MK5 Golf GTI
All Things Mk5 => Mk5 General Area => Topic started by: jonnboyy69 on June 16, 2014, 06:13:50 pm
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Evening chaps,
Anyone recommend a decent plastic lens restoration kit? My lens are beginning to haze/cloud on the outside and im sceptical trying the cheap n cheerful methods seen on you tube, I dont fancy the neighbours laughing at me smearing toothpaste or avocado's on them!
I prefer a kit that re-coats the uv protective layer, but unsure which of the many different ones are proven to be the most effective and best value for money. cheers in advance ppl.
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http://www.meguiars.co.uk/product/397/Meguiars-Headlight-Restoration-Kit/ :happy2:
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Loads of peeps have used the 3M kit with great results. Only costs £20, they did a half price sale a while back and it was only a tenner.
Here you go, you can probably it cheaper it you hunt around....
~~ Clicky here ~~ (http://www.3mdirect.co.uk/3m-headlight-restoration-kit-39073.html)
SaintSteve did a good write up on it, can't find it at the mo, have a search on here, it's somewhere! :wink:
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I've got a Gunson kit that I've had for ages, been meaning to do it every weekend for the past few months, just never find the time. So couldn't comment on that one, but have heard good things about the 3M kit that's been mentioned.
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Ahh loads to choose and recommend, cheers for replies guys, Halfords sell the Meguiars which i may pop in to look at. Anyone used Sylvania kit? i was impressed with a couple of you tube vids of their product;
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/281361348404?limghlpsr=true&hlpv=2&ops=true&viphx=1&hlpht=true&lpid=108&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=108
Thanks again for speedy replies
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When I had my ep3 someone on the CTRO forum wrote a detailed post on how they'd used some basic halfords rubbing compound with a microfibre and then polished them.
The results looked pretty impressive so I tried it on mine and it worked a treat. I'm sure the kits are better and less work but for £4 i thought I'd give it a go.
EDIT: Here's the link: http://civictype-r.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=276973&hilit=headlight+restoration
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Just get some wet n dry 1000, then 3000, a warm bucket of car soap n water, and some Megs ultimate compound and a polisher.. Did mine yesterday and they look spankers now :drool:
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Just get some wet n dry 1000, then 3000, a warm bucket of car soap n water, and some Megs ultimate compound and a polisher.. Did mine yesterday and they look spankers now :drool:
Great write up you should of taken pictures Steve. :happy2:
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Just machine polish them.
You will find often you don't need to wetsand and you should avoid this unless you absolutely need to.
Any PROPER car polish compound eg Scholl, Menzerna etc by machine will be fine.. a mediumy-hard pard on a dual action or rotary polisher. Then be sure to wax them again afterwards as it's the UV rays that fade them.
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Meguiars does the job. Don't expect a 100% brand new finish but it certainly improves it quite a bit. My before and after pictures below:
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2Fx267%2FJ400uk%2FAF6D474F-9EE7-448B-BE95-726F95235CE3_zps0f17040b.jpg&hash=18820dae4404b86942140ad2c7ec650b8b32445f)
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Just machine polish them.
You will find often you don't need to wetsand and you should avoid this unless you absolutely need to.
Any PROPER car polish compound eg Scholl, Menzerna etc by machine will be fine.. a mediumy-hard pard on a dual action or rotary polisher. Then be sure to wax them again afterwards as it's the UV rays that fade them.
A machine on its own won't get rid of all the damage.
Tried it, doesn't work, unless you have a day free to burn out your polisher...
well these are my headlights now, not bad for 7 years old and 74k miles using my method, and having the job done in around 30 minutes a side.They are 95% perfect now.
(https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3894/14274326480_3921e038a7_n.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62252191@N06/14274326480/)
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/62252191@N06/14274326480/) (https://www.flickr.com/people/62252191@N06/)
Whilst i was at it, using Wet n dry 3000 and warm soapy water, got rid of all of my minor road rash which comes par of the course with our Mk5's,i wet sanded the bottom 4 inchs of the bonnet that was peppered in touch up marks.
