Good Weekend!

[mustanginky]

strip out and re sand the headlights. that cloud runs deep lol.

[sickfox]

The cloud is coming from not wet sanding between every coat. Just sand them down and try again, yes it sucks but this is how you get better/good at things. Learning is a process.

[Pittbull]

Ok so start from scratch is wat ur saying?

So if u buy another light resto. kit and start comepletely over, I would:

spray on tint
wet sand
clear coat
wet sand

???

[Pittbull]

What if I just wet sanded them now how they r? What would happen?
Sorry for the double post.. I'm anxious to fix this, Im losing sleep over it! Haha

[Zatrekaz]

Don't bother with the "Headlight Restoration kits". They or a waste of time. Go buy these materials:

• Assorted Sandpaper (320, 400, 600, 800, 2000)
• Rubbing Alcholo
• Adhesion Promoter
• Clear Coat
• VHT
• Some kind of paint stripper

Follow these steps:

1. Clean the headlights very good with soap/water
2. Spray the paint stripper VERY LIGHTLY over the headlight. Do not let it sit for to long. Some strippers can be finiky on plastic. Let it sit for about 10-15s and wipe it off with a disposable rag. Wear gloves.
3. Scuff the headlight with the 320 grit in a left-to-right motion. Go with the light
4. Once it is scuffed very well, clear it with rubbing alcholo again.
5. Spray 2-3 light coats of Adhesion Promotor. Let each coat become tacky between coats (about 2-3mins)
6. Start hitting it with VERY light coats of VHT. You only need about 2-3 coats total. Take your time... do very very light coats. The first few will not even cover the headlight completely. Make sure the coats are even as well.
7. Now spray 3-4 coats of clearcoat. Make sure they are light as well.
8. Wetsand your final clear coat with 2000 grit paper until it has a smooth finish.
9. Grab some rubbing compound with a Polisher or a foam applicator and begin to buff the hell out of it.
10. Follow up with a swirl remover

According to Travis, there is no real need to sand between coats. You get your shine from the light even coats and the sanded/buffed final coat.

Be sure to wax the headlights about 2 weeks after this. I bet you will get better results this way.

Be sure to tape up the back of the lights and the rubber as well.

[travis_afx]

Nice write up Z, your making me proud bud +reped

I can remmember when you had new questions every day for us, and now your the one doing writeups, Good job man


if i can make a suggestion though, when you get done with the paint stripper, wash your headlight off with some clean water. Ive found sometimes paint stripper likes to hide in little crevices sometimes, and if you dont completely remove all the stripper from the surface, whatever you put on after that will lift no matter what if there is stripper residue left. And the best way ive found, at least for me, to make sure all the stripper is removed from whatever i am stripping is to just flood the part surface with water. then after its dried, continue on with your sanding. It would be a really good idea to use the water flood method especially with plastics, because if there is any residue left when you start sanding, you are going to sand the stripper into the plastic and then your gonna have a whole bunch of problems you wont want. And really listen to Z, on the not leaving it on for only seconds, paint stripper is notorious for pretty much melting plastic. And def tape off your rubbers, stripper is murder to rubber.

But again, your impressing me Z. I will definitely admit you have surpassed me in painting with rattle cans.

[Pittbull]

WHOA Z! awesome buddy, I appreaciate the step by step
kinda scares me tho.. Ha
those dark smoked headlights from AM r lookin pretty good right now... I don't wanna spend $170 tho ):

[M.P. Cobra Fan]

You can buy a set I have of headlights I have for sale. Lightly tinted (almost bluish). $60 plus shipping.

[Pittbull]

Bluish tint? wtf mp, when I buy a civic I'll let u kno haha

I really do like the ones from AM, they have clear corners to!

[M.P. Cobra Fan]

These are clear corners as well. You should buy them bitch. I bought them for $125 plus shipping. I said fuck it and ran with it. They looked good. But then I found the headlights that I always wanted cheap. So I bought those. The tint is bluish/greyish.

[Pittbull]

How about this, sell those headlights and buy the ones from AM then sell them to me for 125

[Zatrekaz]

Originally Posted by Pittbull Bluish tint? wtf mp, when I buy a civic I'll let u kno haha I really do like the ones from AM, they have clear corners to!

I lol'd


Thanks for the words of praise everyone. It shows how much you can learn from this site and asking questions. In 2007 when I joined I did not know a quarter of the stuff I know now.

[bluestang41505]

How long does the vht take to dry?

[Pittbull]

Yeh u really can learn alot!

Z don't u have the dark smoked lights from AM? I'm pretty sure u have a pic in the customer pics, unless someone else has the exact same car as u ha

[Pittbull]

Originally Posted by bluestang41505 How long does the vht take to dry?

Not very long, it felt dry after about 15 minutes.. But I'm the wrong guy to b answering ur question!

[Zatrekaz]

It does not take long to dry. It all depends on the thickness of the coats, the ambient temp, the surface temp of the light, and the moisture in the air. You want to let the coats become tacking between applications. Roughly 5-10mins.

I have these: Dark Smoked Mustang Headlights (99-04) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping!

And yes, I have a pic up there. Here a newer one for ya:

[Pittbull]

I love those lights dood.
Would I b crazy to spend 170 bucks on new headlights? Not just cuz I ruined these but my stockers r scratched up and don't look good (as u can see)

[bluestang41505]

Originally Posted by Zatrekaz It does not take long to dry. It all depends on the thickness of the coats, the ambient temp, the surface temp of the light, and the moisture in the air. You want to let the coats become tacking between applications. Roughly 5-10mins. I have these: Dark Smoked Mustang Headlights (99-04) at AmericanMuscle.com - Free Shipping! And yes, I have a pic up there. Here a newer one for ya:

cool thanks for the info

[Zatrekaz]

I paid $200 for mine... but it was insurance money from the deer impact lol.

You get what you pay for, remember that.