Wet sanded my pitted headlights!

[DJ Hellfire]

Got some befores and afters of my wet sanded lights. It came out pretty good for my first time. I could have started with some 1500 grit and then went to 2000 to get a clearer finish, but I went with 2000 grit only and I realized the headlights were worse than I thought they were. But they still came out pretty smooth and clear, much better than before. I gained a slightly sharper cutoff, gained back some blue color lost to the pitting, and a farther reaching beam.

Before:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN1949.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN1950.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN1919.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2356.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2357.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2358.jpg



After sanding, before polish:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2359.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2360.jpg



Finished:
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2361.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2362.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN2363.jpg

[clarion]

looks good

[KeWLKaT]

niceeeeeeeeee

[txdproject]

not bad... gotta love the clear plastic that shows all the litte crappy things that hit from the road... but it came out really nice man

[only1db]

not bad...

i use mothers plastic wax...does the same thing.

[05TidalWave]

F-cking awesome... I want it! DIY Guide pr favor!

[exsailor]

How long did it take you with the 2000 grit?

[ArunSenior04]

F-cking awesome... I want it! DIY Guide pr favor!

LOL there is a DIY for this. Same instructions. 2000 Grit wet sanding. Some kind of Plastic polish, preferably Meguier's.

[05TidalWave]

IM a douche I know... Damn me and my impulse posting!

[DJ Hellfire]

not bad...

i use mothers plastic wax...does the same thing.


I tried that first and it didn't do **** for the pitting.

How long did it take you with the 2000 grit?

I spent about 20 minutes sanding each side, then another 5 minutes to polish each side and then about 15 minutes for the liguid glass protectant. So it took a little over an hour to do the whole thing. I just hope it lasts!

[ninja]

looks brand new. amazing!

[cslsxpistol]

what did u use for polishing?

[SubZeDiZeD]

Yea..... I've been needing to do this for a while.

[Hitman]

I finally got around to doing this and it worked out great. Sad part for me was that one of my headlamps had been missing a dust cap for a long time so it had some gunk on the inside of the lens too. I used the Meguier's stuff.

[03SilverBullet]

Can this be done to the OEM 01-03 GT fogs?

[templedogg]

Good work! Looks nice.

[03SilverBullet]

What kind of polish did you use?

[elantra_mann84]

that looks great ima do it too mine are sh**!

[NY2002ElantraGT]

i wet sanded mine with 2000gritt and used mothers plastic polish with the powerball... omg what a difference, they look brand new!

[03SilverBullet]

i wet sanded mine with 2000gritt and used mothers plastic polish with the powerball... omg what a difference, they look brand new!
Pictures?!?! I wanna see how much better looking they are because they looked so bad.

[NY2002ElantraGT]

before
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/SurferJ4/ElantraGT%20Pics/DSC01869.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/SurferJ4/ElantraGT%20Pics/DSC01871.jpg

after
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/SurferJ4/ElantraGT%20Pics/DSC01876.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/SurferJ4/ElantraGT%20Pics/DSC01877.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v484/SurferJ4/ElantraGT%20Pics/DSC01878.jpg

[03SilverBullet]

Looks 100% better. Did you do the fog lights?

[NY2002ElantraGT]

not yet.... I barely have time to wipe my *** anymore... haha, i have tuesday off so if i have some energy, its going into my car!

[julien98]

Where did you get those futuristic headlight covers???????????

[03SilverBullet]

Where did you get those futuristic headlight covers???????????
Futuristic? haha.. I have seen them on a few elantras and from what I was told they dont make them anymore.. You could order this film crap that goes over the headlights if your looking to protect them.

[jimbo3n21]

hey guys is there any where else i can find the 2000 grit sandpaper other then the auto part stores. because ive been looking around and i cant find any, but ill try looking some more

[chillbro1]

hey guys is there any where else i can find the 2000 grit sandpaper other then the auto part stores. because ive been looking around and i cant find any, but ill try looking some more

Try an auto paint supply store...or an auto parts store that sells automotive paints. They usually have all the sandpaper grit choices to get the job done. If you can't find it that way...ask a reputable body shop where they get their supplies.

As for the sandpaper job...looks good.

I put toothpaste on mine and got much of the haze off...but...as I originally though...I am just gonna have to use the sandpaper to get them clear.

Nice work though and thx for the post!


Peace,

[|2oo]

i just took mine to my dealer and he replaced them :) woot

[redbull_ng]

looks nice..

[DJ Hellfire]

Home Depot or Lowes sells the sand paper as well.

