Will laminex overlays help with my issue?

EightCostsMoney · 03-05-2012, 01:19 PM

When I bought my car my head lamps were really fogged up real bad. I tried have them restored a couple of times and they never cleared up. I decided to buy some sand paper and try it myself. However, I used too much grit on one and it scratched it up real bad. They are clear now except for the deep scratches on one lens. If I wax them with some clear wax like Turtle Ice is works for a day or two and just fades back to awful scratches.

I was thinking of getting some overlays like clear, slightly tinted, or even yellow to put over the lenses to help mask the damage. I was thinking of a heavy polish and make a seal the wax in the cracks. Then put the overlays over to seal it in and make it flat again. You think that will work? I do not have any money for new head lamps right now and looking for a cheaper fix till I can afford a new set.

If not, does anyone have any better ideas?

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dannobre · 03-05-2012, 01:42 PM

Get some 800, 1500 and 2000 and finer if you can find it grit wet and dry paper and WET sand them until the scratches are gone.... then polish with a buffing wheel and they will come up nice

or take it to a body shop and get them to do it.....

paimon.soror · 03-05-2012, 01:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EightCostsMoney

hen put the overlays over to seal it in and make it flat again. You think that will work? I do not have any money for new head lamps right now and looking for a cheaper fix till I can afford a new set.

If not, does anyone have any better ideas?

You dont want to do this depending on what type of sealant or polish you use, you are going to get some marring after a few days, it wont look hazy, it will end up looking blurry heh. Like dannobre said, get multiple grits of wet sandpaper up to 2000+, and take your time on each headlamp. And by wetsand we mean water with a tad bit of dishsoap for lubrication, or use a detailing spray. it will be 1000x easier to remove the light assembly, but if you cannot, be sure to mask off around the headlights.

EightCostsMoney · 03-05-2012, 01:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dannobre

Get some 800, 1500 and 2000 and finer if you can find it grit wet and dry paper and WET sand them until the scratches are gone.... then polish with a buffing wheel and they will come up nice

or take it to a body shop and get them to do it.....

Yeah, tried that 3 times, with wet sanding! I accidently used a deep cutting grit on the first try; it might have been 80-100. I had an assortment pack and just picked up the wrong one. There are a few real deep scratches that are near impossible to get out. By the time I grinded that down I might not have lenses left. I can go by a body shop and see what they say I guess. All I know is it is almost a lost cause. It might be time to pay the stupid tax and just buy new set of lenses.

paimon.soror · 03-05-2012, 01:59 PM

it would take some significant sanding at like 25 grit (which is lierally just pebbles slapped onto a piece of paper) to sand all the way through the lens by hand lol

EightCostsMoney · 03-05-2012, 02:32 PM

It looks like that might be the ticket. I am going to go by a body shop on the way home and see how much it will cost to grind it down. If it is really expensive I'll do it myself. However, I have already proven to not have the skill to fix it.

EightCostsMoney · 03-06-2012, 05:58 AM

I took by a couple of shops on the way home. They told me that it had been scratched down to the clear. Not much I can do at this point to fix it. I'm just going to save my pennies and just get a new set of lamps. Thanks for the input.

RX8Soldier · 03-06-2012, 08:58 AM

check the FS section. I know that I've seen some headlamps for sale recently.

EightCostsMoney · 03-06-2012, 09:13 AM

Thanks!