All lenses have been Polished/wax or Sealed after. The front now looks much fresher.
(https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2937/14274428340_0c187bf02f_n.jpg) (https://www.flickr.com/photos/62252191@N06/14274428340/)
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/62252191@N06/14274428340/) (https://www.flickr.com/people/62252191@N06/)
not disputing your methods Jay, but i fail to see how using just a cutting compound will remove all lense damage.
As per this thread, I used far less aggressive wet n dry
http://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/index.php/topic,26433.0.html
:innocent:
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I disagree, I've had some very good results without having to wet sand.. there is no magic wet sanding result. On a phone so can't really explain I will expand tomorrow.
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noticed today having given the car a good wash that my headlights are beginning to go a bit cloudy near the top / close to the bonnet. Don't think i'm in the realms of wet sanding yet so will look into some of these kits vs rubbing compound.
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3M kit before and after shot
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FMobile_Uploads%2F2014-06%2FIMG_20140614_174840_zpsrcrchtyp.jpg&hash=5c189097baa360112b7ed5c93ab04466625ed1b8)
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3M kit before and after shot
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FMobile_Uploads%2F2014-06%2FIMG_20140614_174840_zpsrcrchtyp.jpg&hash=5c189097baa360112b7ed5c93ab04466625ed1b8)
I used the 3M kit last year, I actually posted a thread on it. It didn't get the finish that I got using a better polisher which I used this time, and not my battery drill I used before i will admit :laugh:
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Just get some wet n dry 1000, then 3000, a warm bucket of car soap n water, and some Megs ultimate compound and a polisher.. Did mine yesterday and they look spankers now :drool:
Great write up you should of taken pictures Steve. :happy2:
It wasn't until I finished them, that I suddenly thought I should of, I did one at a time and the difference was huge.
Even the wife said they look New, and for her that's saying something :grin:
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Awesome gti have a clearance on their meguiars and autoglym cleaning stuff at the moment. :happy2:
http://www.awesomegti.com/carcare/cleaning/meguiars-headlight-restoration-kit-g1900uk
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A machine on its own won't get rid of all the damage.
Tried it, doesn't work, unless you have a day free to burn out your polisher...
well these are my headlights now, not bad for 7 years old and 74k miles using my method, and having the job done in around 30 minutes a side.They are 95% perfect now.
Not disputing your findings, however assuming you were using your dual action that would likely be your issue. With a rotary you get zero problems especially when using a spot pad.
And you do realise that wet sanding in itself is a more time consuming process in general vs regular machine polishing because you need the extra time to refine back the finish - the purpose of wet sanding is to create a level paint finish, by abrasively removing the peaks / troughs in a paint surface in a more uniform way than you can by machine polishing creating a better and "smoother" appearance of reflection.
This will make little difference when it comes to restoring faded headlights, it does however depend on how "bad" the headlight is.
Wet sanding is a great solution to faded headlights, however you don't need these specialist "headlight restoration" kits, likewise you don't often need to wet sand them, a regular polish would be enough to remove the oxidation (any normal polish/pad/machine/sandpaper would be more than enough) and restore the clarify of the headlights.
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So can i use original colgate to get them back to looking ship-shape? :grin:
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3M kit before and after shot
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fdaz.co%2Fmedia%2FMobile_Uploads%2F2014-06%2FIMG_20140614_174840_zpsrcrchtyp.jpg&hash=5c189097baa360112b7ed5c93ab04466625ed1b8)
Good result
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Asking in all seriousness - would i be ok using AG Super Resin Polish to restore my headlights? I have a small amount of that dull crystalling effect (oxidisation i think) as seen in wodder42's before shot running along the top of the headlight and i want to nip it in the bud.
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Asking in all seriousness - would i be ok using AG Super Resin Polish to restore my headlights? I have a small amount of that dull crystalling effect (oxidisation i think) as seen in wodder42's before shot running along the top of the headlight and i want to nip it in the bud.
