Taking apart headlight assemblies

[tysamigo]

I have tried the following to clean 1 of the headlights:
http://www.vehicross.info/modules.ph...warticle&id=26

Once I got to the step where you use the polishing pads from the "5 minute" cleaning kit from Autozone my headlights looked identical to the pics in the procedure. However, after using the polishing step the headlight is worse now. When doing the sandpaper steps I used the sandpaper lightly but I'm thinking that maybe I used the sandpaper still a bit heavy because after doing ALL steps (including the McQuires polishing) the headlight has many swirls and looks very foggy still.

So on my 2nd headlight I skipped the sandpaper step and just used the "5 minute" cleaning kit plus the McQuires. The 2nd headlight looks almost brand new and is nearly perfect! I love it.

But what do I do about the first headlight? Is it just totally screwed?

Also I have to reseal the headlight lens back to the housing. What is the best way to remove the original sealant? Do I keep reheating it and just pull it off by hand?

One last question, what and how to I reseal? I purchased Super Clear Silicon Gasket Maker (Type 7). Is this the correct stuff?

While my VX is broken down waitint for me to finish the stuff listed above that I need help with, I have to take the bus around town. I now remember how I hate the public transportation system lol

Thanks for all of your help

[IndianaVX]

hey ty,
sorry to hear you had some trouble with the polishing. did you use pleanty of water? and are you sure you used 1000 grit sandpaper, and NOT 100 grit?? or 1500 grit, NOT 150 grit? the sandpaper you want should be very VERY smooth, like there is no grit at all. im just trying to figure out what went wrong. you have to use ALOT of water when sanding the plastic. you might use one of the pads,(new) and just a very small amount of water to get a really thick paste going, do you know what i mean? this thicker paste should rub out any fogging, or swirls. this really concerns me, since i wrote the how to, and dont want to steer anyone wrong. dont get discouraged, just think it thru, i dont think you ruined anything......... post up your progress


if worse comes to worse, i would be happy to meet you half way, and work on it with you....im just north of bloomington, indiana, so im not THAT far away.....
just let me know, or if you want to talk it thru, shoot me an email with your number, and ill give you a call......

[tysamigo]

Indiana,

Thanks. Well, it didn't turn out that bad. Just after my post I was so determined to see if I could turn it around. I did purchase 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper and I did use LOTS of water. I basically kept everything drinched and I worked under a water hose outside. I used 3 of the pads on each headlight just as you. However, I did go back to Autozone and purchased another kit. I used 3 more pads (for an additional 6 pads) on this particular headlight and remarkably... the results are now the same. I'm not sure what went wrong because I used the right sand paper and did it very lightly under running water. In either case, after the 6th pad from the kit, it looks just as good as the other one now. They are not "brand new" looking as there are a few very small chips (very small) but from a few feet away they look new. I'm happy

Everything turned out fine after all.

Thanks for your advice and for offering your help

I LOVE VX'erzzzz

[IndianaVX]

glad it all worked out for ya tyler,
im am still just wondering, for clarification, you dont want to use alot of water when using the pads.....just enough to create, and maintain a paste a little thinner than say toothpaste. if too much water is used with pads, you loose the abrasive, hence not rubbing things out. just curiouse
if you ARE using too much water, then you COULD get them looking like new from inches away,
but you said the most important words... that YOU are happy with it.
GOOD JOB.

[tysamigo]

Yes. When I used the sandpaper it was under slow running water. When I used the kits I only misted the pads (per the box instructions and your instructions) which resulted in the paste that you talk about. It starts off as white dots but as the pad scrubs around combined with the very small amount of water, it's paste as you describe.