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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Wash, Wax, Detailing and Cosmetic protection/repairs > can you polish headlights to perfection?...



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      07-25-2014, 06:51 PM   #1
miker2013
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can you polish headlights to perfection?...

my headlights look very good as they are only a year old... i keep them very clean and use clay to gently remove bugs and tar and stuff when necessary

however, when i bot the car new the dealer had installed some very light siwlrs/spider webs in the headlights.... you can't see them unless you get up close

anyway, can these be polished out? i tried once to use a light pad and some wolfgang finishing polish (aka sf4000) but seemed to not help at all and added more light spider webs

can headlights be polished to perfection to remove these spider webs? do i have to use a stronger polish?

it seems to me when i look at headlight videos and pictures, even after a clean up there always seems to be very light marring still left over

thanks
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      07-26-2014, 11:07 AM   #2
WilliamS
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There is a process of wet sanding with a high number paper or pad then buffing to clear. The downside to this is headlights are usually treated on the upper layers of the plastic with a UV buffer. Once you wet sand and buff 99% of the time you just removed that. So from there its a never ending battle to keep them waxed to keep them from now yellowing.
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      07-28-2014, 12:02 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamS View Post
There is a process of wet sanding with a high number paper or pad then buffing to clear. The downside to this is headlights are usually treated on the upper layers of the plastic with a UV buffer. Once you wet sand and buff 99% of the time you just removed that. So from there its a never ending battle to keep them waxed to keep them from now yellowing.
Yeah that's why I haven't attempted that on mine yet. I may just bite the bullet and buy a headlight clear bra like the ones XPEL sells http://www.xpel.com/products/headlight_protection.asp
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      07-28-2014, 12:05 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamS View Post
There is a process of wet sanding with a high number paper or pad then buffing to clear. The downside to this is headlights are usually treated on the upper layers of the plastic with a UV buffer. Once you wet sand and buff 99% of the time you just removed that. So from there its a never ending battle to keep them waxed to keep them from now yellowing.
that's why they sell uv protectant clear coats...
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      07-28-2014, 12:41 PM   #5
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that's why they sell uv protectant clear coats...
Which is true, but if hes picky over a small spider web effect from cleaning he will never ever get a smooth perfect finish with a spray on coating.
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      07-28-2014, 01:03 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamS View Post
Which is true, but if hes picky over a small spider web effect from cleaning he will never ever get a smooth perfect finish with a spray on coating.
not out of the can, but a couple applications and some wet sanding and he could get it right
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      07-28-2014, 02:35 PM   #7
miker2013
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thx guys... this is what i was thinking that it would take a full sanding/polishing to get 100% clarity and i guess i am just not prepared to do that on a new vehicle

they still look great but i am very ocd about this kinda stuff


thanks
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