I don't think that SRP would do anything. On a scale of 0-10 it's cutting power is about 0.2, it's mostly a glaze or a chemical paint cleanser.
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Believe it or not, this is perfect for the job. A mild abrasive.
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.fjcdn.com%2Fcomments%2FAt%2Bleast%2Bhe%2Bcan%2Bstill%2Bget%2Bhigh%2B_c328d27150ef8561c0dcfd6218e33b7e.jpg&hash=5bc99af80d7179a89d3ac1a7226a67256727aa82)
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Believe it or not, this is perfect for the job. A mild abrasive.
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fstatic2.fjcdn.com%2Fcomments%2FAt%2Bleast%2Bhe%2Bcan%2Bstill%2Bget%2Bhigh%2B_c328d27150ef8561c0dcfd6218e33b7e.jpg&hash=5bc99af80d7179a89d3ac1a7226a67256727aa82)
No, it's really not lol
Old wives tale.
Use a proper polish or compound.
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Looks alright to me.
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So because it's on the internet it must be true?? I'm sure I COULD use Sandpiper to wipe my bottom!
There are lots of chemicals in Toothpaste which are of unknown effect to the plastic/glass headlights.
The abrasive particles ( :stupid:) are not of even cut so you cannot get a really high quality even finish.
If you want to use Toothpaste then you can do so, because you're a cheapskate and should buy some proper polish, pads and materials! :signLOL:
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The fella in the vid forgot to gargle! :laugh:
In fairness Jay, if you can put on your teeth, in your mouth and basically swallow some of it, i doubt it contains any chemicals that are going to damage plastic. Ok so one may argue that you don't put that amount of paste on your tooth brush but toothpaste manufacturers don't know what kind of moron is buying there product and possibly eating a whole tube of it at a time. I'd be hard pushed to believe that toothpaste could damage plastic quicker than it could damage your gut, otherwise toothpaste would have to come with major warnings on it just incase said moron fancied a tube or three...
Still i think i may invest in a headlight kit if i can pick one up for a tenner.
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Stop fart arsing around, 3000 wet n dry, soapy water, then some cutting compound with a DA polisher ,and polish/wax/sealant to follow and you will be amazed in the difference.
Or let someone else with the confidence to do it for you.
:happy2:
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they're not quite at that stage, but thanks for the offer! :wink:
:signLOL:
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Stop fart arsing around, 3000 wet n dry, soapy water, then some cutting compound with a DA polisher ,and polish/wax/sealant to follow and you will be amazed in the difference.
Or let someone else with the confidence to do it for you.
:happy2:
Your welcome to do mine Steve! :innocent:
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Stop fart arsing around, 3000 wet n dry, soapy water, then some cutting compound with a DA polisher ,and polish/wax/sealant to follow and you will be amazed in the difference.
Or let someone else with the confidence to do it for you.
:happy2:
Your welcome to do mine Steve! :innocent:
If you fancy a small trip to Southampton Martin, I'm happy to do them,or we can arrange a day trip meet etc ;-)
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^^^^ Sounds good fella. I'll PM you and we can sort something out. Always up for a trip down to the coast! :happy2:
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So because it's on the internet it must be true?? I'm sure I COULD use Sandpiper to wipe my bottom!
There are lots of chemicals in Toothpaste which are of unknown effect to the plastic/glass headlights.
The abrasive particles ( :stupid:) are not of even cut so you cannot get a really high quality even finish.
If you want to use Toothpaste then you can do so, because you're a cheapskate and should buy some proper polish, pads and materials! :signLOL:
I wouldn't use one of those, might be painful. :P
(https://www.mk5golfgti.co.uk/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.fatbirder.com%2Fphotos%2F9f981b4fc3a0d3df76ed6c69e84bc66aScolopacidae2.jpg&hash=95592cf0815d5ae750267ddf670c93a495b2f641)
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:signLOL: :signLOL: :signLOL:
Oops.. good spot!