Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Whether you're just washing the car, into detailing in a big way or enhancing your 406, collect and share hints and tips here.

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Welly
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Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by Welly »

Not something a 406 suffers but our Poxhorl Disastra has embarrassed itself with faded/crazed headlampage.

I've seen various resto' kits but which are best? there's one I've seen where you do the rubbing down by hand (fair enough) and others which use a drill attachment (could go wrong if you slip etc?) obvs I'd mask up the bodywork first but do you need the drill or can you do as good a job by hand? you're basically cutting through the plazzy to a fresh layer.

I've seen a 'Quixx' kit for £13.00 which also comes with a sealant whereas the 3M kit is £18.00 with no sealer so I'm leaning towards the Quixx for now.
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steve_earwig
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by steve_earwig »

I guess it'll be either do it manually and be rubbing away (fner) forever or use the drill attachment but be very careful not to use it so much in one place the plastic melts...

The Quixx has some good reviews on Amazon, criticisms seem to be along the lines of "it takes bloody ages" and "it doesn't work". I reckon it depends how bad your headlamps are, if it's only light crazing them do it manually but if it's heavy go for the drill on the grounds that they're f*cked anyway...
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GingerMagic
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by GingerMagic »

Have a peek on YouTube, me old fruit, there Is a chap that did step by step instructions using just sandpaper and laquer, on a ghastly PT Cruiser.....
Quite good results.... :cheesy:
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Welly
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by Welly »

I've looked on youtoob and have noticed you can use Wet 'n' Dry of various grades but it seems the cost of that plus the UV protecting 'lotion' is more than these kits.

They lamps are not too bad in fairness so I reckon I'll go at them carefully* by hand. One thing I noticed on the vids is people 'masking up' the bonnet edge.....why not lift the bonnet up out the way? :roll:

I'll wait and see if anyone else has any objections before ordering, thanks for your comments so far :cheesy:
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by BIGDAN »

I've done it on astras before use just a cloth and g3 Polish compound then a normal Polish crystal clear
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Bailes1992
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by Bailes1992 »

Welly. Don't buy a kit whatever you do.

Get some wet and dry paper. Start with 800 grit and work your way upto 3000 grit. The higher you go the easier the polishing experience will be.

Get a cheap dual action sander and a polishing pad. Use something like G3 on the polishing pad and slow speed to polish out the sanding marks.
Then finish it off by hand with something finer to bring back some clarity.
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Re: Talk to me about restoring faded Headlamps

Post by Waxman »

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