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After wetsanding, powerballing, and toothpasting, I took the easy way out.

N

Not Brian

CEG'er
Joined
Aug 17, 2013
Messages
47
Location
Central Ohio
Spent a long evening working on my old headlights.. in the end they seemed to be a lost cause so I bought new ones. I'm sure somebody will post a link to some website showing what else I should have tried, but fuggit I was don't screwing around so I bought a new pair.

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Nice fit. What kind did you get?

I polished mine but couldn't do it properly until I bought a drill attachment for 3" pads. With that it's easy and aside from the microcracks from age, they're crystal clear.
 
dchawk81 said:
I might. How's the rubber?
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It's rubbery. Looks like the last owner maybe took them apart and glued them back together? Either that or Ford sucked at building these things. Regardless, there was never any condensation or anything, and the rest of the housings look to be in normal working order.
dchawk81 said:
Did your wet sanding damage them?
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I don't think so. It was my first attempt, ever, so maybe?
 
Not Brian said:
It's rubbery. Looks like the last owner maybe took them apart and glued them back together? Either that or Ford sucked at building these things. Regardless, there was never any condensation or anything, and the rest of the housings look to be in normal working order.

I don't think so. It was my first attempt, ever, so maybe?
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My rubbers are cracked and broken from age. I wouldn't want to replace them with the same. That's why I asked.

Wet sanding is dangerous ground, IMHO, and it's too easy to etch the plastic to the point of unrepairability.
 
3M kit is incredible. They make a couple different ones though, if you're buying them I recommend the one in the red package about $22 at Advance, the others only have things like masking tape with them or a sealing compound. However, they want an extra $11 for the one with masking tape.
 
With the right steps you could start with a 300 grit wet sand and be able to get the scratches out. I usually start at 600 and work my way up. Used to use a 3" pad on an air polisher now i juest remove the headlights bolt them to the bench and finish them with my portercable buffer wih 6" pads. Makes an easy job of it. I will say the headlights do not stay clear as long as a new set will. I buff mine atleast once a year.
 
It's my opinion, you can't replicate new lenses. Even if you can, with the time to maintain them, your better off buying new.
 
TourEnvy said:
It's my opinion, you can't replicate new lenses. Even if you can, with the time to maintain them, your better off buying new.
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Well, new ones will eventually haze over like the old ones did and you're back in the same boat.

I don't find it much of an effort to do a maintenance buff every 3-6 months. It's really only the original corrective effort that takes time, IME.
 
dchawk81 said:
Well, new ones will eventually haze over like the old ones did and you're back in the same boat.

I don't find it much of an effort to do a maintenance buff every 3-6 months. It's really only the original corrective effort that takes time, IME.
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I'll gladly pay $150 for new ones every 15 years rather than messing around with weird products every few months. Wanna know why? Because I won't have this car in 15 years :)
 
Not Brian said:
I'll gladly pay $150 for new ones every 15 years rather than messing around with weird products every few months. Wanna know why? Because I won't have this car in 15 years :)
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15 years??? I think i understand what you're saying, but if this is a struggle for you're going to have a hard time doing anything else to these cars.
 
Not Brian said:
I'll gladly pay $150 for new ones every 15 years rather than messing around with weird products every few months. Wanna know why? Because I won't have this car in 15 years :)
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Haha touché. I might still have mine; I'm running it until the wheels fall off. Then I'll duct tape the wheels back on and run it some more. :-D
 
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