Plain Jane OEM nothing to see here rebuild

[JustJeff]

Yeah doing it by hand. I don't own a mounted wheel. If it doesn't turn out well enough by hand I may look into a buffing bit for a drill or my dremel. My concern with the dremel is how fast that spins.

I own a foam/sponge pad for sanding bodywork. As of yet I can't find it. Hopefully tonight after work I have time to get to the body supply shop. I need a sheet of 1500 grit.

[RETed]

Dremel is way too fast and too small - you're going to gouge the plastic.
Even if you manage to slow it down, it's going to take a long time to do the whole lens.

What I did was get a buffer attachment for a drill.
Most of the buffer covers - usually wool or equivalent - are too course for your application.
I used a discarded T-shirt and covered the whole thing - cut & tied to fit snugly - to give you a more finer (smoother?) buffing surface.
Work slowly until you get a feel for the buffing action.


-Ted

[Pete_89T2]

Originally Posted by RETed

Dremel is way too fast and too small - you're going to gouge the plastic.
Even if you manage to slow it down, it's going to take a long time to do the whole lens.

What I did was get a buffer attachment for a drill.
Most of the buffer covers - usually wool or equivalent - are too course for your application.
I used a discarded T-shirt and covered the whole thing - cut & tied to fit snugly - to give you a more finer (smoother?) buffing surface.
Work slowly until you get a feel for the buffing action.


-Ted

Agreed, but save yourself some time & guesswork and just buy the Meguire's or an equivalent headlight restoration kit. The Meguires kit comes with a buffer attachment for your drill that is just the right size for headlight work, and has a washable pad that has just the right level of abrasiveness for the job - it's on the fine/soft side. I found that if you follow the directions, run the drill at 1/2 to 3/4 of max speed and bear down with moderate pressure, you'll get good results. Multiple passes from opposite/overlapping directions works best. For the FTP lenses, removing them from the car & securing them in a vise makes life easier.