[xdforme22]

Should you use both a polish and a wax, or just a polish? Is the wax the "liquid glass protectant?"

[Jlivan]

Looks great!

I've used that PLASTX and it didn't work on my lights. After I put it on you could tell the difference but it didn't last long.

[SuperGLS]

Good job. I noticed at the recent meet that a lot of you guys have this problem. My lights look as good as the day they arrived from Korea. I was trying to figure out what is going on, but it can't be weather because it happens everywhere.

[DJ Hellfire]

Should you use both a polish and a wax, or just a polish? Is the wax the "liquid glass protectant?"


I polished them, but I didn't wax them. I used the liquid glass. The reason I used the liquid glass is because when you wet sand your headlights, the scratches will show back up after about a week or two one the polish washes off. The liquid glass goes on a wet blue liquid and drys into a hard clear shell-like protectant. This will keep the sanded scratched look from coming back. On top of the liquid glass, I also applied 3M's clear headlight protector film. It costed about $54 for 2 sheets that were pre-cut for the XD headlights (cheaper if you get the square non-precut sheets and cut your own shapes). It's been probably about a year since I first made this post, and if I go out right now and take a pic of my headlights, you will see that they still look just as clear as they did the day I did this.

They also have the fog lamp kit now, but you will need to specify GLS or GT for XD1: http://www.xpel.com/products/configurator.asp?prevtype=1&prevyear=2002&prevmake=16&prevmodel=290&prevsubmodel=0&prevseries=0&type=1&year=2002&make=16&model=290&submodel=777.

Also, I've seen some guys ask what polish I used. The plastic polish I used is some stuff I got at last years NY Auto Show and it's called Flitz. I never seen it in stores so I don't know how easy it is to get.

[htekric3r1200]

I polished them, but I didn't wax them. I used the liquid glass. The reason I used the liquid glass is because when you wet sand your headlights, the scratches will show back up after about a week or two one the polish washes off. The liquid glass goes on a wet blue liquid and drys into a hard clear shell-like protectant. This will keep the sanded scratched look from coming back. On top of the liquid glass, I also applied 3M's clear headlight protector film. It costed about $54 for 2 sheets that were pre-cut for the XD headlights (cheaper if you get the square non-precut sheets and cut your own shapes). It's been probably about a year since I first made this post, and if I go out right now and take a pic of my headlights, you will see that they still look just as clear as they did the day I did this.

They also have the fog lamp kit now, but you will need to specify GLS or GT for XD1: http://www.xpel.com/products/configurator.asp?prevtype=1&prevyear=2002&prevmake=16&prevmodel=290&prevsubmodel=0&prevseries=0&type=1&year=2002&make=16&model=290&submodel=777.

Also, I've seen some guys ask what polish I used. The plastic polish I used is some stuff I got at last years NY Auto Show and it's called Flitz. I never seen it in stores so I don't know how easy it is to get.

Have any recent pics with the hids shining through the lense?

[DJ Hellfire]

Have any recent pics with the hids shining through the lense?

No, but I can get you some. You want night or day shots?

Here are the fogs I did in September though! http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/Elantra%20Fog%20Lights/

[htekric3r1200]

No, but I can get you some. You want night or day shots?

Here are the fogs I did in September though! http://s19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/Elantra%20Fog%20Lights/

Nice pics. Some nights shot would be great. BTW were you able to remove all of the UV coating on the headlights?

[DJ Hellfire]

Nice pics. Some nights shot would be great. BTW were you able to remove all of the UV coating on the headlights?

Honestly, I didn't even pay attention to any UV coating. I just sanded until they were clear again. I never noticed a UV coating on them.

[Pase]

wow!!! niceeeeeeeee job, what a difference!!!

[quickfingerz]

I applied plastx 7 times by hand and never really got much of a difference. Then one day I used an orbital buffer to apply it and it really got them cleared

[DJ Hellfire]

Here are the requested pics. I think my passenger bulb is dying. It's starting to get dim and has been flickering on start up lately sometimes. Anyway, this is the condition of the lenses 1 year after wet sanding. Never had to service them again since.
http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN3596.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN3588.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN3591.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN3593.jpg

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b166/djhellfire/DSCN3587.jpg

[Tseug]

If I may direct a terribly stupid question at DJ Hellfire or anyone else who has done this...:stupid:

Did you accomplish these results by hand, or did you use a power sander or something else?

Thanks!

[DJ Hellfire]

By hand. Other than maybe a mothers powerball polisher thingy, I wouldn't trust many power tools for this.

[Tseug]

Thanks! :cool: